Choice Book Report 3 Part 1 True Grit

          Mattie Ross' top characteristics are sassiness, determination, and will not be cheated just because she is a young girl. She is not a typical 14-year-old girl at her time because she knows how to shoot, ride a horse and does not wear long dresses. Mattie always tries to get it her way and is punished. Mattie is a very interesting because of the way she acts. For a 14 year old, she is very smart and witty.         
          Mattie is sassy, because on page 91, she says, "I deserve the way I want to get my money's worth," when she was talking to a sheriff. Mattie stays sassy throughout the whole book and it gets her into trouble because of it. She is slapped for being sassy also. In another part of the book on page 34 she argues with a man about where Tom Chaney (murderer of her father) should be hung. She wants him to be hung in her hometown but the man would receive lots of money for bringing him in to Texas. This is a minor conflict throughout the majority of the book as they look for Tom Chaney.
          Mattie has a helpful characteristic to give her the best outcome and that is determination. She has determination because throughout the novel she wouldn't quit no matter how hard the destination came to be. On page 145, it says "My legs were aching from the horse but I wouldn't stop because I didn't want Mr. Labouef to think I was a baby and slowing us down." This did help them travel a long way and Mr. Cogburn said they traveled at least fifty-five miles that day. Another example is that people told her she would not be able to get Tom Chaney but in the end, she was the one who killed him.
          Mattie has the mentality that she will not be cheated just because she is a young girl. People continually try to cheat her throughout the whole novel. Mattie is smart though, and recognizes what they are trying to do to her almost right away. On page 21, she is selling a man ponies and he tries to sneak in a very unreasonably low price not thinking she was smart enough to figure it out. Also, a saddle of her father's was stolen under that man's supervision. She started talking about bringing her lawyer into it. In the final decision, she made more money than she expected.
          These characteristic make her interesting to read about. Mattie made the book better than it already was. I think determination got her the farthest out of all of them because it helped kill the man who killed her father. And yes, she has true grit.