Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
"I was supposed to control the weather"... Jack and the Wind
starboardlight:
--- Quote from: ruthlesslyunsentimental on June 27, 2006, 01:49:17 am ---I come upon a thread here about the harmonica and I posted a response. atz75 responded to my post by telling me about this thread and suggested that I re-post my comment over here... so here I am...
I think the harmonica continues the Jack as Wind metaphor. It's a wind instrument that only plays when someone blows wind into it. Jack plays "He Was a Friend of Mine" a couple of times -- foreshadowing his own death.
I think Ennis' comment about the harmonica breaking in two is symbolic of Jack's death and the fact that he was broken in two... half of his ashes in Texas and half of them in Lightning Flat.
I'm new here so if this has been mentioned before...
--- End quote ---
great observations Ruthless, and welcome to the board. I really love reading the connection with the wind to the harmonica.
Brown Eyes:
Heya ruthlesslyunsentimental !
Thanks for joining in here! I think your observations are excellent. And, it truly isn't an aspect of the wind metaphor that I'd thought about before.
The broken part of the harmonica situation is interesting too. It seems complicated because Jack says it got flattened (it doesn't actually break in two) and yet even though it's crushed, it still works and Jack is able to continue playing on it (even if it's not perfectly in tune anymore). Ennis's ominous idea of the harmonica breaking in two definitely seems like foreshadowing about Jack's tragedy. I like your idea about the divided ashes too. But, I wonder if the idea of the flattened-yet-resilient harmonica is another kind of metaphor about Jack's ability to rebound and keep going through the course of the relationship even after disappointments and obstacles? Even when the harmonica doesn't work correctly anymore Jack is so "loyal" to it, loves it and wants to play it, that he's not willing to give up on it. I wonder if this is a metaphor for his feelings towards Ennis too.
All sorts of interesting avenues here. And I do love that it all links back to the wind idea.
:D
I wonder if Ennis's humming relates to Jack's harmonica-playing/ singing?
ruthlesslyunsentimental:
--- Quote from: atz75 on June 28, 2006, 12:17:23 am ---Heya ruthlesslyunsentimental !
Thanks for joining in here! I think your observations are excellent. And, it truly isn't an aspect of the wind metaphor that I'd thought about before.
The broken part of the harmonica situation is interesting too. It seems complicated because Jack says it got flattened (it doesn't actually break in two) and yet even though it's crushed, it still works and Jack is able to continue playing on it (even if it's not perfectly in tune anymore). Ennis's ominous idea of the harmonica breaking in two definitely seems like foreshadowing about Jack's tragedy. I like your idea about the divided ashes too. But, I wonder if the idea of the flattened-yet-resilient harmonica is another kind of metaphor about Jack's ability to rebound and keep going through the course of the relationship even after disappointments and obstacles? Even when the harmonica doesn't work correctly anymore Jack is so "loyal" to it, loves it and wants to play it, that he's not willing to give up on it. I wonder if this is a metaphor for his feelings towards Ennis too.
All sorts of interesting avenues here. And I do love that it all links back to the wind idea.
:D
I wonder if Ennis's humming relates to Jack's harmonica-playing/ singing?
--- End quote ---
I love what you had to say here. Let's say that the harmonica is a part of the wind metaphor. What's the wind? Jack. Let's say it shows Jack's ability to rebound and keep going. That seems to fit in with the notion that Jack's spirit continues on (rebounds, if you will), comforting Ennis, even after he has died -- the wind blowing through the field in the final shot, out Ennis' window. This works for me.
Ennis' humming may be related... it's wind, after all. But it also foreshadows Jack's death since he's humming "The Cowboy's Lament" ("Streets of Laredo") --
As I walked out in the streets of Laredo,
As I walked out in Laredo one day,
I spied a poor cowboy wrapped up in white linen,
Wrapped up in white linen as cold as the clay.
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
And -- Jack's singing of "Water-Walking Jesus" foreshadows his death. When does he meet the Lord? On that final day. What does he ask Him to do? "Take me away."
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
Gosh darn it! If you make me cry one more time... I'll make you reach through your computer and give me one of the tender ear rubs that Jack and Ennis are famous for.
(Final thought: Everytime those boys sang or hummed or played the harmonica they foreshadowed Jack's death. They really should have kept their mouths shut, huh?)
Front-Ranger:
Another wind thing...In the corner of Ennis's apartment is an interesting assortment of items: a vacuum cleaner (wind), a hot water heater (water), and an :'( iron on an ironing board. Doom for Jack!!
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on July 07, 2006, 03:15:09 pm ---Another wind thing...In the corner of Ennis's apartment is an interesting assortment of items: a vacuum cleaner (wind), a hot water heater (water), and an :'( iron on an ironing board. Doom for Jack!!
--- End quote ---
Heya,
Wow! Good observations! I think background props like that have a lot of weight in this film. I'd never thought about all those things as "societal" versions of the natural elements that keep recurring in the film. Sad about the iron! Maybe the iron is also a version of fire. So, where's the earth?
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