True Grit – Western genre

In True Grit we get to experience an entirely new and avant-garde approach to the classic Western story.

A typical Western story includes Cowboys, bandits and Native Americans fighting against one another. They take place in the highlands and deserts surrounded by mountains. Settings like ranches, small towns with saloons and bar fights are classic and a must.

True Grit is not necessarily a typical Western. The bad guys in this particular story are not always with evil intentions, which makes the complications more diverse. The protagonist is a young girl with a strong voice and takes control of many situations in the story. Mattie takes charge of her life, in order to get justice for her fathers murder and she has no fear to stand up against her opponents.

But who has the most grit and power in this story? I believe it is Mattie’s gun - it brings her the revenge she was fighting for.

Thinking about the gun makes me question our society today. Do we live in a modern Western or why do we own guns in our own homes like cowboys back in the day?

            To me coming to America and learning about gun rights made me question our society. Where I am from, Vorarlberg in Austria, nobody carries or owns guns, unless they are used for hunting purposes. I have never come across a real gun before until I moved to America. Apparently having a gun laying around on nightstands or being carried around in a little clutch purse is everyday life for many people living in this county. It scares me and I believe, if we got rid of these rights, less shootings would occur and the world would be a safer place.