Brokeback Mountain
The book opens up with the introduction of two main protagonists in the story, Jack and Ennis. Both men are school dropouts who spend most of their time working in different ranches. On one occasion, the two men are assigned to tending to the livestock of Joe Aguirre, a foreman living in Brokeback Mountain. This is the first time Jack and Ennis become acquainted.
Despite working in a few ranches, Ennis has never had to herd any cattle. However, Ennis takes the role of surveying the cattle while Jack remains in the camp preparing meals. One night, the two men get drunk and Ennis decides to stay at the camp rather than heading up the mountain to protect the sheep from coyotes. It was a cold night and the two men end up cuddling in one sleeping back. Jack and Ennis end up having sex. This is the first time Ennis has explored his homosexual desires.
Jack and Ennis continue their sexual relations over the course of the summer after which they descend from the mountain. They part ways and end up living completely different lives. They both get married and have children but live miles apart from each other. At one point, Jack visits Ennis and the two continue having a romantic relationship. Ennis and his wife grow apart and end up divorcing. Jack starts demanding more from Ennis who is reluctant to start a new life with Jack. The two men end up parting ways.
Time passes and Ennis receives a postcard he had sent to Jack before his visit stamped deceased. Jack died in an accident.
Them Old Cowboy Songs
This is perhaps the saddest story in the collection. The book tells a tale of Archie, a sixteen-year-old orphan, and Rose, his fourteen-year-old wife. The story is set in the 1800s in a homestead called Little Weed, named after the previous owner who starved to death. The gloom is still present in the homestead and seems to haunt the new occupants. Archie and Rose enjoy most of the summer with nights ending in lovemaking on their mattress which is spread on the floor.
The young couple adore each other and are hopeful of a better future together. However, their love story is cut short after Archie dies of pneumonia. Rose, who was pregnant at the time also dies. The people in the town are oblivious of their deaths until Archie’s neighbor finds Rose’s corpse.
The Great Divide
This story follows the newlywed couple, Hi and Helen Alcorn, who are determined to make a good life in their new environment. Hi is a calm, kind, and determined man who has spent time fighting the French in the Great War. Hi made it out of the army in good health, but he now walks with a limp. After his time in the war, Hi came back home and started a business of his own which failed not long after. He began another one and another, but they all met the same fate.
Hi is a hardworking man who wants to provide for his family. He is forced to choose between two occupations; herding sheep with his brother-in-law, Fenk Fipps, who he resents, or work in the coalmines. Fipps is an insensitive man who beats his wife and abuses the animals. Hi loves the outdoors and the freedom that comes with it. He, however, chooses to work as a coal miner rather than work with the brute, Fipps.
