The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, a simply written novel of an old man's singular struggle, while trying to catch a fish, against forces of the sea overpowering him and True Grit, by Charles Portis, a gripping western, placing you in the middle of the action during a girl's quest with two other men to get revenge for her father's murder, are two works united in several ways. Many similarities throughout both works appeared evident. Plot, theme, and characterization categorize those similarities.

First of all, in plot, the works share the same event progression. An early start, a determined drive, a final showdown, and an attempt to continue the achievement. The intentions were to simply accomplish no matter what the circumstance. The Old Man set out early in the morning as indicated here, "...he began to row out of the harbour in the dark." In True Grit, Mattie, a girl bent on avenging her father's death, Rooster, a federal marshal, and LaBoeuf, a Texas Ranger, set off when, "It was still dark outside and bitter cold although mercifully there was little wind." The dedication involved in the characters' pursuits becomes more evident later on. "He is a

Showing persistence in the face of adversity is a valiant quality found only in those truly determined. I believe this would suffice to be the predominant theme of both The Old Man and the Sea and True Grit. The old man was going to break his streak of eighty-four days without catching a fish. He didn't care what the cost. He set out deeper than usual in his small skiff and did the impossible. He claimed from the sea a great fish. Sure, the sea claimed most of the fish back, but he broke his streak. Mattie did what she set out to do. She killed Tom Chaney, avenging her father's death, and with his pistols to boot. She showed strength and courage, even for a girl, and was a finisher.

great fish," the old man told himself, "and I must convince him not to learn his strength..." As it was also with the Mattie from True Grit. "I knew both of them (Rooster and LaBoeuf) were waiting for me to complain or say something that would make me out to be a 'tenderfoot.' I was determined not to give them anything to chaff me about." Her intents were not purely superficial though. Her anger toward "... a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney," was a key factor in driving her to achieve her purpose. Finally, after toiling with the fish, the Old Man, "...took all his pain and what was left of his strength and his long gone pride and he put it against the fish's agony," in his last bout with the great fish. The same sort of event occurs at the same point in the st

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Approximate Word count = 983
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)