Joe Aguirre: what do you think of this character as portrayed in the movie?

[Artiste]

Did we find out if Jack  worked alone that 1st year ?

[brokeplex]

Did we find out if Jack  worked alone that 1st year ?

I don't know, but my suspicion is that Jack worked with the Basque fellow that delivered the food at the bridge at noon once per week.

[Front-Ranger]

I don't know, but my suspicion is that Jack worked with the Basque fellow that delivered the food at the bridge at noon once per week.

I never thought of that! So that's why he said, "It's too early to be sick of beans"!!

[ifyoucantfixit]

   I always thought that Aguirre was the society at large.  The people that have the rights to condemn them for their actions, and take away
their livelihood for their transgressions, ie their gayness.  He could spy on them without impunity like a peeping tom, because he was looking
out for the moral stability of "society."
   He could be sure that society was protected from those fags.
   If he had been spying on regular folks, then he might have been called a pervert.  But if it was a gay couple, well!

[Monika]

   I always thought that Aguirre was the society at large. 

that´s how I see it too. His function in the story is to embody the threath to Jack and Ennis.

[optom3]

I think Aguirre is prejudiced in many ways.He has met Jack before, but presumably not Ennis, yet he treats Ennis with the same disdain as he does Jack.He is rude, curt and scathing to both the boys. I always thought he looked down on the boys as he considered them beneath him in every way.They were presumably less educated than him.
He probably had his suspicions about Jack's sexuality. Yet as with many things in the film and book, he is a study in contradictions.He sees Jack and Ennis on Brokeback, and he does not immediately send them packing. So although he appears to be very prejudiced he shows a degree of tolerance there.
Back down from Brokeback he is rude and abrupt with them both again.
Maybe BBM changes all who venture there, bringing out the "real" them, or the better version of them. Or maybe Aguirre was just the same as Ennis, a gay man in denial.In general we despise those who we see as reflections of ourselves.

[Monika]

. I always thought he looked down on the boys as he considered them beneath him in every way.They were presumably less educated than him.

And presumably because they are poorer than him. Somehow Aguirre strikes me as the type of man who values money more than education.

He probably had his suspicions about Jack's sexuality. Yet as with many things in the film and book, he is a study in contradictions.He sees Jack and Ennis on Brokeback, and he does not immediately send them packing.

Maybe he simply values his sheep more than "a couple of queers" and wants the job done above anything else?

[optom3]

And presumably because they are poorer than him. Somehow Aguirre strikes me as the type of man who values money more than education.
Maybe he simply values his sheep more than "a couple of queers" and wants the job done above anything else?

I agree with the bit about valuing money over education.
Not sure about the queers bit, as I am fairly sure he knows Jack is gay, he also is less than pleased about the job Jack has done the previous year, so yet another contradiction. If he is more concerned about the wellfare of the sheep, why hire the allegedly incompetent Jack again ? Is there some kind of unspoken, tacit agreement/acceptance which is covered/disguised by his abrupt manner.Or is it simply, no one else applied for the job.
I suspect, that as with the whole film/book, there are multiple interpretations.

[Front-Ranger]

I feel fairly confident in saying Jack and Ennis were the only ones applying for the job that summer. There were plenty of "better" places for young men to work, in the oil fields, in agriculture, forestry, etc. in addition to the military or going off to college. Those inclined to work with animals usually chose to work with horses and cattle, sheep being the lowest of the lows (unless you count pigs, goats, or chickens).

[Monika]

There is also the question whether Jack really was incompetent. I have a feeling that Aguirre would have complained no matter how well Jack performed, it´s just the way he is.