“True Grit” is a novel authored by Charles Portis and is about a character named Mattie Ross, who travelled for a long distance to look for justice for her murdered father. Ross does this while she is barely fourteen years old. The journey begins from Ross’ Arkansas home as she travels via the Oklahoma wilderness. She is accompanied by Rooster Cogburn, who is a law enforcement officer, and LaBoeuf, a Texas Ranger (Fisher 9). The suspect is known as Chaney and he is accompanied by another thug known as Lucky Pepper. The use of dark humor in this novel brings about intense emotions in the reader. Charles Portis has used dark humor in the story to develop the theme of justice, which is central in the novel (Fisher 6). This paper is an analysis of how the author has applied dark humor in “True Grit.”
Charles Portis uses humor as a stylistic device in many instances in the novel. First of all, the search for Chaney, the suspect who killed Mattie Ross’ father, is made of funny escapades as the duo helping Ross is exceptionally skilled in searching for suspects:
“You must pay for everything in this world one way and another” (Portis, 29).
The use of dark humor is one reason why a movie based on the novel was made. Many characters in the novel contribute to humor as a literature style. Cogburn is one-eyed and fat and the funny thing about him is that he always brings suspects when they are already dead. Rooster also has a smooth tongue and easily antagonizes the other two as they maneuver around in the wilderness where people experience death threats.
Furthermore, the Coen Brothers create dark humor and uses it as their trademark. The author also uses a stilted language to create the humor (Fisher 9). It is funny how Cogburn is only focused on completing his mission after being hired to search for Chaney. The brothers use a natural spin, making the narrative dark in a humorous way. The readers already know that Cogburn is not a hero in the narrative, but is determined to hunt for Chaney:
“The wicked flee when none pursueth” (Portis 28).
Steinfeld also portrays humor by noticing the fake maturity in Mattie Ross since the latter is just fourteen years old, but she believes she can get justice for her slain dad. The narrative has humor from the beginning to the end as the misfits surround themselves on the main character, Mattie Ross. It is also ironical for Cogburn to be the character representing justice in the movie, but he is still an unreformed revolutionary since he was one of the soldiers who participated in the Civil War (Portis 48). It is humorous how the individual is a coward and would simply shoot someone or set an ambush. The reader might question whether Cogburn’s remaining eye is clear enough to see people since he would shoot someone then ask questions relating to the person. He also becomes very active as he springs into action when there is a sign of danger. There is no character in the narrative who believes that Cogburn is a good person, though he manages to save Mattie from danger.
In conclusion, the novel “True Grit” is a novel that uses dark humor to build the major theme of the story since most characters in the story exhibit the literary style while interacting with the rest. Dark humor circulates around the Coen Brothers, who makes it to be their identity. Together with other stylistic devices, the author uses humor to develop the story and entertaining the reader to go ahead with the reading.
Works Cited
Fisher, Danny. “True Grit.” Journal of Religion and Film 15.1 (2016): 10.
Portis, Charles. “True Grit.” The Overlook Press (2002): 224
