True Grit and the American Mythology

After reading True Grit, I can clearly see why it would be a reflection of American mythology. 

The primary mythology displayed is that of the Western. Having seen multiple Western films prior to reading this, I already had a feel for how a frontier story would come across. True Grit did not fail to provide. First and foremost, the Western as a genre is perhaps the most distinctly American genre there is.

The desert setting, the cowboy figures, and the rough and tumble, risky business plots are inherently American in that they reflect some of the most romanticized days of the country’s history. They seem to shout out “freedom!” and “justice!” and emphasize the role of hard work and determination in a successful life. In this case, Mattie pushes through her struggles to avenge her father’s untimely death, and although she faces many hardships, her bravery was rewarded when justice was served in the end.

I feel that that is a reflection of the greatest American mythology of which the American Dream is grounded upon: hard work leads to success. Whether that be saving up money for a new house, or persisting in serving justice in a murder case, it all can be derived from that same basic statement. Alongside hard work leading to justice is the concept that wrongdoings will come back to bite you. Villainous characters get tastes of their own medicine – Tom Chaney can’t escape his actions forever, and he loses his life as a result of not taking responsibility for his actions.

This line of thought also leads to the theme of American morals. Mattie aimed to be a lawful individual, and do things the right way as a good member of society. Even though she and her company may have bent the rules in terms of what could strictly be considered “right” or “wrong” (murder is murder, thieves or not), the morality was still aiming in the direction of justice. We viewed Mattie as a generally law-abiding individual, and although she, Cogburn, and La Boeuf may have taken things into their own hands, we still felt that their actions were warranted, and that their morals were on the right end of the scale – and thus we rooted for their success.

I also feel that an “underdog” theme played a role in the American mythology presented here. A prominent American sentiment is that anyone can rise to the occasion – the poor can become wealthy, the uneducated can become educated, and so forth. So when a young, now fatherless girl (who is also subject to the inherent sexism of the time) seeks to accomplish a lofty goal amongst seasoned, adult male professionals, she is able to do so despite how unattainable others claimed it would be.

And so, True Grit weaves an American mythology: a morally sound underdog’s bravery and hard work overcomes the wrongful actions of a criminal. Justice is served.