True Grit Possessed by People of All Ages

Angela Lee Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance to pursue long term goals” (Duckworth and Winkler, True Grit). Grit is putting your mind towards a goal and not to give up, no matter what obstacle that stands in front of you. By becoming a gritty individual, a person gains courage within their self. Having courage, people manage fear of failure and being true within oneself to aim for things they would have never thought they could achieve. Grit is to aspire and succeed in ones future goals in college. Grit is to help maintain effort and interest over time, also to stay committed in spite of adversity. In Duckworth’s studies she showed how gritty people are more likely to become successful than talented people. In a study conducted

Duckworth explains people with grit are those who confront failure and don’t give up easily. She did research on the U.S Army to determine their grit. She realize, if the soldiers had a though of mind of grit they showed good results in their military performance on summer camp. Also, there was a fascinating research she had with taxi drivers relating to grit. Commonly, one would think that taxi drivers make more money in a rainy day. But what she found out was that taxi drivers work less hours in rainy days because they would make the sufficient money they needed for the day. In similarity, she compare this research to talent and grit. One with talent will spent less time on something so they stop immediately once they have proficient. In the other hand, someone with grit will spend longer time and get more out of it.

Deborah Perkins-Gough the author of this interview is the senior editor at ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development). Ms. Perkins Gough attended William and Mary majored in Education Management and she lives in the Washington D.C. Metro Area.

Throughout Grit, Angela Duckworth argues that grit is the single most important factor in determining success of an individual. She splits the argument into three parts: the concept of grit and why it matters, the proper use and understanding of the goal hierarchy, and how an individual can develop grit. Duckworth’s argument is important because it replaces the traditional viewpoint of success being determined by talent to one which sees success as a result of passion and perseverance.

“True Grit” is about a fourteen year old girl trying to bring justice to the man who killed her father. She hires a sheriff named Rooster to help her. Through characterization, setting, and law enforcement, Charles Portis in “True Grit” sets an accurate portrayal of the time period know as the old west to create a more riveting story.

True Grit, by Charles Portis, is a fantastic story where the main character, Mattie Ross, seeks revenge for her father's death. One of the key character archetypes that is important to know about Mattie is her general attitude towards anything that may cross her path: unfazed and generally not bothered. The best example of this is how she describes the death of her father in the first chapter. Usually when it comes to children in adventure novels, the death of a parent or guardian serves as a tragic backstory for the character and changes their life for the worse (e.g. Harry Potter, the Baudelaire children, and Katniss Everdeen). All of these children faced some kind of grief following the death of their respective parent, but the only description we receive from Mattie concerning her father’s murder is “Tom Chaney raised his rifle and shot him in the forehead, killing him instantly” (16). This bleak and straight-to-the-point attitude that Mattie characterizes serves as a basis for her philosophy of justice.

My uncle promised he would buy me a real coconut if only I could say it right in English. I had not savored real coconut water in what seemed like years. Apparently, here in Yakima you could not simply stroll to the beach and grab one like in my hometown. In fact, there was no beach. But I had arrived to the United States only a week ago and I was already enrolled in kindergarten. I had to learn the language no matter what it took, so I studied. I gritted my teeth and sat down with a book and a mug-full of determination. After a whole lot of crying, learning, failing and more learning, I could finally not only say the word, but I was able to demand my coconut all in English. I accepted the challenge, set my focus on the goal, and did not stop until I succeeded. Many people say I am stubborn, and perhaps I am, but that coconut was the best delicacy I have ever enjoyed. Therefore, it is certain that it is not intelligence or luck but perseverance and grit that yields success and although my story is nothing like the compelling tale Charles Portis describes in his novel True Grit, they both express the true meaning of grit. In this novel, fourteen year old Mattie Ross and marshal Rooster Cogburn go on a life changing quest to find Tom Chaney, the murderer of Mattie’s father. The meaning of true grit is explored through Mattie Ross’s revenge seeking journey. Essentially, true grit refers to being strong-minded, determined, and unafraid of confronting difficult situations.

Rooster indeed has grit. The very character of, Rooster Cogburn, can be broken down as a flat out representation of the idea of True Grit. The themes of, revenge and the classic view of the wild west are present in the character. You could say he represents how America at the time went through terrible hardships. Hardships like, getting shot at, carrying a girl while running through harsh lands, and just his demeanor in general. He might get you into trouble, like the old west, but still he’s there to be a true hero like when he rescues Mattie. He is always cussing and being harsh, but he can still be a kind and heroic figure when he wants to be. Mattie views

One literary element the author uses is setting. True Grit takes place in the Wild West. The Wild West setting is known to be a place with a significant amount of crime and drama, and Fort Smith is an example of a Wild West location. Fort Smith was surely not a place for an average 14-year-old girl. Even Mattie Rosses Lawyer said this in the book. “Fort Smith is no place for a young girl alone, not even a ‘Mattie’.” (Portis 78). Living in a dangerous city like Fort Smith may be impossible for an average 14 year old girl, but not for Mattie. Mattie Ross proves him wrong and survives the dangerous place. She built up her strength and level of maturity in the town. She sold horses for $325, watched three people get hanged to death, lived with a random old lady and hired a Marshal, that she had never met in her life, to help her kill Tom Chaney. Charles Portis uses the setting of the story to show us the struggles and hardships Mattie had to go through in Fort Smith. He portrayed that a small girl that can live in a town like Fort Smith is no match for evil bandits and murderers.

Cognitive development can be defined as a field of study in neuroscience and psychology revolving around the growth of the brain (Schacter & Woods 2009). This development is the evolution of skills such as, information processing, perceptual skills, conceptual resourcing, language knowledge and other brain development traits (ibid).

What is Grit? Grit is passion. Grit is perseverance. Grit is what everyone including teachers and students should possess. Along with passion and perseverance, to me, in order for one to possess grit in their life, they must be determined and focused no matter what obstacle life may throw at them. Life is hard, but; resilience is key in order to stay determined and focused in the worst of times.

Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, takes on a tough topic of figuring out what components enable a child to succeed. Throughout the book he makes several claims that are related to poverty, attachment, and character. We believe all three of these items play a critical role in how children succeed. We will provide evidence to support these claims as well as critique them.

True Grit begins with Mattie Ross, a 14 year-old girl, who is determined to track down the murderer of her father. After receiving her father’s corpse at Fort Smith, Mattie decided to stay alone to find someone to help persecute the murderer, Tom Chaney. Finding out that he has escaped to the Indian

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives many different definitions defining the word “grit”. A definition that caught my attention was “unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger” .It gave me a personal reference as to reaching a goal, you have to be faced with challenges that you’ll need to conquer with grit being included. In Angela Lee Duckworth’s TED Talk, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” she claims that having students being pushed to the max is the only way to see the full extent of grit, and I agree with Duckworth. I was able to demonstrate grit on becoming a better basketball play after not making the team my sophomore year of high school. Ever since I was disappointed in my results of not making the team, I had told myself this wasn’t going to mean I was done playing basketball .I gave myself perseverance in knowing I could make it next year with motivation.

Grit is the power of passion and perseverance. Passion and perseverance are not qualities that everybody has. Not everybody who sets a long-term goal achieves it. People who have passion and perseverance are most likely to succeed in life, because passion is what gives us the ability to stick to a goal for a long period of time, and perseverance is the motivation to continue pursuing our goals. Passion and perseverance are the bridges to achieve your goals. In the TED talk “Grit: the power of passion and perseverance” Angela Duckworth explain what will help you to succeed in life and she called it Grit, which she defined it as passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.