- In full:
- Charles McColl Portis
- Born:
- December 28, 1933, El Dorado, Arkansas, U.S.
- Died:
- February 17, 2020, Little Rock, Arkansas
Charles Portis
-
Who was Charles Portis?
Charles Portis (1933â2020) was an American novelist celebrated for his deadpan comic style, vividly drawn characters, and adventurous themes. His most famous work is True Grit (1968), which inspired two film adaptations.
After serving in the Korean War and graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Arkansas, Portis worked as a reporter before dedicating himself to fiction in 1964. His novels often feature naive protagonists encountering eccentric characters during their travels. Other notable works include Norwood (1966), The Dog of the South (1979), Masters of Atlantis (1985), and Gringos (1991). Throughout his career, Portis depicted the pursuit of belief or adventure as a key aspect of the American character.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What kind of books did Charles Portis write?
Charles Portis was an American novelist known for his deadpan comic tone, colorful characters, and spirit of adventure. His debut novel, Norwood (1966), tells the story of a naive ex-marine trying to collect a debt. True Grit (1968), his best-known work and considered his masterpiece, is set in 1870s Arkansas and follows a headstrong girl seeking to avenge her father's murder.
After a decade of inactivity, Portis returned with The Dog of the South (1979), a picaresque novel about a man's journey from Arkansas to Belize. Masters of Atlantis (1985) humorously depicts a secret society, and Gringos (1991) follows the quest for a lost city in Mexico. Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany (2012) contains essays and short fiction.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the story of 'True Grit,' and why is it popular?
True Grit, a novel by Charles Portis, tells the story of Mattie Ross, a headstrong 14-year-old girl, who seeks to avenge her father's murder. She hires Rooster Cogburn, a cantankerous U.S. marshal, to track down the killer, Tom Chaney. They are joined by La Boeuf, a Texas Ranger also after Chaney.
The novel combines elements of the Western genre with realism and wit, and it is considered Portis's masterpiece, earning comparisons to Mark Twainâs Huckleberry Finn. Its popularity led to two film adaptations, in 1969 and 2010. The 1969 film was a triumph for John Wayne, who won his only Academy Award for his performance as Cogburn.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Charles Portis's background influence his writing?
Charles Portis's background significantly shaped his writing. Growing up in small-town Arkansas during the Depression influenced his feel for regionalism and his ability to capture the eccentricities of Southern characters. His time in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War likely instilled in him a sense of discipline, adventure, and the absurd, which are palpable in his novels. His journalism career, including covering the civil rights movement, honed his observational skills and ear for dialogue, evident in his vivid characterizations and witty narratives. After a stint as a London-based reporter, Portis returned to Arkansas to write fiction full-time, drawing on his experiences and observations to create his distinctive literary voice.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What impact has Charles Portis had on American literature?
Charles Portis is an American novelist celebrated for his deadpan comic tone, vividly sketched characters, and adventurous spirit. True Grit, his best-known work, solidified his reputation, earning comparisons to Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
Portis's influence lies in his ability to blend genres, such as the Western, with realism and wit, appealing to a broad audience. His episodic narratives and memorable characters, often eccentrics and outcasts, highlight the restless pursuit of belief or adventure, which he saw as emblematic of the American character.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Charles Portis (born December 28, 1933, El Dorado, Arkansas, U.S.âdied February 17, 2020, Little Rock, Arkansas) was an American novelist whose works were admired for their deadpan comic tone, colourfully sketched characters, and spirit of adventure. He was best known for the novel True Grit (1968), which inspired two popular film adaptations (1969 and 2010).
Portis grew up in a series of small towns in southern Arkansas. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Korean War, eventually attaining the rank of sergeant. Upon his discharge in 1955, he enrolled in the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and he graduated with a bachelorâs degree in journalism three years later. Portis worked as a reporter for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Arkansas Gazette (now the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) before being hired in 1960 by the New York Herald-Tribune, for which he frequently covered the civil rights movement. In 1963 he was assigned to the newspaperâs London bureau, but he returned to Arkansas a year later to devote himself to writing fiction full-time.
Portis debuted as a novelist with Norwood (1966; film 1970), the tale of a cheerfully naive ex-marine who wanders from state to state in an attempt to collect a $70 debt. Though some critics found the novel to be thinly plotted, Portis was praised for his memorable characters, especially the numerous eccentrics and outcasts the protagonist encounters during his travels, and for his facility with dialogue. In True Grit, set in Arkansas in the 1870s, Portis told the unsentimental story of Mattie Ross, a headstrong 14-year-old girl avenging her fatherâs murder with the help of Rooster Cogburn, an ornery, grizzled deputy U.S. marshal. The novel borrows many of the stock conventions of the western genre but artfully combines them with both a realistic sense of place and a dry wit. Owing in part to its serialization in the Saturday Evening Post, True Grit became a best seller. Having earned comparisons to Mark Twainâs Huckleberry Finn, it is generally considered Portisâs masterpiece.
After more than a decade of virtual inactivity, Portis returned to the literary scene with The Dog of the South (1979). The picaresque novel follows a bookish manâs meandering journey from Arkansas to Belize in search of his estranged wife and his car. In the similarly episodic Masters of Atlantis (1985), Portis humorously skewered secret societies and cults with his depiction of an organization devoted to preserving the esoteric wisdom of the island of Atlantis. The quest for another ancient civilization, a lost city in the jungles of Mexico, animates the plot of Gringos (1991), which, like much of Portisâs work, is populated with an assortment of itinerant misfits. Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany (2012) contains various writings, including essays and short fiction. Throughout his oeuvre, Portis portrayed the restless pursuit of belief or adventure as emblematic of the American character.