However, the screenplay offers the sense of detachment earlier, by adding the small subplot between Cassie and Ennis. The detachment between to two is subtle in the short story, and cannot be fully understood until after Jack’s death.

The role of the waitress allows the writers to emphasize Ennis’ internal detachment from the man he truly is, and the longing for the man he truly loves, Jack. 19) However, McMurtry and Ossana took this single line and used it to develop the character, Cassie, in the screenplay. For example: “Ennis said he’s been putting the blocks to a woman who worked part-time at the Wolf Ears bar in Signal where he was working now for Stoutamire’s cow and calf outfit, but it wasn’t going anywhere and she has some problems he didn’t want.” (pg.

In Proulx’s story, characters other than Ennis and Jack are mostly referred to, or given glimpses of. 39) However, the screenplay stays true to the source material by paying more attention to the original main character, Ennis.Īnother element that is changed from the short story to the screenplay is the expansion or flushing out of characters. For example: “Jack, flattered by the attention of the rodeo queen and trying to show off, hangs on to a tough, spinning bull, actually makes a fine ride.” (pg. 16) The screenplay shares a similar perspective, but expands the view to include Jack Twist, moving between the lives of both men throughout the years. For example: “He had no serious hard feelings, just a vague sense of getting shortchanged, and showed it was all right by taking Thanksgiving dinner with Alma and her grocer and the kids, sitting between his girls and talking horses to them,, telling jokes, trying not to be a sad daddy.” (pg. Although, not told through Ennis’ eyes exactly, the reader is given access to his emotional state meaning his thoughts and feelings are explained more so than any other character.

One of the elements altered for the screenplay from the short story is the perspective which follows the main character, Ennis Del Mar over the course of twenty years. Although, only 28 pages in length the short story offered Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana source material that had potential to be expanded and to build upon the already created Midwestern reality. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx is a heart wrenching short story written with an intimate style that evokes clear imagery in the mind of the reader.

Brokeback mountain original short story