“The Hero’s Journey is about the courage to seek the deep; the image of creative rebirth; the eternal cycle of change within us… The hero’s journey is a symbol that binds…. (Phil Cousineau).” Mattie Ross learns this in True Grit, by Charles Portis, when she experiences the death of her father. She says: “…Tom Chaney shot my father in Fort Smith, Arkansas and stole his life, his horses and $150 in cash plus two California gold coins that he carried in his pants band.(11) ". Frank Ross, Matties' father, who was shot and killed by a man named Tom Chaney. Mattie Ross was only 14 years old in the 1870s. She said: "Nothing is free in this world except the grace of God, you have to pay for everything." (pg?) » Personal growth often comes at a high cost. She is at the beginning of the separation stage in the hero's journey, which consists of the calling and the threshold. Harris and Thompson define the call as follows: “… invites the initiate to adventure, offers him the opportunity to face the unknown, an imbalance or injustice in his life” (50). Her father is killed and Mattie takes revenge, that is her invitation. Next comes the threshold, called the starting point. She says: “We ran across the river… we came out a little further down the river. » (107) She has now joined the Choctaw nation to help pursue, into the unknown world, "a different world full of dangers and challenges (Harris and Thompson 50)." Then comes initiation and transformation, then the return to the known world. You can see, Mattie answers his call when his father was killed. According to Thompson and Campbell, the call is: "...awareness of an imbalance or injustice in one's life...the initiate has had something taken from him...... middle of paper.. . the final stage of his journey: his return to daily life... but discovers that his message is rejected... (52 Harris and Thompson). The people of the Dardanelles showed rejection of her when they talked about what she did with Rooster's body when he died. Ultimately, Mattie truly feels his statement: “You have to pay for everything in this world, one way or another. There is nothing free except the grace of God(3). “Not only does Tom Chaney pay, but as you can see, Mattie pays multiple times and also loses her arm. Into the abyss, Harris and Thompson say, “There is always the possibility that the initiate is not ready or has a character flaw, and the challenge defeats him…[she] will become dissatisfied and bitter (51).” Her biggest challenge of her journey, and her inability to do it alone, seems to be the result of her ending. Remember that nothing is free.