Superstitious Claptrap - True Grit V

"Some preachers will say, well, that is superstitious 'claptrap.' My answer is this: Preacher, go to your Bible and read Luke 8:26-33" (Portis 32).

From early in the novel, Mattie's strong religion can be seen. Portis probably gave Mattie this characteristic for many reasons: it puts her in the time period; it accounts for her strong opinions about alcohol and how criminals should be treated; and Portis may even be using Mattie's faith as a vessel for his own personal faith and moral standings, as recalling one of the only Bible verses that discusses animals being possessed by demons takes some Biblical knowledge, especially in the days before computer searches would bring up that exact verse. Although the verse itself is discussing swine, not cats, Mattie still gets her point across, and is perceived as being Biblically learned (Luke).

Portis, Charles, and Donna Tartt. True Grit. New York, NY: Overlook, 2010. Print.

Luke. King James Version. Biblical Proportions, 2004-2005. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. .

Pursue the Wicked - True Grit VI

"'The wicked flee when none pursueth'" (Portis 17)

Portis again uses his Biblical knowledge to quote Proverbs 28:1; using this verse alone gives Mattie's anger a controlled feeling, contributing to the characteristic of her willpower. In this quote, Mattie is referring to a fleeing Tom Chaney, fleeing after shooting Mattie's father; although there were many there to witness the shooting not a single one thought to pursue Chaney. The rest of the statement "but the righteous are as bold as a lion" has been left out (Proverbs). Although the entirety of the statement was not said, it seems to encapsulate the boldness in Mattie's pursuit of Chaney perfectly.

Portis, Charles, and Donna Tartt. True Grit. New York, NY: Overlook, 2010. Print.

Proverbs. King James Version. Biblical Proportions, 2004-2005. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. .

A Desperate Band - True Grit VII

"He and his desperate band killed a fireman and an express clerk on the Katy Flyer last night" (Portis 159).

Portis puts a lot of work into building the reputation of Lucky Ned Pepper; Lucky Ned comes across as the worst and most well-known criminal in all the Wild West, someone to be feared for his ruthless ways. Portis probably puts this much emphasis on Lucky Ned's character to build an extreme reputation, as well as a sort of foreshadowing for what to expect when Mattie finally meets the man in the climax of the story.

Portis, Charles, and Donna Tartt. True Grit. New York, NY: Overlook, 2010. Print.

Lucky Ned - True Grit VIII

"'I saw Billy was dead when he was struck. I thought Haze might have made it. He was tough as boot leather. I am sorry for him. . .[Billy] should never have been there. There was nothing I could do for him" (Portis 188).

After Portis has spent a good amount of time establishing Lucky Ned's reputation in readers' minds, he suddenly tears that reputation down when Mattie meets Lucky Ned and has a conversation with him. From his reputation, one would expect Lucky Ned to be harsh and easily angered, not generally kind and sympathetic toward others. Portis may be using Lucky Ned to explore reputations and how they can often give a wrong impression of a person; although Lucky Ned is white, Portis's explorations with reputation are very similar to his explorations with race and the reputation a race has.

Portis, Charles, and Donna Tartt. True Grit. New York, NY: Overlook, 2010. Print.

Wild Comanches - True Grit IX

"I will own I was somewhat afraid of them, although they were not, as you may imagine, wild Comanches with painted faces and outlandish garb but rather civilized Creeks and Cherokees and Choctaws. . .I though them on the cheerful side as they nodded and spoke greetings" (Portis 109).

The 1960's was on of the most pivotal times in the Civil Rights movement, with "numerous marches, rallies, strikes, riots, and violent confrontations with the police," as well as the assassinations of many of the leaders of these events ("Psychedelic"); yet in his novel, Portis generally uses white characters, except for the Native Americans Mattie meets in Indian Country, the black stable boy, and a few hispanic criminals.

When Portis does use "colored" characters, their race is a very understated facet of their character: after Mattie introduces the stable as being a "Negro," she goes on the converse with him the way one would converse with any stable boy; after the criminals are introduced using their race, they are spoken of as of any other criminal. Although Mattie is initially quite racist toward Indians, she soon realizes that they are just people with different colored skin, and states that fact in a very subdued way. Portis may be using race and the subtle way he approaches it to make a statement about how little it truly matters whether one's skin is black, red, yellow, or white. Although race can seem like something worthy of mass marches, and riots, Portis believes that at some point most people should come to realize that a person is a person no matter what color their skin.

Portis, Charles, and Donna Tartt. True Grit. New York, NY: Overlook, 2010. Print.

"Psychedelic 60s: The Civil Rights Movement." University of Virginia Library. University of Virgina, 16 Dec. 2009. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. .

Running the River - True Grit X

"We hit the river running . . . I drew up my legs behind me and held to the saddle horn and gave Blackie his head with loose reins. I was considerably splashed" (Portis 107).

The search for women's rights extends through much of history, but in the 1960's, gender equality became a prominent issue, with things like the Equal Pay Act being passed by Congress (Fuentes). When Charles Portis chose to make Mattie's character a fourteen year old girl, he was likely making a statement on how the difference between male and female can be less than it is perceived to be; Mattie Ross is extremely stubborn and tough, both of which used to generally be thought of as male characteristics. Portis also uses Mattie's inner thoughts as a way to show how logical and reasonable a woman can be.

Portis, Charles, and Donna Tartt. True Grit. New York, NY: Overlook, 2010. Print.

Fuentes, Sonia Pressman. "Keynote Address by Sonia Pressman Fuentes." 12 Oct. 2001. Web. 10 Jan. 2012. .

Sinbad the Sailor - Frankenstein IV

"The information I had obtained was of a nature rather to direct my endeavours so soon as I should point them towards the object of my search, than to exhibit that object already accomplished. I was like the Arabian who had been buried with the dead and found a passage to life, aided only by one glimmering and seemingly ineffectual light" (31).

"The Arabian who had been buried with the dead" is a reference to the Fourth voyage of Sinbad the Sailor in the Middle Eatern collection of folk tales The One Thousand and One Nights. On his fourth voyage, Sinbad finds himself on an island inhabited by a civilization of people whose tradition it is to bury the remaining spouse alive with the deceased partner. When Sinbad's wife falls ill and dies, Sinbad is lowered into the tomb along with her. Once in the tomb, Sinbad witnesses death and decay in all forms until he hears a stirring that he follows, only to find a way out of the tomb, to find the passage of life.

Shelley probably chooses the story of Sinbad because it is so similar to Frankenstein's voyages in the tomb, as he watches bodies decaying in his search for the spark of life. And similar to Sinbad, Frankenstein feels he has found a way out when he discovers that one secret that has been ever hidden from man.

http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Dixon/dixon01_12.htm

Mutability - Frankenstein III

"We rest; a dream has power to poison sleep.
We rise; one wand'ring thought pollutes the day.
We feel, conceive, or reason; laugh or weep,
Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away;
It is the same: for, be it joy or sorrow,
The path of its departure still is free.
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow;
Nought may endure but mutability!" (67).

Shelley interjects the last two stanzas of the poem Mutability by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the man Mary eloped with when she was almost seventeen. The poem seems to describe Victor's situation with perfect accuracy; he had dreams of his monster that made sleep terrifying; he would be perfectly happy until a sudden thought made him remember his creation; yet in the end, it matters not what Frankenstein feels, for he loses almost everything. All that remains is the ability to change.

Clerval - Frankenstein II

"Clerval! beloved friend! Even now it delights me to record your words, and to dwell on the praiseof which you are so eminently deserving. He was a being formed in the 'very poetry of nature'" (113).

When Shelley uses the "very poetry of nature" to describe Clerval, she is making an allusion to The Story of Rimini by Leigh Hunt. In the story, those words are used to describe the prince Paola who takes the place of his brother to wed Francesca. When Francesca is told that her betrothed will not be there to marry her, she is rather upset, but when Paola arrives and realizes her discomfort, he soon mends the scene. As Clerval is formed in the "very nature of poetry," he similarly realizes discomfort or unhappiness and works to mend it.

http://books.google.com/books?id=0xhcAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR8&lpg=PR8&dq=the+story+of+rimini+summary&source=bl&ots=SMuvlWrUKq&sig=SJNMr6RKMWjy96mYfuaj8YWVFF0&hl=en&ei=GHK4TpndEcjA2gWWqujMDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Very%20poetry%20of%20nature&f=false

The Worth of Beauty - Frankenstein I

"They consulted their village priest, and the result was that Elizabeth Lavenza became the inmate of my parents' house -- my more than sister -- the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and my pleasures" (17).

Elizabeth's character is likely used by Shelley as a contrast to the monstrosity of Victor’s creation, used to explore the human regard for appearance through the way the two are treated. Elizabeth’s character is never truly discussed in terms other than her appearance; she appears beautiful, so therefore she must be good. The monster is generally assumed to be a similar case: he is ugly, therefore he is evil, while in reality the monster is of true and noble heart.

While exploring the morality of basing goodness on appearance, Shelley fails to give a character in her novel the opposite issues of the monster: a beautiful appearance with an evil heart. This may be because Shelley is never truly driving at this issue, she may merely be trying to get across that parenting matters; if one gets treated well, they will usually behave well. For instance, a large part of the reason Elizabeth ends up how she does is because of the people that take her in as a child. Victor’s monster, on the other hand, has at least as much, if not more, brain potential to become good and kind and wise, yet his appearance hinders all good relations to him. In this way, Shelley may be speaking out against institutions like insane asylums (also called lunatic asylums), which are now known for being places of social alienation. These institutions were generally thought of as being good, until depiction in popular culture, like Francisco de Goya's The Madhouse (painted between 1812 and 1814), told otherwise. Shelley's discussion of the morality of judging on appearances alone may have been influenced by this painting.

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/goya/7/711goya.html