Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
TOTW 06/08: Did Ennis die at the day described in the prologue?
nakymaton:
Perhaps the prologue sounds as though Ennis is dying because Ennis has already died a bit, inside? There's something ghost-like about Ennis at the beginning and end of the story. (Not the part about pissing in the sink. I'm not sure if a sink-pissing ghost would be scary or funny or just unhygienic.)
retropian:
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on February 25, 2008, 12:36:43 pm ---This topic was just a passing comment, mentioned only in a side-sentence of a post which then moved on to another subject matter.
At first, I was like hunh? :o ???
But the question stuck with me. I took my copy of the STS book and read the prologue again with this question in mind.
The prologue begins and ends with the wind rocking Ennis's trailer. And in between the wind is mentioned a third time. We associate the wind with Jack, so we can interpret the wind accompanying Ennis as Jack's spirit. The wind is a powerful presence in this short part of the story, and it is depicted as very strong, as rocking the trailer, hissing, booming, roaring. In short, it makes a lot of noise, almost like it would call out to Ennis. Is the wind (=Jack) calling Ennis on this day? Many people believe/are waiting for that departed loved ones are calling them "into the other world", when their time has come.
Another point is Ennis dwelling on his dream of Jack: "...lets a panel of the dream slide forward. If he does not force his attention on it, it might stoke the day, ..." Ennis sitting alone in his trailer, slipping deep into the world of his dreams and Jack calling him.
A third point is Annie's sentence "It could be bad on the highway with the horse trailer." Having read Annie's other short stories in Close Range, I fully believe she often intersperses hints of coming events into her stories and especially foreshadows coming doom. So this could be a hint.
One last aspect (for now) is Ennis's age. We don't know how much time has passed since the end of the story, but Ennis's belly and pubic hair is grey. I don't believe Ennis will live to be a very old man. We've discussed this long time ago (hey Jeff, it was you who was very close to my own feelings regarding this :)); I think due to poor health care, too much alcohol and cigarettes, poor diet, physically hard work and simply not caring about himself after Jack's death, Ennis will not live very long.
--- End quote ---
Wow. This is an interesting and fresh idea. I was thinking that the line "It could be bad on the highway with the horse trailer." might be a foreshadowing of an accident. Ennis's dream is his vision of paradise. So perhaps that was Ennis's last day. We'll have to ask Annie Proulx!
belbbmfan:
--- Quote from: nakymaton on February 26, 2008, 01:14:49 am ---Perhaps the prologue sounds as though Ennis is dying because Ennis has already died a bit, inside? There's something ghost-like about Ennis at the beginning and end of the story. (Not the part about pissing in the sink. I'm not sure if a sink-pissing ghost would be scary or funny or just unhygienic.)
--- End quote ---
Well, I read the messages on this thread and was going to post a serious reply and then I read this.....What can I say? Thanks for the laugh! :laugh: 8)
I'll post a serious reply later, promise!
mouk:
There was a fascinating discussion on this on the DC forum quite some time ago and several of the arguments were quite convincing. 'It could be bad on the road with the horses' was connected with the parents dying on the only curve on Dead Horse Road
Connexios were also found between the trailer and the doomed Thresher submarine. I won't say more on this right now not to spoil the excitement of finding your own connexions between the two if you wish to, and in the hope that new ideas will come out, taking the discussion further.
Oh, and there was a (separate) discussion on the symbolism of Ennis pissing in the sink - another TOTW perhaps??
Have 'fun' ;)
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: mouk on February 26, 2008, 08:10:37 am ---There was a fascinating discussion on this on the DC forum quite some time ago and several of the arguments were quite convincing. 'It could be bad on the road with the horses' was connected with the parents dying on the only curve on Dead Horse Road
--- End quote ---
Personally I don't find the foreshadowing idea convincing. When you write a story, I don't think you foreshadow something that doesn't take place (in your story).
--- Quote ---Connexios were also found between the trailer and the doomed Thresher submarine. I won't say more on this right now not to spoil the excitement of finding your own connexions between the two if you wish to, and in the hope that new ideas will come out, taking the discussion further.
Oh, and there was a (separate) discussion on the symbolism of Ennis pissing in the sink - another TOTW perhaps??
Have 'fun' ;)
--- End quote ---
Symbolism of Ennis pissing in the sink? Oh, good grief. ...
We've discussed the sink-pissing here, too. Someone even found some relevant pictures (not of someong pissing in a sink). I won't repeat here what I said then, because it's OT, and in case Chrissi decides to make it a TOTW.
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