AP Paper Help, Please!!!
 

Hello everyone! After a long Christmas break, I'm back with a question I hope you guys can help me with.

I'm taking an Advanced Placement (AP) Literature and Composition class this year, and yesterday, my teacher sprang a major paper on us. (The first day back from Christmas break, too, but I go on!) What we need to do is take a novel, either from the class thus far or a teacher-approved one, and take a seemingly irrelevant scene, minor character or subplot in the book we chose and write a 5-7 page (double spaced) paper on if that scene/character/subplot is relevant or not to the story.

My book of choice: "Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx. (This is the same story that the film of the same name starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal is based on). This was just approved by the teacher today, and now I need to do research to back up my argument. What I want to describe the relevance or lack thereof here is the opening scene of the film, describing Ennis del Mar [Heath Ledger in the film] in what could assumingly be modern day or the purpose of del Marr's daughters, Alma and Denise. The research has to be primary (the book itself and/or something the author, in this case Ms. Proulx, has said about the story) and secondary sources-- modern day critics.

What I'm humbly asking my fellow NF members is: do you know of any websites or books that give either a critique or analysis of the story "Brokeback Mountain"? What research I did today yeilded mostly results on the film; while the screenwriters say they used every single line from the story in the film, I was still mildly disappointed with my results. I would greatly appreciate articles that are impartial to the social issues explored in "Brokeback," since I'm not arguing for/against homosexuality, just a detail in the story.

A million thanks to my fellow Never Forgotten users. I hope you guys can help me here. Thanks again!

ech, AP classes SUCK

you'll want to search for "literary criticisms" of the book. I am totally unfamiliar with this one. Sorry.

Ooh, I read the original story of Brokeback Mountain and it's pertaining anthology a couple of years ago, and I do remember similarly searching for some online critiques of Proulx's fiction in an effort to better understand a few of the stories (a lot of which were really interesting), largely fruitlessly. I personally hadn't been motivated by any academic pressures, so I do sympathise with you there, WiltsAKGirl.

I'm afraid I don't know many sources that deal specifically with the book, though there is a forum dedicated to Brokeback Mountain which may be better equipped to pointing you in some useful directions: http://www.davecullen.com/forum/

Other than that, all I can offer is an interview with Proulx herself, in which she discusses both her own story and its adaptation: http://www.slweekly.com/index.cfm?oI...FDDEE1949069CF

Sorry I can't be more of a help. Either way, I wish you the best of luck with your academic efforts. :D

Thanks to Partymember and jekylljuice for the tips and links-- I apprecite them, you guys!

I finally settled on my topic-- I'm arguing that the opening scene I mentioned in my first post is actually relevant to the plot, so if that helps anyone, please let me know. ;)

Again, thanks y'all!

This'll probably be the very last time this thread will ever be touched, but I wanted to update you guys on how I did one the paper.

I did very well-- I got an 87% My score got marked down because I didn't use any sources that weren't the book or Annie Proulx herself. Other than that, it was a nearly picture-perfect paper. I put it up on DA because for some odd reason, I felt compelled to share the paper with anyone who happened to stumble on my DA page. ::) If you're curious, it's over there. (Obviously I'm not including a link; besides, it'll stick out among all the Foster's Photoshop things.)

great job!

That's great, WiltsAKGirl17 - I'll have to check out your paper for myself later on. :D