True Grit Essay

Each of the characters in the movie “True Grit” displayed differing levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy throughout the course of the movie. The Texas Ranger, La Boeuf, displayed the highest self-esteem score, 9, out of the three main characters. This high self-esteem can be observed in the way he constantly talks about his status as a Texas Ranger and in how he was always sure that he would find Tom Chaney no matter how far he ran. His self-efficacy was rated at high 7 due to his persistence in chasing Tom Chaney and his belief in his own ability to shoot Ned Pepper at such a long distance toward the end of the movie. The character Mattie was given a rating of 7 in the self-esteem category. She knew that she was from a well-known

La Boeuf was always very confident in his abilities throughout the movie; however, he was not always able to overcome his obstacles through his own abilities. When he was outside of the cabin in the valley confronting Tom Chaney and his gang, he was sure that he could either convince them to surrender or beat them in a gunfight; instead, he ended up being tied to a horse and dragged around while Cogburn saved him. Cogburn had the second highest score of 7 due to his ability to put his words into action when it mattered the most. This could be observed when he rode all night to find help for Mattie after she was bit by a snake and, after the horse died, ran the rest of the way with Mattie in his arms until he collapsed from exhaustion. Finally, Mattie had the highest score of 9 due to her ability to always transform her behavior to overcome the obstacles in front of her. Mattie’s greatest display of true grit came from her confrontation with Tom Chaney in the river, when she was alone and needed a way to stop him from running. She had never fired a gun before but did not hesitate in pulling the trigger to injure him, and would have killed him had the gun not jammed for