Collaboration, Companionship, and Loyalty Theme Analysis

In True Grit, Portis pays special attention to the ways in which people band together to defeat mutual enemies. When Mattie—who wants nothing but revenge—hires Rooster to catch Tom Chaney, the cantankerous old U.S. marshal accepts her offer simply because he’s interested in making money. Similarly, LaBoeuf wants to catch Tom Chaney for his own reasons, meaning that each of the novel’s three central characters have their own motivations when it comes to the manhunt. However, they wind up working together to catch Chaney and the gang of outlaws with whom he travels, putting aside their individual agendas and exemplifying the power of collaboration. Portis uses this success story to suggest that it can be worthwhile for people to work together even when they have opposing motivations. And since Rooster eventually risks his life in order to save Mattie, Portis intimates that the very process of collaboration can also lead to genuine feelings of friendship and loyalty.

Mattie and Rooster’s relationship begins as nothing more than a transaction, since all Rooster cares about is earning money for catching Chaney. This impersonal arrangement doesn’t bother Mattie, who’s only interested in making sure her father’s death is avenged. As such, their companionship is based on the fact that they both want to achieve the same thing but for different reasons. It is because of the emotionally detached nature of this relationship that Rooster goes out of his way to emphasize that he doesn’t care what happens to Mattie herself, insisting that she shouldn’t accompany him on the journey because he can’t be bothered to protect her. “If you want this job done and done fast you will let me do it my own way,” he says, eventually adding, “What if you get sick […]? I can do nothing for you.” This doesn’t matter to Mattie, since she is uninterested in friendliness and companionship. As long as Rooster helps her get what she wants, she doesn’t mind how he treats her. As a result, they decide to work together to find Chaney, each one accepting that their alliance has nothing to do with true companionship and everything to do with convenience.

Unfortunately for Mattie, the impersonal nature of her arrangement with Rooster gives him no reason to remain loyal to her when LaBoeuf informs him that he could make more money if he brought Chaney to Texas. This, of course, is not what Mattie wants, but Rooster tries to convince her to go along with the new plan, clearly enticed by the idea of sharing LaBoeuf’s cash prize. “Well now, he might come in handy,” he says regarding LaBoeuf’s involvement, but Mattie insists that they don’t need the Texas Ranger’s help. Nonetheless, Rooster can’t resist LaBoeuf’s tempting offer, and though he has already agreed to help Mattie, he decides to change course. To justify this, he tries to act as if he isn’t betraying Mattie, pointing out that he will still be catching Chaney regardless of where he brings him. “You are being stiff-necked about this,” he says. “You are young. It is time you learned that you cannot have your way in every little particular. Other people have got their interests too.” This final sentence is worth noting, since it spotlights Rooster’s tendency to fend for himself above all else. In this moment, then, Portis suggests that Rooster is a man who doesn’t care about pleasing his companions or remaining loyal to other people. This also casts doubt on the notion that people with disparate motivations can actually work together successfully on a single task.

Although it might seem unlikely that Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf will be able to work together despite their conflicting interests, Portis intimates that it takes time for collaboration to take hold and transform into genuine companionship. This is made evident by the fact that Rooster eventually demonstrates his willingness to stand up for Mattie, despite his initial lone-wolf mentality. Shortly after Rooster and LaBoeuf set off on the journey without her, Mattie rides after them, and when she finally catches up, LaBoeuf starts whipping her with a small wooden “switch,” but Rooster interferes by pointing his gun at the Texas Ranger and ordering him to stop. In doing so, he reasserts his loyalty to Mattie, proving that he’s not quite as self-interested as he might seem. Even LaBoeuf soon comes to accept and appreciate Mattie’s presence, later admitting that she deserves to continue the manhunt with them when the going gets tough. In this way, the three characters put aside their contrasting motivations and work together to find Chaney, proving that it’s possible to work together toward a mutual goal even when each person has their own reasons for undertaking the task.

Portis also demonstrates the practical benefits of collaboration and loyalty, as each of the three characters escapes death because of their alliance. To this end, LaBoeuf saves Rooster’s life by shooting Lucky Ned Pepper (the leader of Chaney’s gang) from afar just as the outlaw is about to kill Rooster. As LaBoeuf celebrates this fantastic shot, Tom Chaney—who is at his side with Mattie—smashes a rock over his head. Before he can finish off the incapacitated Texas Ranger, though, Mattie shoots Chaney in the head, thereby saving LaBoeuf’s life. Unfortunately, the force of this shot throws Mattie into a snake pit, where she becomes lodged in the mouth of a bat cave and a rattlesnake bites her hand. Just as she’s about to slip further down, though, Rooster propels himself into the treacherous snake pit, at which point LaBoeuf hoists them out. Although Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf’s collaboration began because it was convenient, this moment of self-sacrifice and teamwork reveals that it has blossomed into a real sense of companionship—one that encourages them to protect each other. By tracking the development of this unlikely camaraderie, then, Portis suggests that simply going through the motions of collaboration often leads to very real—and valuable—connections.