Chapter Three

That's a forty-four forty Colt's revolver in the picture, by the way.

If you want to comment, and I hope you do, don't be afraid to do so. It will ask you to identify yourself but if you're unsure of how to do that just go in anonymous and sign your name to your post. Don't be afraid to comment. Now, on to today's reading (for me, at least).

Wow, this is a great chapter! There is just so much in it! First we have Mattie's opinion of Federalists and Republicans. I'm with you, Mattie, all the way. Then we see her deal-making with the auctioneer (which will be a great role for a good character actor or a cameo in the new movie, by the way). It's a fine piece of writing. Portis was really on his game for this book, that's obvious. I like page 36, where we get three pieces of sage advice from Mattie on one page--don't eat too much, take a nap after you eat, and cover yourself while sleeping. I'll remember that, Mattie. I also like her list of bad people: murderers, robbers, train wreckers, bigamists, and counterfeiters. These are, as she says people who have ridden "the hoot-owl trail" and tasted the fruits of evil. Hilarious.

An interesting passage next: Mattie's brief history of Fort Smith politics (which I assume is mostly accurate) and then her assessment of the publishing industry. It's interesting that she identifies herself here as a writer. How do you make a young teenage girl like Mattie come alive when you're Charles Portis, a young man? Well, you give her the same interests, the same inclinations, and (most probably) the same opinions. Never confuse the narrator with the author, though. Right? Still . . .

Well, then there's the testimony of Rooster Cogburn written out as if it were dialogue in a play. Reminds me of Moby Dick, wherein Melville inserts chapters that are just suddenly in dramatic format. Interesting. It's a whalloping good tale, too, that comes out. Really, really well-written scene. Just too good.

I've notice now that Mattie has several times judged people strictly by looking at them. She looks at Odus Wharton at the end of that scene and imagines that she can see exactly how evil he is. I have a feeling that is going to get her into trouble at some point.

This so far would be a tremendous chapter, but then we also get the first scenes of Mattie with Rooster. In the first, she demonstrates her worth as a cigarette roller while beginning her persuasion. She's thought this through, and we're sure she'll get her way.

Then comes the scene in Rooster's "lair" where they share a meal and "make medicine." Good grief, I hope that the Coen's are true to the book here. This is just a fabulous scene, full of dark atmosphere and colorful language. Rooster doesn't have to buy his whisky, "he confiscates it." He's drinking "double-rectified bust-head from Madison County." I think I've had some of that! The big point of the scene comes at the end, though, when Rooster demonstrates that you can't "serve papers" on a rat. That's what Mattie's looking for.

Ha! Great stuff. A rollicking fine tale, as they say!

The Coen Brothers are still looking for an unknown to play Mattie. Click here for a link to the article.

Chapter Two

Ok, I guess I'm reading a chapter every workday and posting about it. That's the way it seems so far. Hope I can keep it up. I can read faster than that, you know, it's just more fun this way. We'll see.

Chapter Two we're in to Fort Smith. It's interesting that Mattie has so little regard for the town. "Seems like it belongs in Oklahoma," she says. I've thought that. My little joke about the weather here is that nobody told me that Fort Smith is so close to Oklahoma. You know, where "the wind comes sweeping down the plains!" If you know me at all then you know I'm no fan of the weather in Fort Smith. Did Fort Smith have the "nation's most modern waterworks?" There are still lots of houses made of fieldstones, as Mattie points out. Mine is.

I'm liking Mattie lots, of course. She's determined and wise beyond her years. She dresses down the guy on the train that is rude to Yarnell, she's impatient with people, and she's determined to do what needs to be done. She's wise: "People who will not steal big things will often steal little things."

Some description to notice--the man at the table is "a long-backed man with a doorknob head and a mouthful of prominent teeth." Nice. This is the guy who travels about "selling pocket calculators." Is that an abacus or a slide rule? At the boardinghouse they sit around telling "yellow fever jokes." Probably a collection of those somewhere still, huh?

Lots of good language "you squirrelheaded son-of-a-bitch," and "I have never been one to flinch or crawfish when faced with an unpleasant task."

First description of Rooster Cogburn, "a pitiless man, double-tough, and fear don't enter into his thinking. He loves to pull a cork." Wonder which parts of that description makes Mattie want to talk to him?

Biblical allusions: Mattie has "her father's business" to attend to.

At the end she pulls her daddy's slicker over her to keep warm. Aw.

Chapter One and Guerilla Action

I spent a good hour posting flyers about this blog around the campus yesterday. I'm hoping that some more curious students and some more interested faculty will come and read the blog.

If you are just joining us for the first time, you might want to jump back to the archives and read up on what we're doing. Post a response to the blog entries, too. That's the only way we know you're reading. Blogs should be interactive, after all.

I've purposefully saved my reading of the novel for now. I didn't want to read ahead. So I only read chapter one today. As I had been told, language and character are obviously going to be key to the novel's success. Mattie tells the story in her own voice and it's a strong one. I've heard her compared to Twain's Huck Finn, and she really seems that evocative. She's that strong a character already, and this is just chapter one. Portis must have known that he was on to something as soon as he began writing in Mattie's voice.

Coincidentally, I've been reading lots of memoirs because I'm helping a friend write hers, and the book starts out a lot like a true story, like a memoir. So I guess it's "postmodern," too, in that there's a "frame" of the storyteller telling us the story. Of course, my old American Lit professor would just call it Romantic Irony (he didn't believe in postmodernism), and point out that Poe did this all the time--had the narrator speak to the reader, that is.

Interestingly, people who write memoirs often have trouble connecting to their emotions regarding horrible things that have happened to them. They tend to write them very flatly. Mattie starts out a bit like that--like what we would consider an abused personality. She's recounting the tale of her father's death but it's emotionally flat. Except you can feel the anger boiling beneath the surface.

Don't forget that if you're faculty and you want to see the movie or show it to your classes, let me know ahead of time. I only have three copies. I do have some copies of the text, too. Let me know if you want to read along and you need one. Those of you who are in classes that are reading the book already have yours, of course!

Now go and do. And read. And respond to the blog.

Schedule for Film Showing and Lifelong Learning Page

Here's a link to the Center for Lifelong Learning's True Grit page. It shows the times for the April 1st showings of the movie.

Here's the note I just got from Charles Portis in response to a letter I sent to him inviting him to campus. It's obviously typed on an old typewriter on a small sheet of note paper. Here's the entire text:

Dean Hardin
Many thanks for your letter and your kind invitation. It's good to know that a story written so long ago still has a bit of life left in it. However, I'm just not much of a hand for these book gatherings and must respectfully beg off. I do wish you success with it. When you're in Little Rock one of these days give a call and we'll have coffee.

Signed in his hand.

Well, that's the answer we expected. Mr. Portis is notoriously reclusive. Still, you never know. We'll keep corresponding with him--letting him know what we're doing. Who knows? He may get interested later.

True Grit Happenings

Ok, I'm a seriously negligent blogger, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things brewing. Cause there definitely are. We're moving ahead with plans for April 1st, where we'll have two showings of the movie and two panel discussions. Those begin at 9:30. Further details will follow.

In addition, our intrepid Roy Hill is moving ahead on a presentation on the guns used in the novel. They're very important, he says, and indicate lots of subtext and interesting ideas that might be missed if you don't know lots about guns. His presentation will, hopefully, include a demonstration and firing of some of those guns. Needless to say, we'll need some preparation for that.

I've also asked people to figure out and tell us when they'll be reading the novel with with their classes and if they'll be open to having guests during those times.

I'm getting lots of good information, too. Here's a nice link.

Lots more news coming. Watch this space, as they say.