Author Topic: The short story  (Read 21823 times)

Offline CarlaMom2

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The short story
« on: December 03, 2006, 02:55:42 pm »
Hi y'all,
     I am looking to get the original short story.  Can I just go to Barnes and Nobel?  What am I looking for when I get it?  I know they have the movie version of the book, but that's not what I want?  I am gonna try to go later on today so if anyone can let me know what I am looking for.....
Thanks, Carla

Offline Meryl

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Re: The short story
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2006, 03:05:08 pm »
Hi Carla, welcome to BetterMost!  8)

I have a small paperback published by Scribner that sells for $9.95 that is the story only.  The cover has the movie poster of Heath and Jake.

Additionally, you can look for the collection of stories by Annie Proulx titled Close Range: Wyoming Stories, also published by Scribner and selling for $14.00.  Brokeback Mountain is the last story in the collection.

Enjoy, and be sure to come back and post your thoughts.  There are plenty of threads here for that!  :)
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Offline Lynne

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Re: The short story
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2006, 03:08:05 pm »
Hi Carla!
Welcome to BetterMost!

You have a few choices for purchasing the story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx.  One is a paperback with just the story.  There is a Story to Screenplay that includes a later version of the movie screenplay and some interviews.  Also, it is in the collection of short stories called Close Range.  There is also a hardcover published by Scriber, which I didn't find on the B&N site and may be harder to find.  If you want that one, I would check other Internet retailers.  I found mine in Atlanta at a GLBT bookstore called 'Outwrite.'  :)

Enjoy!
Lynne
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Offline Shakesthecoffecan

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Re: The short story
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2006, 03:18:18 pm »
And don't forget your local library!
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Offline 2robots4u

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Re: The short story
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2006, 03:35:54 pm »
Welcome Carla...I also have the hardback published by Scribner which I bought from my Book-of-the Month Club, $11.95.  But I have seen it in my local discount book store, so if you have one of those (if you live in a small town it might not be easy to find), try there first, otherwise, try Borders, or perhaps e-Bay.  With these suggestions, I'm sure you will find it.  Good luck...Doug
 

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2006, 10:58:19 am »
I have a couple of questions about this...why do you suppose the collection in which Brokeback Mountain appears is called Close Range? Also, is there a discussion of the prologue anywhere? Thanks for any insights.
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2006, 12:03:38 pm »
I have a couple of questions about this...why do you suppose the collection in which Brokeback Mountain appears is called Close Range? Also, is there a discussion of the prologue anywhere? Thanks for any insights.

Can't say anything as to why Annie chose Close Range as the title for her short-story collection. Is it the title of a story in the collection? I think authors--or publishers--sometimes do that, take the title of one story in a collection and use it for the title of the entire collection. Or maybe it's because she's looking really closely at Wyoming people and their lives (think: "shot, or photographed, at close range")?

I don't remember a specific thread on the prologue, though I do remember a discussion about the story, as it appeared when it was first published in The New Yorker, where it did not have the prologue. That discussion went all the way back to IMDb. Maybe it made it to the archives here at Bettermost? I haven't looked.

As for that discussion, I remember speculations that I think were not resolved about whether Annie had written the prologue when she wrote the story, and The New Yorker cut it, or whether it was written later and added when the story was to be included in Close Range. I have a memory of reading somewhere that the prologue was written and added later, but I cannot document it.

If the prologue was written and added later, then my take on it is that it actually represents Annie's "sequel" to the body of the story, and that a significant amount of time has passed between the end of the story and the morning described in the prologue, possibly ten years or more. Why do I think that?

My opinion is based on Annie's physical description of Ennis as he gets out of bed that morning. Remember that Ennis and Jack were essentially the same age when they met in 1963, so they were also essentially the same age when Jack died (in 1983 in the story)--39 or 40-ish. While it's true that everyone ages differently and at different rates, it seems to me that the Ennis of the prologue is significantly older than the Ennis of the conclusion of the story because--forgive me for being graphic here--Annie describes his belly and pubic hair as having turned gray. That suggests to me that Ennis-in-the-prologue is in his late 40s at the youngest, if not older.

And he's still alone, with the shirts, in that ratty trailer which, apparently, doesn't even have a bathroom (more like a travel-trailer camper than a "house trailer").

(Incidentally, and not meaning to change the subject, make trouble, or open a can of worms  ::) , my take on the prologue is also why I do not personally consider fanfictions that feature Ennis finding another male lover to be "canon," (edit) or taking place within the "reality" or world of the story or film--because they do not comport with my understanding of Annie's take on Ennis's life after Jack.

Anyone curious about Brokeback Mountain-inspired fanfiction, check out the Fanfiction forum here at Bettermost.)
« Last Edit: December 04, 2006, 12:50:33 pm by Jeff Wrangler »
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2006, 12:17:23 pm »
Interesting observations about the prologue, Jeff. Tangentally, I was Googling the term close range, and came upon a movie by that name about a crime gang in Pennsylvania! Looks like an interesting movie.

If you wanted to do a nice favor, would you mind moving that last paragraph over to the fanfiction forum, because words like "canon" and "fanfiction" don't have any meaning for us people who are just trying to understand the words in the short story, and, in fact, are very confusing. Thank you very much.
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Offline CarlaMom2

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Re: The short story
« Reply #8 on: December 04, 2006, 12:18:51 pm »
Thanks guys,
    I actually read the story last night.  I had to go to Barnes and Nobel.  It was truly amazing.  Reading the powerful words and picturing the men in my head was very moving.  I'll probably read it a hundred more times, lol.  Thank you all for being so helpful.  

Offline Lynne

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Re: The short story
« Reply #9 on: December 04, 2006, 12:28:48 pm »
Terrific, Carla!

There seems to be two camps of folks around here - those who first read the story, then saw the movie.  And vice-versa.  I read the story first, myself, and it was a treasured companion in the long months between October 2005, when I first read it, and January 2006, when I saw the movie the first time.  I don't think there has ever been a movie/book combination that complements each other so perfectly.  My reading copy stays on my bedside table.  And my souvenier copy goes with me to Brokie meetings for autograph purposes.  ::)  Silly, huh?

-Lynne
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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The short story
« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2006, 12:56:54 pm »
I have a couple of questions about this...why do you suppose the collection in which Brokeback Mountain appears is called Close Range? Also, is there a discussion of the prologue anywhere? Thanks for any insights.

Brokebackjack posted that he saw Annie Proulx a few weeks ago. He asked her why the Prologue was not included in the New Yorker version of the story and she said it was a MISTAKE...it was not included by accident. When she received her copy of the magazine with the missing prologue, she almost had a stroke.

His comment is here:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=2833.msg115760#msg115760

and a longer commentary about the short story and the movie can be found here:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=2833.msg115579#msg115579

Leslie
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #11 on: December 04, 2006, 01:07:37 pm »
Thanks very much, Leslie. Of course, I didn't see that information when Jack first posted it. I will ask him if he wouldn't mind duplicating it over here.

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Offline louisev

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Re: The short story
« Reply #12 on: December 04, 2006, 01:09:19 pm »
I'll be glad to offer a simple explanation, boiled down from Wikipedia:

"Canon" is what the author wrote.

Because the author wrote both the New Yorker Version, AND the Close Range version (Close range contains some other changes besides the prologue), both stories may be considered equally "canonical."  As Leslie's link points out, Annie Proulx was NOT happy about the New Yorker leaving off the prologue because it was very important to her, thematically.

In terms of the screenplay, there are also two screenplays.  I have them both if anyone wants copies.

Fan fiction is written by other authors using the original author's characters, setting, and often some of the plot.

That should clear up the terms for anyone - so by the definition of "canon", there would be both short story versions, as well as both screenplays, though the second screenplay would be more authoritative since that contained the actual shooting script from which the film was made.
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #13 on: December 04, 2006, 01:25:04 pm »
I am reading from my dictionary, which is the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, and the definition of canon is "a regulation or dogma decreed by a church council." There are several other definitions of this word, but none of them have anything to do with what you're writing.

This topic is about the short story, NOT the screenplay or about fanfiction. Please delete any such references or move them to your own forum.
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Offline David

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Re: The short story
« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2006, 01:53:21 pm »
FREEZE!    Time out!   

Jeff Wrangler harmlessly mentioned Fanfic at the end of his post and suggested readers interested in that go check out some of the choices in the other threads.   Nothing more.

I think we can keep this "On Topic"  (Annes short story" without getting heated about it.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2006, 04:08:47 pm by DavidinHartford »

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: The short story
« Reply #15 on: December 04, 2006, 03:09:41 pm »

My reading copy stays on my bedside table.  And my souvenier copy goes with me to Brokie meetings for autograph purposes.  ::) 



Lynne, what a beautiful idea.  Makes me wish I had already done that when I met Brokies here in Seattle, and in Santa Monica and San Francisco.  But it's not too late for me to be ready for the next time I meet me some wonderful Brokies.  :)


Offline serious crayons

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Re: The short story
« Reply #16 on: December 04, 2006, 03:20:20 pm »
Without intending to offend anyone -- either fanfic fans or nonfans -- I would like to ask that we keep discussions of fanfic to the fanfic forum. I'm sure nobody meant any harm. For many Brokies, fanfic is enjoyable. But for others, the existence of fanfic is highly controversial, even objectionable. We don't all feel the same way about this; to each his/her own. This difference of opinions poses no problem when fanfic discussions remain on the fanfic forum, where people can read them or not, as they choose.

But when the subject is broached in posts on a forum devoted to discussions of the story and film, there is no way that people who object to fanfic references can steer clear of them, while continuing to participate in the topics at hand. That has caused distress to more than one BetterMost member. I'd like to respect those sensitivities by avoiding those situations.

Thanks!

 :)

Offline Lynne

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Re: The short story
« Reply #17 on: December 04, 2006, 03:26:35 pm »
Lynne, what a beautiful idea.  Makes me wish I had already done that when I met Brokies here in Seattle, and in Santa Monica and San Francisco.  But it's not too late for me to be ready for the next time I meet me some wonderful Brokies.  :)

Of course, Clarissa!  It's never too late.  Bring it to Virginia with you, please?  ;)

If the prologue was written and added later, then my take on it is that it actually represents Annie's "sequel" to the body of the story, and that a significant amount of time has passed between the end of the story and the morning described in the prologue, possibly ten years or more. Why do I think that?

My opinion is based on Annie's physical description of Ennis as he gets out of bed that morning. Remember that Ennis and Jack were essentially the same age when they met in 1963, so they were also essentially the same age when Jack died (in 1983 in the story)--39 or 40-ish. While it's true that everyone ages differently and at different rates, it seems to me that the Ennis of the prologue is significantly older than the Ennis of the conclusion of the story because--forgive me for being graphic here--Annie describes his belly and pubic hair as having turned gray. That suggests to me that Ennis-in-the-prologue is in his late 40s at the youngest, if not older.

And he's still alone, with the shirts, in that ratty trailer which, apparently, doesn't even have a bathroom (more like a travel-trailer camper than a "house trailer").

Hey there, Jeff,

I believe that the prologue is in essence an epilogue, regardless of when Annie wrote it or added it, for exactly the reasons you mention.  It's apparent to me that Ennis has lived with the pain of being without Jack for quite some time.  He seems to have been dealing with the dreams coming to him for a length of time such that he has made peace with them, considering himself fortunate when they're good and he can use them to 'stoke the day.'(?)  It's as if he's had enough time to develop rituals, if that makes any sense.

Regarding the trailer's bathroom - I suspect it has plumbing, but it's either not functional (likely), or Ennis is so apathetic about the state of his life that p*ssing in the sink seems like the thing to do (equallly likely IMO).

I love talking about the story...wish I had my copy at work - need a 3rd!

Lynne
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #18 on: December 04, 2006, 03:36:53 pm »
Brokebackjack posted that he saw Annie Proulx a few weeks ago. He asked her why the Prologue was not included in the New Yorker version of the story and she said it was a MISTAKE...it was not included by accident. When she received her copy of the magazine with the missing prologue, she almost had a stroke.

His comment is here:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=2833.msg115760#msg115760

and a longer commentary about the short story and the movie can be found here:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=2833.msg115579#msg115579

Leslie

Thanks for that, Leslie! You just increased my BBM knowlege base exponentially!

(I wish I could remember if 1997 was still within the Tina Brown regime at The New Yorker. In any case, standards have declined from the days of William Shawn's editorship.)
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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: The short story
« Reply #19 on: December 04, 2006, 03:46:47 pm »
Thanks for that, Leslie! You just increased my BBM knowlege base exponentially!

(I wish I could remember if 1997 was still within the Tina Brown regime at The New Yorker. In any case, standards have declined from the days of William Shawn's editorship.)

I was amazed to learn this tidbit of information. I have always assumed it was an editing decision to leave the prologue off. I couldn't believe a magazine of the stature of the the New Yorker would make this sort of egregious error.

No wonder Annie almost had a stroke!

L
« Last Edit: December 04, 2006, 03:51:03 pm by MaineWriter »
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #20 on: December 04, 2006, 03:49:54 pm »
Hey there, Jeff,

I believe that the prologue is in essence an epilogue, regardless of when Annie wrote it or added it, for exactly the reasons you mention.  It's apparent to me that Ennis has lived with the pain of being without Jack for quite some time.  He seems to have been dealing with the dreams coming to him for a length of time such that he has made peace with them, considering himself fortunate when they're good and he can use them to 'stoke the day.'(?)  It's as if he's had enough time to develop rituals, if that makes any sense.

True. I agree.

Quote
Regarding the trailer's bathroom - I suspect it has plumbing, but it's either not functional (likely), or Ennis is so apathetic about the state of his life that p*ssing in the sink seems like the thing to do (equallly likely IMO).

Both possible, perhaps even likely. It just reminds me of my grandparents' early travel trailer. It had a little kitchen sink--you hooked up a hose to the outside of the trailer--but no bathroom.

What I'm getting at is, this description in the story gives me a mental image of a set-up even worse than the trailer we see in the film. The stove where he reheats the left-over coffee (eew) is maybe not much more than a two-burner propane hotplate. He's living in it--perhaps for free--on the ranch where he has been working, which has just been sold--the owner left him the keys to turn over to "the real estate shark." It's just this dumpy, tiny, rusty old travel trailer that nobody wants anymore, maybe parked out behind the horse barn and surrounded with weeds. He doesn't even have a bathroom--has to use an outhouse somewhere and wash up at the tiny sink.

So all he really has are the shirts and his dreams and memories of Jack.  :(
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #21 on: December 04, 2006, 04:27:25 pm »
I was amazed to learn this tidbit of information. I have always assumed it was an editing decision to leave the prologue off. I couldn't believe a magazine of the stature of the the New Yorker would make this sort of egregious error.

No wonder Annie almost had a stroke!

L

Tell you what, taken at literal face value of the words, "they forgot to typeset it" sounds a little fishy to me. I mean, I don't know how The New Yorker works now, or how it worked in 1997, but--she didn't get proofs? Jesus H.! Notwithstanding that it's The New Yorker, I'd have had a stroke if I didn't get proofs. I believe she said what she said, but I'd think maybe an error like this was more likely to happen when the pages of the story were made up.

Folks, I'm not calling Annie Proulx a liar. I am making a technical distinction between setting the text of the story into type and actually arranging--or making up--the contents of the magazine for printing. After spending most of my working life in endeavors connected to writing, editing, and publishing, it seems very weird to me that she would not have been sent a proof, a preliminary copy of the story after it was first set into type, where it would have been hard to miss that the prologue wasn't there.

Or maybe there's just more to the story of the missing prologue that "we" haven't been told.
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Re: The short story
« Reply #22 on: December 04, 2006, 04:36:40 pm »
What I'm getting at is, this description in the story gives me a mental image of a set-up even worse than the trailer we see in the film. The stove where he reheats the left-over coffee (eew) is maybe not much more than a two-burner propane hotplate. He's living in it--perhaps for free--on the ranch where he has been working, which has just been sold--the owner left him the keys to turn over to "the real estate shark." It's just this dumpy, tiny, rusty old travel trailer that nobody wants anymore, maybe parked out behind the horse barn and surrounded with weeds. He doesn't even have a bathroom--has to use an outhouse somewhere and wash up at the tiny sink.

So all he really has are the shirts and his dreams and memories of Jack.  :(
It's also striking that there's no mention of a closet in the story trailer. Ennis hangs the treasured shirts, with the affixed postcard above them, directly onto the trailer wall. These very well may be the same shirts we read mentioned in passing in the prologue.

I agree that Ennis's situation seems much bleaker by the written story's end than in the film.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #23 on: December 04, 2006, 05:02:57 pm »
It's also striking that there's no mention of a closet in the story trailer. Ennis hangs the treasured shirts, with the affixed postcard above them, directly onto the trailer wall. These very well may be the same shirts we read mentioned in passing in the prologue.

I agree that Ennis's situation seems much bleaker by the written story's end than in the film.

Exactly! I've always understood that we are to take the shirts mentioned in the prologue to be the "Brokeback" shirts. Struck me, too, even the first time I saw the movie, that apparently in the story the shirts are hanging out in the open--not that Ennis probably has many visitors.  :(
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Re: The short story
« Reply #24 on: December 04, 2006, 06:19:46 pm »
I really wish some things in the book would have made it to the movie.  Like, Ennis telling Jack he should have never let him out of his sight.  Ennis telling Jack how bad he felt when they parted that first summer. 
I read the story the night before I saw the movie.  Didn't really soak it up. After seeing the movie the
first time, I was almost pissed at Ennis at the end.  I really got more of a sense of Ennis' pain in the story.
Then, I was able to go watch again and see how Heath was able to portray that pain in actions.


I also have always wondered about the time lapse between the end of the story, and the prologue in the
book.  I have always felt it was many, many years.  Many years of Ennis in pain ! Many years of lonliness
and regret.  Here come the tears !

Karen
 

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Re: The short story
« Reply #25 on: December 04, 2006, 06:34:34 pm »
Good observations, Karen. I felt the same way you did about movie Ennis. His reticence was emphasized more in the story, perhaps to contrast to Jack. The story was like Jack and ENnis together against a cruel world, while in the movie, it was almost like Jack and Ennis against each other. I like the way both the story and the movie were developed but when I think about Ennis and Jack, I prefer to think about them as they were in the story. Thanks for your eloquent post.
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karen1129

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Re: The short story
« Reply #26 on: December 04, 2006, 08:22:13 pm »
I have to say, the book certainly gave me more perpective on these two young mens bond.  They both came from undemonstrative homes.... poverty...
really had no prospects.......  but most importantly.... neither had EVER had
a friend.  Someone that listened and cared.  That part where Ennis goes back
to the sheep that one night after talking with Jack at camp..... he felt he could paw the white out of the moon.  He had never had that much fun before.
How sad is that ! 

Karen

Offline mlewisusc

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Re: The short story
« Reply #27 on: December 04, 2006, 11:12:42 pm »


Hey there, Jeff,

I believe that the prologue is in essence an epilogue, regardless of when Annie wrote it or added it, for exactly the reasons you mention.  It's apparent to me that Ennis has lived with the pain of being without Jack for quite some time.  He seems to have been dealing with the dreams coming to him for a length of time such that he has made peace with them, considering himself fortunate when they're good and he can use them to 'stoke the day.'(?)  It's as if he's had enough time to develop rituals, if that makes any sense.


I love talking about the story...wish I had my copy at work - need a 3rd!

Lynne

This is the first time I though about this, and to me it's a major insight.  The end of the story is pretty bleak, with Ennis alternating between joy and grief from his dreams of Jack.  The fact that the prologue assumes that ANY dream about Jack would "stoke" Ennis's day, and that's a revelation to me - but it makes sense, and a lot more sense, if the prologue is several years later than the end of the story.  I agree with this opinion.  Does that make it much more acceptable to everyone? ;)
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Offline fernly

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Re: The short story
« Reply #28 on: December 04, 2006, 11:28:11 pm »
As far as how many years, just a thought, what if when she wrote the prologue she was setting it in 'real time'? (It is written in present tense.) Close Range was published in '99. If she wrote it in 98, that would put Ennis around 54 or 55.

(and I'm going to repeat part of something I posted in another thread a couple months back) ...I think the fact that the prologue is in the present tense, in contrast to the past tense of the rest of the story (except maybe the very last sentence) underlines... that Ennis... is existing in a 'timeless', ever 'present' state, emotionally. Physically aging, physically moving to his daughter's and then another ranch, but his emotions and inner life always with Jack, even when the wind dies for a moment, leaving a "temporary silence."


« Last Edit: December 04, 2006, 11:31:21 pm by fernly »
on the mountain flying in the euphoric, bitter air

karen1129

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Re: The short story
« Reply #29 on: December 04, 2006, 11:36:33 pm »
As far as how many years, just a thought, what if when she wrote the prologue she was setting it in 'real time'? (It is written in present tense.) Close Range was published in '99. If she wrote it in 98, that would put Ennis around 54 or 55.

(and I'm going to repeat part of something I posted in another thread a couple months back) ...I think the fact that the prologue is in the present tense, in contrast to the past tense of the rest of the story (except maybe the very last sentence) underlines... that Ennis... is existing in a 'timeless', ever 'present' state, emotionally. Physically aging, physically moving to his daughter's and then another ranch, but his emotions and inner life always with Jack, even when the wind dies for a moment, leaving a "temporary silence."




Awwwwww.  That's beautiful !  So sad.

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #30 on: December 05, 2006, 12:21:34 am »
I second that. So sad, yet so true.
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Offline CarlaMom2

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Re: The short story
« Reply #31 on: December 05, 2006, 08:48:57 am »
"temporary silence"  I like that.  I think of Eniis at the end how bleak he was, too.  Think of him years down the road how truly empty his life was without JAck.  Even though they didn't see eachother everyday, he still had the next time he was to see JAck to hold on to.  Imagine how he was feeling not having that to hold on to or anyone else for that matter.  Depressing, huh? :'(

Offline David

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Re: The short story
« Reply #32 on: December 05, 2006, 09:01:17 am »
  That part where Ennis goes back
to the sheep that one night after talking with Jack at camp..... he felt he could paw the white out of the moon.  He had never had that much fun before.
How sad is that ! 

Karen

Karen,  that is one of a few KEY moments I wish they had put into the movie.    But I can imagine Ang couldn't figue out how to correctly depict that on film.   

There are so many little details in the story that are "thoughts" the boys have.   Probably near impossible to put on film without a narrator.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #33 on: December 05, 2006, 10:31:54 am »
Re: The trailer in the story vs. the trailer in the movie

Not to belabor the point, just wanted to add that when I was reading the story before bed last night, I rediscovered another detail. When Annie talks about the wind blowing around the trailer when Ennis wakes up that morning, she describes the sides/walls of the trailer as curved. That detail is probably what influenced me to visualize a small, ratty old travel-trailer, compared to the "house trailer" we see in the film.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline David

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Re: The short story
« Reply #34 on: December 05, 2006, 10:39:28 am »
Truth is,  when she writes about Ennis peeing in the sink it didn't even occur to me that the trailer didn't have a bathroom.     

I recalled a scene from "More Tales of the City" where a hired hit man pee'd in his sink because he was on the phone in the kitchen and had to pee.     Yes, a low class thing to do.   

I thought Anne was trying to show us how depressed Ennis was by his situation and environment.   Peeing in the sink implied he just didn't give a damn anymore.

Yes, I was disturbed when I read it.     It was a shocking contrast to the Ennis I saw in the movie who (early on) was always tucking in his shirt because he cared about looking presentable despite his meager income.

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #35 on: December 05, 2006, 10:53:58 am »
That's very interesting, Jeff, about the travel-trailer. Now that you mention it, the trailer seems to be almost a womb-like structure, like AP is "bookending" Ennis's life. And David, you also bring up an interesting point about the sink. This is the second or third time that a sink appears in the story; previously Alma is washing dishes in the sink while outing Ennis at Thanksgiving, and we are given a clue to its significance by her wrenching of the faucet and the gushing of the water as if calling out to its wild cousin, the mountain stream. Methinks the sink is related to that other container the bucket which we know is the vessel for the life-force. Containers are very important in the story. When Ennis is pissing in the sink, he's literally pissing his life away.  :'(
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #36 on: December 05, 2006, 10:59:38 am »
I thought Anne was trying to show us how depressed Ennis was by his situation and environment.   Peeing in the sink implied he just didn't give a damn anymore.

That's entirely possible. I recognize that sometimes I tend to be quite literal in my visualizations. In this case for me it's just that Ennis is naked when he gets out of bed, it's a cold and windy morning, the trailer doesn't have a bathroom, and he has to relieve himself, so. ...
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline David

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Re: The short story
« Reply #37 on: December 05, 2006, 11:09:45 am »
You are probably right Jeff.   An older trailer back then most likely didnt have a toilet.    And if you wake up and gotta pee real bad and its cold and windy out I can see Ennis taking the sink shortcut, especially if ya gotta pee and not enough time to get dressed to run for the outhouse.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #38 on: December 05, 2006, 12:03:17 pm »
You are probably right Jeff.   An older trailer back then most likely didnt have a toilet.    And if you wake up and gotta pee real bad and its cold and windy out I can see Ennis taking the sink shortcut, especially if ya gotta pee and not enough time to get dressed to run for the outhouse.

And at least he turns on the water. ...  ;D

In the end all I can really say is that "travel trailer" as opposed to "house trailer" is the visual image that Annie's writing evokes for me--and it amazes me the vivid images that she can evoke with such spare writing. Genius, just genius. ...
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline nakymaton

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Re: The short story
« Reply #39 on: December 05, 2006, 01:27:25 pm »
I always imagined an old Airstream trailer, for some reason. (Never been inside one, so I don't know what they've got in the way of sinks. But that's what image the "curved sides" brings up for me.)
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #40 on: December 05, 2006, 01:29:57 pm »
Hi, Mel! Happy day-after-the-full-moon!  8)

LOL, that airstream trailer belongs in our metal topic and our wind topic as well!!
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Offline Lynne

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Re: The short story
« Reply #41 on: December 05, 2006, 01:45:47 pm »
It was a shocking contrast to the Ennis I saw in the movie who (early on) was always tucking in his shirt because he cared about looking presentable despite his meager income.

This is another really good point, David.  I have a little different understanding of it, and this probably more rightly belongs in a movie thread instead of the short story, but what the hay? ::)

First, I'm thinking that Ennis' clothes don't fit well - he's long in the torso and his shirt keeps coming untucked.  He probably gets them as hand-me-downs or from a thrift store or someplace like that.  The loss of the shirt that Jack takes is significant to him - he thought it probably lost in some laundry years before - because he only has a few (2, 3?) shirts.

But I also think that in the movie, the constant tucking-in-the-shirt belies a discomfort with who he is - he's not comfortable in his own skin.
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #42 on: December 05, 2006, 02:03:41 pm »
I always imagined an old Airstream trailer, for some reason. (Never been inside one, so I don't know what they've got in the way of sinks. But that's what image the "curved sides" brings up for me.)

Mel, that's exactly the image I get--an Airstream!  :laugh:
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #43 on: December 05, 2006, 02:06:59 pm »
First, I'm thinking that Ennis' clothes don't fit well

Well, I think somewhere in the story there is a bit of description that indicates that Ennis is wearing a shirt that he's outgrown--like, at 19, he's still wearing a shirt made for a younger kid, undoubtedly because he couldn't afford to replace it. Poor kid. ...  :(
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

karen1129

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Re: The short story
« Reply #44 on: December 05, 2006, 02:32:39 pm »
Well, I think somewhere in the story there is a bit of description that indicates that Ennis is wearing a shirt that he's outgrown--like, at 19, he's still wearing a shirt made for a younger kid, undoubtedly because he couldn't afford to replace it. Poor kid. ...  :(

I'm sure any clothes he had were hand me downs from his older brother.  All he had in that sack was one shirt ! 

Offline nakymaton

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Re: The short story
« Reply #45 on: December 05, 2006, 02:43:18 pm »
Tell you what, it isn't actually the trailer or the dreams that make the prologue so sad for me... it's the "Give em to the real estate shark, I'm out a here." Times are changing in Wyoming... the ranches are being sold for housing developments, and there's less and less room for a man who knows the weather, knows animals, belongs to an older time and economic system. And yet they aren't changing enough: not long after the short story was published, Matthew Shepard was murdered for being gay. (I agree that the prologue is set in the 90's, or in the never-ending present.)

Ennis didn't just lose Jack. He's also losing his way of life.

(And about the shirt... at 19, men are still growing from gangly boys into men.)
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moremojo

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Re: The short story
« Reply #46 on: December 05, 2006, 02:46:44 pm »
Ennis didn't just lose Jack. He's also losing his way of life.
So true. I think that Larry McMurtry might have touched on this theme in some interviews, intimating that the story is in part about a changing Western landscape and culture. The story, in more ways than one, is a story of death.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #47 on: December 05, 2006, 03:03:46 pm »
So true. I think that Larry McMurtry might have touched on this theme in some interviews, intimating that the story is in part about a changing Western landscape and culture.

I've read someplace, too, that Annie is interested in that--people in changing economic atmospheres--in her other work, too.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

moremojo

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Re: The short story
« Reply #48 on: December 05, 2006, 03:09:49 pm »
I've read someplace, too, that Annie is interested in that--people in changing economic atmospheres--in her other work, too.
Yes, I think I've seen something like that also, Jeff. McMurtry and Annie seem to be on the same wavelength in so many ways; I remember reading McMurtry express surprise and envy that the story of 'Brokeback Mountain' never issued from his mind and pen, considering his expertise in Western history and culture.

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: The short story
« Reply #49 on: December 05, 2006, 03:34:28 pm »
Here's a slightly different way that I see what's described in the prologue (or epilogue that's placed at the beginning).

Ennis is all about economy - the economy of saving last night's coffee, of using a pan that most of us would have thrown out or given away a long time ago, the economy of motion when he pisses in the sink because it's right there to use (and it does make me assume that there is no toilet in the trailer).  The economy of knowing how to use the dream of Jack just right, so that it stokes his day.  He doesn't dive into the remembrance of the dream too fast and use it up, he economizes.

And while I sure don't ever wish for the life he has in that trailer, I actually get the sense that even though he's living this very isolated life in this wind- and gravel-battered micro-trailer, that that's not too bad in his book, because he is living more in his memories of his times with Jack, than he is in this present-day world.  So it doesn't matter (much) if he has very little, or that he's about to be uprooted to his married daughter's, because his valuables are completely portable and ever-present.

Offline Lynne

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Re: The short story
« Reply #50 on: December 05, 2006, 03:44:23 pm »
So it doesn't matter (much) if he has very little, or that he's about to be uprooted to his married daughter's, because his valuables are completely portable and ever-present.

Excellent point, Clarissa:  "Don't got nothin', don't need nothin'" materialistically speaking.
"Laß sein. Laß sein."

Offline nakymaton

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Re: The short story
« Reply #51 on: December 05, 2006, 03:58:43 pm »
So it doesn't matter (much) if he has very little, or that he's about to be uprooted to his married daughter's, because his valuables are completely portable and ever-present.

But what if he loses a place to park his trailer?

I have this sad image of Ennis shuffled off into an apartment complex in some small suburb. No horse trailer in the wind, because there isn't a place for the horses, and he can't afford to board them.

Yeah, he doesn't need or want much from life. But what if the new landowners put in development with a covenant that bans run-down trailers?

See: Jackson Hole.

I'm interested in the same themes that get Annie Proulx and Larry McMurtry going. But I think that Ennis is a particularly interesting character, because he's so appealing compared to Proulx's other characters. (Though I've only read a page of Postcards.) And there's this really sad irony, that there's this liberalization that comes to mountain towns with development. (Guess which towns in Colorado voted "no" on the anti-gay-marriage amendment? Guess which communities in Wyoming vote Democrat? And guess what the relative costs of housing are in those places compared to more conservative communities?) And it ought to benefit Ennis... but would it?

Would Ennis's daughters have taken him to see BBM?
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Offline Shakesthecoffecan

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Re: The short story
« Reply #52 on: December 05, 2006, 04:16:39 pm »
When I think about the wind blowing down the curved length of the trailer, I have a vision of the type of trailers below. I imagine on a ranch they would have a few old trailers like these in leiu of a bunkhouse or something else.

I wonder if Ennis's daughters themselves would have gone to see the movie.
"It was only you in my life, and it will always be only you, Jack, I swear."

moremojo

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Re: The short story
« Reply #53 on: December 05, 2006, 04:26:05 pm »
When I think about the wind blowing down the curved length of the trailer, I have a vision of the type of trailers below. I imagine on a ranch they would have a few old trailers like these in leiu of a bunkhouse or something else.
My God, those trailers are so tiny; the movie trailer looks downright palatial in comparison. It's really painfully sad to imagine Ennis (or anyone, for that matter) having to call such small quarters home. We know that Ennis is a man of simple tastes, but one still wishes some comfort for that time-weathered ranch hand.

I really liked Clarissa's suggestion that Ennis's treasures have no need of material accoutrements; that does soften the sense of grief I feel for the poor guy. He has known a richness of the heart that even princes do not acquire.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #54 on: December 05, 2006, 04:31:42 pm »
Excellent point, Clarissa:  "Don't got nothin', don't need nothin'" materialistically speaking.

I know it's beside the point, but, tell you what, at times there is a part of me that envies Ennis living life with the minimum, unencumbered with a lot of cr*p.  :-\
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #55 on: December 05, 2006, 04:35:00 pm »
Would Ennis's daughters have taken him to see BBM?
Yes, daddy, they would've. I love this thought!!

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Offline nakymaton

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Re: The short story
« Reply #56 on: December 05, 2006, 04:40:47 pm »
My God, those trailers are so tiny; the movie trailer looks downright palatial in comparison. It's really painfully sad to imagine Ennis (or anyone, for that matter) having to call such small quarters home. We know that Ennis is a man of simple tastes, but one still wishes some comfort for that time-weathered ranch hand.

Remember that his best times were spent in a tiny tent, though.

Alma's the one who wanted stuff. Screw stuff. Bedroll's big enough.

(Though it's easier to say that at 19 than at 40 or 60!)
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Offline serious crayons

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Re: The short story
« Reply #57 on: December 05, 2006, 05:05:25 pm »
When I was about 19, I knew some guys who had to leave town in a hurry and were able to throw everything they had into a VW bug and hightail it. I always thought that was so cool. And now, that any move for me entails weeks of packing and organizing and a van's worth of space, I think it's even cooler.

Not to say I'm envying Ennis his lifestyle, but there is a certain romantic appeal to being so unencumbered ...

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #58 on: December 05, 2006, 05:11:45 pm »
When I was about 19, I knew some guys who had to leave town in a hurry and were able to throw everything they had into a VW bug and hightail it. I always thought that was so cool. And now, that any move for me entails weeks of packing and organizing and a van's worth of space, I think it's even cooler.

You should tell that story some time, Katherine. Sounds like some high class entertainment!  :)

Quote
Not to say I'm envying Ennis his lifestyle, but there is a certain romantic appeal to being so unencumbered ...

Makes you think of Thoreau: "I went to Brokeback Mountain because I wished to live deliberately."
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline nakymaton

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Re: The short story
« Reply #59 on: December 05, 2006, 05:16:25 pm »
When I was 22, I threw all my gear into two backpacks and climbed into a helicopter, to be dropped off in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness.

Two weeks later, we ran out of food.

Sometimes, living deliberately isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I can understand why movie-Jack and movie-Ennis traveled with lawn chairs by the end of the movie. :D
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #60 on: December 05, 2006, 10:10:40 pm »
I guess right from the get-go, with my first reading of the story back in 1997, I've always understood Ennis as somebody who is content without a whole lot of stuff. He steps around in worn boots, worn jeans, and a worn shirt year in and year out, and while maybe he can't afford lots of new things, I have somehow got the impression that maybe being poor and broke doesn't really bother him much on a daily basis--he doesn't really think about it very often--just accepts it--until Jack seems not to understand why he can't get away in August.

I'm tempted to add a caveat to that last statement, that on the basis of his response to Jack, maybe he is beginning to mind it more as he gets older, but then, in the prologue, we don't get any real sign of discontent with his situation, just a matter-of-fact acceptance of the situation. So maybe his response to Jack was an anomaly.

Anyway. the story has always left me with an understanding that Ennis really enjoys ranch work. He just tolerated his job on the highway crew but also worked weekends at the Rafter B in exchange for boarding his horses there. Apparently he is good with horses and was a good judge of horse flesh ("The string of spare horses included a mouse-colored grullo whose looks Ennis liked." Contrast Jack, who, for his primary mount, picked a horse with a low startle point.). I think if Ennis is left alone to work with cattle and horses, he's basically content with his life. Alma is the one who resents his preference for ranch work.

And, earlier this evening, reflecting on Alma's resentment at Ennis's preference for ranch work instead of something that was steady and paid better, I suddenly had the thought: What did Alma Beers think she was getting when she married Ennis del Mar?

I'm not talking sexuality here, I'm talking economics. If Alma was ambitious to improve her economic position, couldn't she see before she married Ennis that he was happy with ranch work? What was she thinking?

And that thought led me to another rumination: Folks have speculated that Ennis's brother and sister may have pushed him into marriage. While I've never felt that way, that's fine, but the thought has now occurred to me: What if Alma pursued Ennis until Ennis caught her::)  What if she kept after him until Ennis, aware that she was marriage minded, took the path of least resistance and asked her to marry him?

Just speculating, but we really don't know anything about the details of their courtship, only that they were already engaged when he took the summer job on Brokeback Mountain.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline mlewisusc

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Re: The short story
« Reply #61 on: December 05, 2006, 11:50:42 pm »
I wanted to say regarding stuff, that you don't own things, they own you.  That being said, I'm about as typically American in this regard as any other red-blooded capitalist treadmill mouse, and have WAY more stuff than I can ever use.  Can't never seem to get out of a Target store for less than two bills.

Anyway, I LOVED Clarissa's insight on the Economy of Ennis; but I'm now enchanted with Jeff's new ideas here about Alma and Ennis - what did she see in him?  The muscular and supple body?  He's an orphan.  Maybe she wanted to "mother" him?  Alma pursuing a passive Ennis does not fit with my image of a man who Ms. P describes as running full throttle on all roads, whether fence mending or money spending.  I'm trying to think through the rest of the story, and I almost wanted to say he's an initiative type of guy - but maybe that impression is more from the film.  Besides, Jack is the initiator of the main sexual action, right? (Although Ennis certainly showed initiative and determination in finishing it! ;D)  Jack is the one who makes the proposal to have "some sweet life." 

Can we make any hay out of the fact that Ennis's marriage to Alma was presumed (and this presumption reinforced) from the very beginning of the story?  And here's another thought on the "enterprising Ennis" wavelength - he (like Jack) is described as saving for a small spread of his own - but unlike Jack, he has actually put two five dollar bills in a tobacco can!  Or maybe, that's ironic - he's so far behind he's never gonna get there.

Here's another couple thoughts (the're coming a little random tonight, folks).  Jack offers Ennis, in the proposal at the motel, what he was described as wanting at the very beginning of the story, namely a spread of his own.  Ennis apparently gave up this idea once he got Alma pregnant.  Did we decide on the random thoughts about the story thread that Ennis and Alma would naturally have gotten pregnant just as soon as they were married (e.g., naturally meaning this was expected culturally), OR did we decide Ennis was "proving" his heterosexuality by getting her pregnant so fast?

Perhaps, in reaction to what he experienced on the mountain, he consciously or unconsciously gave up his dreams for a place of his own in order to get Alma pregnat fast and prove to himself he wasn't queer.  Remember in the motel he says it took him nearly a year to figure out that separating from Jack made him sick - just about a month before Junior was born!

Did Alma want a kid maker for a husband?  I'm thinking maybe not - maybe, she wanted a ranch owner, but he got her pregnant too fast for their plans to be laid . . . Now a good potential objection to this is her comment about "no more lonsome ranches," but I have a plausible explaination for that comment as well.  Once Alma got pregnant and had kids, she abandoned any dreams she shared with Ennis of the Del Mars having a ranch of their own, and focuses just on what's best for the kids . . .

I'm still chewing on what Alma saw in Ennis . . .  ???
"Good enough place" - Ennis del Mar

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #62 on: December 06, 2006, 12:12:14 am »
I don't know, Mark. Ennis does run full throttle, but he has to get started first. Look at the context of that line. Jack took the initiative, only then did Ennis put the pedal to the metal. Why couldn't Alma have played a similar role?

I guess I could say I've felt the two five-dollar bills in the tobacco can has always struck me as ironic--except that for me, "irony" usually has about it a touch of at least wry humor, if not a touch of nastiness, and in my particular case, the five dollar bills in the tobacco can have just made me sad because I think it illustrates the unreality of Ennis's hope for his own spread right from the beginning. Plus, it reminds me of my late boyfriend, who, poor kid, thought he would be able to save enough money to go the Olympics in Australia by throwing his spare change into an old pickle jar. Just as unrealistic as Ennis's fivers in the tobacco can. But that's just something I bring to the story.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline nakymaton

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Re: The short story
« Reply #63 on: December 06, 2006, 01:44:03 am »
I never really considered myself the marrying type (at least I didn't at Alma's age; too many other things to do in life than get saddled with a man and kids!), so maybe I'm not a good person to try to make sense of Alma.

But...

I don't think that 19- (or younger) year-old girls are that aware of what they want from their potential husbands. They want a husband, that's it, before they're too old to attract someone. And a husband is supposed to come with the whole nuclear family thing, a comfortable home, kids, etc. But I'm not sure that girls that young really are aware of the men they chase as human beings, as people who have their own dreams and talents.

Or at least, that was my impression of the girls I went to high school with. (The ones that got married young, and then got divorced young.)

So I think Alma might have seen Ennis as available, as the appropriate age, probably as attractive. (Movie certainly; harder to tell about the story.) But beyond that... I doubt that Alma really had plans for what she wanted out of life, beyond general dreams of a typical family life. I think she probably discovered that she and Ennis weren't really all that compatible (even without considering the fact that Ennis was in love with a man) until they had been married for a while, and all those romantic dreams turned out to be just dreams.
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Re: The short story
« Reply #64 on: December 06, 2006, 02:05:02 am »
yes, and we know nothing of her home life...her childhood. she may have wanted to be married because that was what you did...especially in that era. Before women's lib hit she had few options.

Offline CarlaMom2

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Re: The short story
« Reply #65 on: December 06, 2006, 08:37:50 am »
I agree about Alma getting marries because that's what people did.  I also think like Cassie she wished she could bring more out of Ennis and change him to the man she needed him to be.  As we know there was no changing him.  Eveb Jack only got so far.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #66 on: December 06, 2006, 09:32:54 am »
yes, and we know nothing of her home life...her childhood. she may have wanted to be married because that was what you did...especially in that era. Before women's lib hit she had few options.

That's kind of how I've felt about Ennis, too--he got married because that's what people did.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: The short story
« Reply #67 on: December 06, 2006, 11:00:21 am »
My impression is that both Ennis and Alma got married and started having kids because that's what young people in their culture did automatically. Maybe their siblings got them together or they met at the church picnic, but I don't think it would have taken much beyond that, on either side, to set the ball in motion. Not because either was particularly enthusiastic, but because what else would they do? Once they started seeing each other, marriage would come next on the agenda, and then a home and children. Really their only alternative in them days would have been finding different people, not a different lifestyle. Not getting married at all would have been unthinkable.

As for why they picked each other specifically, well, they were both, as Alma Jr. said in the movie, "good enough."
In a town that small, they probably didn't have a very wide choice. Neither one was thinking too hard at that point about whether this person was a good match, whether their hopes and reams were compatible, whether their financial future would be secure.

As for saving for a ranch, I get the impression that was sort of automatic, too. A 19-year-old probably doesn't plan on working as a ranch hand most of his life. Especially if his parents owned a ranch of their own. So he naturally thinks in terms of saving for a ranch, however unrealistic that might be given his income and the family he soon has to support.

Offline southendmd

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Re: The short story
« Reply #68 on: December 06, 2006, 11:24:52 am »
I agree, Katherine.

A small town in a sparsely populated state:  do the math!  A little like musical chairs, hurry up and partner up before you're an "old maid", or a "confirmed bachelor".  Neither of which would have been easy to deal with.


Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The short story
« Reply #69 on: December 06, 2006, 11:53:51 am »
Just a small interruption here: Congratulations katherine on your 2200th post! Also see my message in "Introduce Yourself."
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline nakymaton

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Re: The short story
« Reply #70 on: December 06, 2006, 05:33:28 pm »
So we've been talking about the prologue. Clarissa (Ellemeno)'s sig reminded me of another moment in the story that isn't in the film: the moment when Ennis buys the postcard.

Clarissa's sig: "One's enough," said Ennis.

I was trying to remember where in the story that came, and then it hit me: that's Ennis buying the postcard. And taken out of context, the line takes on a whole new meaning. (Especially when added to the earlier sentence about visiting every mountain range in Wyoming, but never going back to Brokeback Mountain.)

 :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #71 on: December 06, 2006, 07:57:29 pm »
Tell you what, "One's enough" could apply to Ennis's relationship with Jack, too. You find that one great love in your life, and it can be enough, even if your lover dies. You can continue to live on the memory of it for the rest of your days. :-\
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline CarlaMom2

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Re: The short story
« Reply #72 on: December 06, 2006, 08:31:49 pm »
"One's enough"  Love is so strong.  I feel I have the stregnth to do it once.  If anything happened to my husband(God forbid)  that would be it for me.  Love is great, but it is also hard work to keep it great, you know?

I think Ennis felt himself only "once."

Offline mlewisusc

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Re: The short story
« Reply #73 on: December 07, 2006, 04:17:20 am »
"One's enough."  Good catch, gang.  And if it was Jack F***in Twist, I would say one's enough in more ways than one! :laugh:
"Good enough place" - Ennis del Mar

Offline BBM-Cat

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Re: The short story
« Reply #74 on: December 14, 2006, 02:24:26 am »
Hi Carla!
Welcome to BetterMost!

You have a few choices for purchasing the story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx.  One is a paperback with just the story.  There is a Story to Screenplay that includes a later version of the movie screenplay and some interviews.  Also, it is in the collection of short stories called Close Range.  There is also a hardcover published by Scriber, which I didn't find on the B&N site and may be harder to find.  If you want that one, I would check other Internet retailers.  I found mine in Atlanta at a GLBT bookstore called 'Outwrite.'  :)

Enjoy!
Lynne

Hello, BBM newbie here - just glad to be here one year later...   After seeing the movie for the first time, which version of the short story would you (or anyone else) recommend reading first? Thank you.
Six-word Stories:  ~Jack: Lightning Flat, lightning love, flat denied   ~Ennis: Open space: flat tire, tire iron?

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: The short story
« Reply #75 on: December 14, 2006, 07:28:23 am »
Hello, BBM newbie here - just glad to be here one year later...   After seeing the movie for the first time, which version of the short story would you (or anyone else) recommend reading first? Thank you.

Hi BBM-Cat,

welcome to BetterMost. Make yourself at home. Have a cup of coffee, piece of cherry cake?

There's only one version of the short story (except for The New Yorker, where the prologue is missing). It's only in different books.

You can either buy the book Close Range- Wyoming stories by Annie Proulx. It conatains a collection of diffferent short stories, all from Wyoming. BBM is the last one in the collection.

Or you can buy the story-to-screenplay book. It contains the original short story (same as it is included in Close Range, too), the screenplay for the movie and three essays fom Annie Proulx, Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry. And some pics of the movie.

I'd recommend the story-to-screenplay book first. I liked reading the screenplay too. The essay from Annie Proulx is very informative and a great read. I also liked Ossana's essay, McMurtry's not so much.

This is how the story-to-screenplay book looks:

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0743298152.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_V65787542_.jpg

I have also the Close Range collection and can recommend this, too. The other Wyoming stories are a good read too (but they don't have to do anything with BBM, mind you). But at first I'd buy the STS book.


Edited to erase a mistake
« Last Edit: December 14, 2006, 03:56:32 pm by Penthesilea »

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #76 on: December 14, 2006, 10:21:32 am »
Hello, BBM newbie here - just glad to be here one year later...   After seeing the movie for the first time, which version of the short story would you (or anyone else) recommend reading first? Thank you.

I'll add my vote to recommending you get a copy of Story to Screenplay. It's an invaluable resource. No Brokie home should be without it.  ;D (And, if you can find and/or want to spring for the hardback version, the pictures from the movie in the hardback version are in color!)

Of course, it's also nice to have a copy of just the story--handy to carry with you in purse, briefcase, or backpack!  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline BBM-Cat

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Re: The short story
« Reply #77 on: December 14, 2006, 05:04:22 pm »
Thank you - you guys are awesome!! I appreciate being pointed in right direction and cannot wait to read both the short story and the story to screenplay versions. Having seen the movie first, are there many significant differences between the text and movie versions? I realize this is probably addressed in another forum - but if you have a nutshell opinion...

Thanks for the hospitality - I'd  better hold off on the coffe and piece of cherry cake for now, as I have a couple of books to order!

Hi BBM-Cat,

welcome to BetterMost. Make yourself at home. Have a cup of coffee, piece of cherry cake?

There's only one version of the short story (except for The New Yorker, where the prologue is missing). It's only in different books.

You can either buy the book Close Range- Wyoming stories by Annie Proulx. It conatains a collection of diffferent short stories, all from Wyoming. BBM is the last one in the collection.

Or you can buy the story-to-screenplay book. It contains the original short story (same as it is included in Close Range, too), the screenplay for the movie and three essays fom Annie Proulx, Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry. And some pics of the movie.

I'd recommend the story-to-screenplay book first. I liked reading the screenplay too. The essay from Annie Proulx is very informative and a great read. I also liked Ossana's essay, McMurtry's not so much.

This is how the story-to-screenplay book looks:

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0743298152.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_V65787542_.jpg

I have also the Close Range collection and can recommend this, too. The other Wyoming stories are a good read too (but they don't have to do anything with BBM, mind you). But at first I'd buy the STS book.


Edited to erase a mistake
Six-word Stories:  ~Jack: Lightning Flat, lightning love, flat denied   ~Ennis: Open space: flat tire, tire iron?

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The short story
« Reply #78 on: December 14, 2006, 05:15:00 pm »
Thank you - you guys are awesome!! I appreciate being pointed in right direction and cannot wait to read both the short story and the story to screenplay versions. Having seen the movie first, are there many significant differences between the text and movie versions? I realize this is probably addressed in another forum - but if you have a nutshell opinion...

My hasty nutshell view is that you will rarely find a film as close to its literary source as Brokeback Mountain--and yet the film adds astonishing depth to an already very deeply moving story.

Read the essays in Story to Screenplay by Annie Proulx and Diana Ossana. They greatly reward the effort.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: The short story
« Reply #79 on: December 14, 2006, 05:27:42 pm »
Having seen the movie first, are there many significant differences between the text and movie versions? I realize this is probably addressed in another forum - but if you have a nutshell opinion...

Thanks for the hospitality - I'd  better hold off on the coffe and piece of cherry cake for now, as I have a couple of books to order!

You're welcome. It's always a pleasure to see people who have just newly discovered BBM and are now going through similar experiences like I have/we have. And don't be afraid to ask questions that (might) have been asked before. You'll find someone who is willing to share his opinion once more or to point you into the right direction, where you can find answers.

Are there many significant differences between story and movie?
Yes and no. Or maybe I'd better say no and yes  ;) because my first impression was that movie and story are very similar; that the movie is very true to the story (and it indeed is!).

But the deeper you dig in it, the more differences you will find.

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: The short story
« Reply #80 on: March 30, 2007, 02:26:21 pm »
Bump!!
 8)
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