Wednesday, November 30, 2011

True Grit Three

"Why, by God, girl, that's a Colt's Dragoon! You're no bigger than a corn nubbin, what're you doing with all this pistol?"

Rooster cannot believe the weapon that Mattie possesses; her father's gun, a Colt's Dragoon. In the novel, True Grit, by Charles Portis, the weapon that the character carries speaks a lot about the character himself. Rooster carries a pair of Colt 1851 Navy revolvers, a Winchester Model 1873 rifle, as well as a belt gun. His character is portrayed to be all show and no game; he brags yet does not prove immediately that he has the true grit that he boasts of. Having four weapons and two hands is a bit much. LaBoeuf carries a pretty gun with an ivory handle, which symbolizes him to be the "pretty boy with the pretty boy attitude." The trio is after the murderer Tom Chaney, who carries a Henry 1860, which he has crafted a scuzzy string holder for. Chaney himself is scum, so his weapon reflects that.

"19th century weapons for military and civilians", Pair-O-Dice Mercantile Historical Resources

1 comment:

  1. I think that is something we could have spent more time discussing: the extension of the character's weapons as selves.

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