True Grit and the Anti-Hero

   True Grit is a classic American western story, but it does not have the typical American hero. In most westerns, the hero was always following the law, was a role-model, and cared about justice.

    One of the main characters in True Grit is Rooster Cogburn. He does not fit the qualities of a typical hero. From the beginning of the story, people are questioning him about his method of bringing in the bad guys. He seems to focus on the "dead" part of the wanted posters. He seems proud that he killed over 20 bad guys.

   In addition to following the law in his own way, he did not care about being a good role-model for Matty. Matty was looking for Rooster to help her find Tom Chaney. Rooster finally agreed let her go after Chaney with him, but he was no typical role model or hero. Instead, he cursed and drank and got angry with her.

   Also, Rooster carried his out justice in his own way. He represented the old west and did not want to change. Even though he had these bad qualities, people still liked him and he was a hero. He killed the bad guys and saved Matty's life.

    This story shows that American heroes are much more complicated than they are shown to be in the old stories where the good guys wear white hats and bad guys wear black hats.