Rooster's Character

Who is Rooster? What are your first impressions of him?
When Mattie Ross’ father dies she wants justice. She goes to the sheriffs’ office asking if the local sheriff can help her avenge her father’s death. He said he could not because the person who had killed her father fled to Indian Territory. Ross asked if there was anyone who could help her find her father’s killer. The local sheriff recommended Rooster. Rooster is the toughest, meanest, and most straightforward marshal of them all. He is the man who brings in the prisoners who have escaped and fled to Indian Territory.
When Ross first encounters Rooster, he is bringing the prisoners in. He is yelling at the prisoners. At this instance, it seems as if Rooster has a low tolerance level and is not willing to put up with laziness and falling behind. Ross’ second encounter with Rooster is when he is testifying in court. He is being accused of murder. When Rooster walks up to take the stand he has confidence. It seems as if he knows that he is not going to be proven guilty. When he gets to the stand, Rooster is quickly being accused of many things. If any other person were to be accused like Rooster was, they would crack under pressure. Even Rooster’s attorney gets nervous. The prosecutor asks Rooster how many people he killed and Rooster strayed away from the question. This proves that Rooster is clever and he is not going to directly answer the question because he knows that it is possible for him to be proven guilty and he is going to do everything in his power to avoid that. It also seems as if Rooster is a strong advocate for self-defense. When he is asked how many people he kills, he does not directly answer, but after many more questions Rooster admits that he has killed a lot of people only out of self-defense and the protections of others.
Rooster is a strong man who is very intimidating. One should know not to get in the way of him. When one first see’s Rooster they will probably realize that he is a man of few words, but huge actions.