Gretel Ehrlich's "About Men" and the myth of the cowboy

Ehrlich's "About Men"

Looking for Identity

The story is scripted in the first person and is likely to be from a woman's viewpoint. The dominant theme is about Gretel's attempt to undo the stereotypes hanging over male ranchers. She is an authority that is eligible to share her experiences because she has lived with male ranchers in Wyoming. She makes a valid attempt to paint a clearer picture that there is a lot more about ranching than the rough and tough impression that the world thinks about them. She highlights the fact that ranchers have their soft and caring side. For instance, she refers to one of the episodes in which she compares their strength to a form of disguised softness while their toughness is compared to a rare delicacy. Her position in view of the nature and character of ranchers is rather paradoxical. Although she knows a lot about ranchers and can even write about them, she is still an outsider in a way. She is a woman. She is trying to delve into the rancher's world, that is, the world of males. She cannot possible have a clear male perspective. The essay delves into the stereotypes that bedevil a cowboy or rancher. Gretel is making a spirited attempt at showing more than one side of a rancher. She attempts to bring to the world a side of cowboys that is not known about this group of people. The mention of the tern cowboy triggers certain thoughts; one to toughness is likely to think about toughness and roughness. The image of a horse is never far off. Gretel has made a spirited attempt to give the word more meaning to the word; that a cowboy can also mean a caring, gentle, nurturing and kind person (Watson, 2005).

Gretel must be lauded for the great imagery and pathos she applies in her account of the mysterious cowboy and the cigarette. The cowboy is depicted as independent, rough and tough as it has been the case in many ads. She explains that all the times she has assumed the cowboy stance; she feels the exact opposite of what people believe about them. She applies pathos in her account to cowboys as she knows them on the inside and how she relates with them. She describes them as a sweetheart on the inside; even though they may act tough and rough (Amanda, 2014).

Andre's Mother

Cal, who is Andre's lover, talks to Andre's mother about their relationship. He is the main character in the play and speaks the most. While the adaptation by PBS shows more signs of the drama that surrounds the death of Andre, the original version is based on confrontation. After the memorial held outdoors for his lover, Cal tells Andre's mother of her son's activities in the city of New York. Although other characters are present on the scenes, including Cal's father and the sister, they vanish and leave Cal alone in the company of Andre's mother. She is free to direct all her anger at her as she stands around and listens helplessly. All the characters are seen holding white balloons; a symbolic gesture in the memorials about Aids victims at the time. Another notable trend is that all the characters have names except one. Andre's mother is nameless. She is presented as silent and uncommunicative. She does not utter even a single word throughout the episode (Andre's Mother, n.d.). Reason for the above is, perhaps because words are powerful in Andre's Mother. Most characters are constantly trying to narrate their account of the experience they had with their lost male lover. Cal states that he cannot think of any terrific thing to say; others resonate. Author throws in a consolation statement while Penny, known for her sharp wits, releases her balloon with an exhortation that is rather scattered. She quips that she knows what Cal means about words. None of them can sufficiently describe the vacuum left by Andre. However, their spirited attempt to do it exudes an intimacy that ends up locking his mother out. She only looks on from a mental distance as everyone talks about her lost son with whom they were strangers in many respects. In the end, Andre's mother is left with Cal who engages in a deep monologue that popularised the play (Andre's Mother, n.d.).