Do you think you would be able to persevere through many difficult obstacles without giving up? In True Grit by Charles Portis, 14-year-old Mattie Ross whose father was murdered by a man named Tom Chaney. Throughout the book, she must overcome many difficulties and overcome many obstacles to avenge her father's death. Mattie constantly talks about a person having "real courage" throughout the book. Her definition of true courage is not courageous and it does not refer to dirtiness. For Mattie, having courage means having a tough side and being fearless. After Mattie's father was murdered, she was determined to avenge her father's death at all costs. Before Mattie could go looking for the man who killed her father, she had to take care of some of her father's business. She needed to talk to a man named Stonehill about some ponies her father had bought just before he was killed. In this scene from the book, Mattie shows her courage because Stonehill didn't want to buy out the ponies and Mattie showed her perseverance and aggression. Finally, Mattie said she was going to call her lawyer and he offered her two hundred dollars but she didn't take it. Mattie wanted three hundred and fifty for the ponies but she told Stonehill she would settle for three hundred and twenty-five. Another scene where Mattie shows that she is fearless and has a lot of courage is when she shoots Tom Chaney and the recoil of the gun sends him flying into a hole. During the fall, Mattie manages to get stuck standing in a small hole, she tries to push herself with her left arm and she realizes that her forearm was bent in an unnatural attitude and she notices that it is broken. While she was there, she saw... in the middle of a paper... her pension and got her rifle. Frank tried to stop Tom from returning to the bar and Tom raised his rifle and shot Frank in the forehead, killing him instantly. Tom Chaney has courage and doesn't care about anyone but himself. Having courage is not always necessarily a positive thing. Tom Chaney's definition of courage is different from Mattie's or Rooster's. The strength to persevere and keep going are traits everyone should learn to have. No matter what you're going through, if you have this mentality or mindset, I feel like you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Mattie was intent on avenging her father's death and wanted to do it at all costs and she wouldn't stop until she got justice. That was his motivation, maybe something can motivate you to continue to persevere despite the many obstacles in your life..