Agreed, Amanda. Neither of them could quit. Jack says "wish I could" (rather than "I'm gonna") and then rushes to comfort Ennis. Ennis yells "get the fuck off me" and then reaches out and clutches Jack. In some ways they both probably wish they could quit, for different reasons. But they couldn't and wouldn't, at least not permanently.
Speaking of clancypants, this is OT, but did anyone go read the post s/he wrote on TOB about the symbolism of guns in Brokeback, which someone (as usual, I'm failing to give proper credit) posted a link to last week? Anyway, he presented all these instances in which a gun symbolizes some change in their relationship. It was fascinating -- they all fit perfectly; it was like reading the thread about the buckets. But I noticed clancypants didn't say anything about the lake argument scene. Which got me thinking, wonder if they load a gun into the truck in the lake scene, and it's in some kind of holster or case (which would fit his hypothesis, showing the relationship ending or being packed up)? So later, I watched the lake scene (on YouTube). And SURE ENOUGH, there was the gun -- enclosed in a case.
I was all set to get clancypants over here, until I read that really depressing essay and thought, I don't know if I can take many more of his/her intelligent but devastating theories.