How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
People do not give credence that a fourteen-year-old-girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it didn't happen every day. (1.1)
Bam. We don't waste any time getting our story started, and Mattie lets us know right away that she's out for blood. (Just imagine trying to do this with cell phones and Facebook—she wouldn't have made it out of Fort Smith before her mom was texting her that she was going to be SO GROUNDED if she didn't get back within 20 minutes.)
Quote #2
I said, "That is my father." I stood there looking at him. What a waste! Tom Chaney would pay for this! I would not rest easy until that Louisiana cur was roasting and screaming in hell! (2.19)
Revenge is a dish best served cold—or in Mattie's case, "roasting and screaming in hell." Notice how she doesn't spend any time agonizing about the right thing to do: it's black and white for her. Murder leads to revenge, just like eating an entire pizza leads to regret.
Quote #3
"I have left off crying, and giggling as well. […] Here is the money. I aim to get Tom Chaney and if you are not game I will find somebody who is game. I know you can drink whiskey and I have seen you kill a gray rat. All the rest has been talk. They told me you had true grit and that is why I came to you. I am not paying for talk." (5.109)
Mattie may be out for revenge, but she's not dumb—she knows she can't actually do it by herself. Instead, she hires Rooster. He's in it for the money and LaBoeuf is in it for the law—and Mattie is in it for the revenge. NBD. Whatever the motivation is, Mattie knows the end goal is the same.