How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I want him to know he is being punished for killing my father. It is nothing to me how many dogs and fat men he killed in Texas."
"You can let him know that," said Rooster. "You can tell him to his face. You can spit on him and make him eat sand out of the road. You can put a ball in his foot and I will hold him while you do it. But we must catch him first." (5.224-5)
Mattie doesn't just want Chaney dead—she wants him to know why he's dying. Sounds right: revenge is no good if the person being punished doesn't understand that he's done something wrong.
Quote #5
I would have Lawyer Daggett skin Rooster Cogburn and nail his venomous hide to the wall. The important thing was not to lose sight of my object and that was to get Tom Chaney. (5.250)
Yikes. We'd hate to see Mattie's burn book. Seriously, though: no matter how many vengeful threats Mattie makes, she saves her real vengeance for Chaney. Everything else is just bluster.
Quote #6
"See that you mend your ways, boy, or I will come back some dark night and cut off your head and let the crows peck your eyeballs out." (6.25)
Being vengeful doesn't mean you can't have a soft side, too. Here Rooster is threatening some youngsters that were amusing themselves by hurting a mule. He portrays himself as a kind of dark angel of vengeance. Here, his candy center and his crusty shell come together in the service of a helpless creature.