Essay 4

Nowadays, homosexuality is not strange, but it still is weird for some people because some people still keep their conservation mind. Some countries declare that homosexuality is legal, and homosexual people can marry and show their love in public. However, when we go back to the mid twentieth century, homosexuality was not accepted. Homosexual people could be beaten to dead, so they often had to hide their real feelings. Homophobia was a typical response that was shown clearly in “Brokeback Mountain” a movie by Ang Lee which is the story of the love of two gay men Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Heath Ledger). However, their love wasn’t accepted by society, and Jack was eventually beaten to dead. This story is really a tragedy that is analyzed clearly in "An Affair to Remember" by Daniel Mendelsohn. He argued effectively in three points that are Jack and Ennis pretended that they were not gay people, their love has no outlet, and they had wrong perception. The first point Mendelsohn makes effectively is that both Jack and Ennis pretend that they were not gay people when they live in Wyoming by marrying a wife and flirting some girls. They must do that because their society doesn't accept the love of gay people. Indeed, Mendelsohn wrote that "If Jack and Ennis are tainted, it is not because they are gay, but because they pretend not to be; it's the lie that poison everyone they touch". He shows that Jack and Ennis loved each other, but their love was illegal in their society. Therefore, they pretended to be real men in order to not face social repercussion. It is terrible for both Jack and Ennis because they pretended to flirt and love girls without their feeling, which they felt they had to do to make their neighborhood think they are not gay. This is really a poison that hurt many people including their wife. Indeed, Mendelsohn wrote that "By the end of the drama, indeed, whole families have been laid waste. Ennis's marriage to a conventional, sweet-natured