True Grit

“True Grit” is a novel that was later adapted into a film. I personally think that the story had a very interesting and unique plot for a western theme story. The plot line revolves around a young girl who is after the criminal that killed her father. She hires a marshal to help her hunt down the criminal to give justice to her father’s death. Both the novel and the film use classic themes for a Western story including going to the bar, traveling on horseback, searching for wanted criminals, and the all time favorite, gun fights. However, both have some unique characteristics that are not particularly used in western stories. Some examples include, the use of a female protagonist who has a strong but stubborn personality and the hero who is portrayed by an old drunk marshal instead of a reliable sheriff. In my opinion, the film followed very similar to the novel, however, I encountered some differences. The novel described every scene in detail to reflect the given time period whereas the film naturally selected some scenes to be included due to time constraints. Although the film skipped on some details, it does not stray too far from the main plot. Another difference is that in the novel, each chapter is represented as one day, but in the film, time flows quite naturally due to entertainment purposes. Lastly, the narration of the novel and film vary; the novel is written in first person narrative, this being Mattie the protagonist. On the other hand, the film emphasises on different viewpoints. In conclusion, although both the novel and the film may differ in some ways, the film follows the novel’s plot line very similar. Both contain some of the traditional western genre. In my opinion, I found the story very interesting and fun to read and watch.