Genre
A novel
Setting and Context
The action takes place in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where a little girl Mattie Ross tries to reach justice.
Narrator and Point of View
The novel is narrated by a first person, Mattie Ross, who is an adult woman. She tells about her dangerous adventures, when she was a young girl and wanted to find the killer of her father.
Tone and Mood
This story has a detective and adventurous mood. Also, there is a dramatic mood due to the stressful moments such as death of Mattie’s father or the amputation of her hand.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The main protagonist is Mattie Ross. The main antagonist is Tom Chaney.
Major Conflict
The major conflict happens between Mattie and Chaney. The girl wants to destroy him, because he destroyed her father’s life.
Climax
The climax happens, when Tom Chaney is killed by Mattie Ross and Ned Pepper is killed by Cogburn. All criminals are punished, as they deserve.
Foreshadowing
The fact that Mattie Ross is a little and physically weak girl predicts that trip in search of Tom Chaney will be very difficult and dangerous.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The novel alludes to:
the “Lone Star State” that is an official nickname of the State of Texas;
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893), who is the 19th President of the United States;
the Bible;
Henry Starr, who is an American criminal of the Wild West.
Imagery
Images of nature are widely provided
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
There is a parallelism of crime and justice. Mattie Ross is for the order and justice. However, there are such bandits as Tom Chaney and Ned Pepper, who violate the laws. This struggle between crime and justice is endless.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The reader can notice the line “I was soon in the land of Nod”. Mattie Ross means that she fell asleep very quickly.
Personification
The gold and money personify dependence and greed.
The weapon personifies crime and death.
Alcohol symbolizes dependence and diseases.
