An explorer named Wade Davis once said, "Heroes are never perfect, but they are brave, they are authentic, they are brave, they are determined, they are discreet, and they have grit." Having grit and perseverance is also a common attribute of a quest hero, who is usually the star of quest novels. Charles Portis' Mattie Ross from the quest novel True Grit definitely falls into the quest hero category, and her secondary character Rooster Cogburn is clearly the wise old man type, with LaBoeuf fitting as the assistant or sidekick type. Mattie Ross, the protagonist of True Grit, clearly fits the description of the mission's hero. One aspect of quest heroes is that they see the need for change in their world. Something calls them to adventure, perhaps a spark from within the hero, which motivates them to seek the necessary change. In this novel, Mattie personifies these traits of the quest hero type. One way he fits the quest hero archetype is that he realizes the need for change when he learns of the lack of effort to imprison Tom Chaney, his father's killer. When she visits the Fort Smith deputy, he shows her the long list of desperate people to be captured before Tom Chaney. Avoiding responsibility, he claims that Tom Chaney “'is now the US Marshals' business'” (26). Clearly, her apathy toward working to arrest Tom Chaney won't help Mattie achieve her goals. An exasperated Mattie realizes that if she wants Chaney in prison, she has to take matters into her own hands. She swears, “I would never rest until that Louisiana dog roasted and screamed in hell” (25)! If necessary, Mattie will kill Chaney to answer the call for vengeance resulting from her intense hatred towards him for killing her fat darling in cold blood... in the middle of a paper trip. For example, when Mattie is seriously injured, Rooster reaches down to help her, but it is LaBoeuf who pulls them out, despite a serious head wound. Even though Rooster is primarily responsible for saving Mattie's life, he would not have been able to do so unless LaBoeuf had pulled them out of the godforsaken abyss of death. At first “LaBoeuf couldn't do it, weakened as 'he had a bad arm and a broken head. . . . 'I'll try the horse'” (244)! Ultimately, LaBoeuf successfully lifts Mattie out of the hole and helps her get one step closer to relief. LaBoeuf's additional knowledge and his vital contribution to the research proves that he is the helper in True Grit. Unquestionably, the characters in Charles Portis' True Grit really make it a quest novel with Mattie Ross as the hero, Rooster Cogburn intervening as the paternal sage. old and LaBoeuf as a driving type.