In the novel True Grit by Charles Portis, there is a character by the name of Thomas Cheney. Tom is a character with many traits, almost all negative. Amongst them, the three best ways to describe the character Tom Chaney are as a heartless, miserable and hypocritical man. First off, he is a heartless man because he does not have to think twice about pushing Mattie into the pit full of snakes. How cruel do you have to be, to place harm on a young innocent girl? He shows no mercy when it comes to doing whatever it is he needs to do to escape as a free man. For Example, in the book, there is an intense scene where Mattie thinks that she has defeated Chaney, but he comes back and pushes her into a pit full off rattlesnakes when she is not alert. Tom says, I warrant there will be another one before spring! A little spindly one (Portis 284)! He shows no remorse watching Mattie struggle to get away from the venomous snakes; he even has the nerve to make a joke about it! This clearly showing that he is a heartless, cold-blooded man with no feeling towards others including women and children is sickening.
Secondly, he is a very miserable man, shown in many ways. There are many instances where he is shown depressed. He thinks that all of the other bandits are just using him. For instance, on top of the mountain at the secret hideout, they leave him to watch over Mattie. He gets so depressed and beats himself up over the fact that they just ditched him with all of the stolen money. Cheney says, I fear he has no idea of paying me. I believe he has left me, knowing I am sure to be caught when I leave on foot (Carter 265).
The Essay on A Man’s Character is his Fate
The statement, “a man’s character is his fate” is a very powerful statement that I strongly agree with. I believe this is true because, in my opinion, you choose your fate by the actions and choices you make every day and your actions and choices make up your character. Someone’s character can say a lot about them and your character most always chooses your fate. Your character determines what ...
This quote is a perfect example of ho he is so down on himself. Tom thinks they left him to be trapped, and just took advantage of him. Chaney has obviously been used and is feeling like a big loser. This just goes to show you how miserable Thomas Chaney really is. Thirdly, he is hypocritical because after The Ross family accepts him into their family, he turns on them and kills Frank, Matties father. That is clearly hypocritical, Tom came in a poor broken man without anywhere to go and the Ross family gratefully accepted him into their home.
That is wrong in so many ways, but to turn on people that befriended you is just cruel. They were good to each other, and had one anothers trust. He broke their trust and went from a nice pleasant man to a double-crossing, insensitive jerk. Mattie was crushed when she found out that he had been killed. For example, the book says this; Tom Chaney raised his rifle and shot him in the forehead, killing him instantly. There was no provocation than that and I tell it as it was told to me (Portis 14).
This clearly shows that he just turned on Frank and did an idiotic thing, not knowing that Mattie would be on his trail. It hurt Mattie knowing that the person who killed her father acted as a typical, kind, and friendly adult that they could confide into. Frank Ross did nothing to aggravate Chaney, but he shot and robbed his friend anyway. This just shows how two-faced and hypocritical Tom Chaney really is. Throughout this book, it showed many examples of how your personality can have a direct affect on your behavior, and ultimately on peoples views of you. Mr. Chaneys three best descriptions are definitely of him being heartless, miserable, and hypocritical..
