Creative Non Fiction and Essays

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).

Part II

Teenagers often wonder who they are. I struggled with my sense of identity while I grew up. It was one of the main challenges that I faced. My identity tended to shift from one group to another. One feels lost at such times. Ironically, I think that the way that teenagers lose themselves is part of the journey to find their real selves later. They experiment with several things, including rebellion, imitation, and the ever changing attitude and image. These changes are thought to be essential before they figure out what they really want in life. The parents who understand this state of affairs also know that they have to give their children space to discover themselves. It is clear that parents cannot choose the identities of their children as they must find it on their own (Mullins, n.d.).

Discussion 2

Andre's Mother