Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
TOTW 10/08: Jack's hang-ups - or lack thereof
retropian:
Hi Malina! Its great to see you here. another great post. I think Love is irrational and one can't judge what oneself or anyone else does for it, or because of it. It is a force of nature after all, and unstopable, irresistible. Jack is what he is, and did what he did, right or wrong. I think it's good to accept his and Ennis's foibles, and our own as well.
Ian
Brown Eyes:
I'm sorry I never posted here when this TOTW was new. I love this topic. And, it certainly is very complex and as someone said in an earlier post here... profound.
So many of the posts here are great!
I agree with what many people have said about Ennis being very tightly bound to some of Jack's issues and hang ups. And, absolutely it's important that Jack is the optimist. And really doesn't seem to be so driven by fear (at all) as Ennis.
I think the fact that he's a bull rider is very important to the notion that Jack very easily throws off fear and will go ahead and do something that he loves even if he knows that it's dangerous. He knows that he could get killed riding a bull, but he loves it and pursues it (even if he isn't very good at it always). And, he has an awareness that there are dangers in the world for gay men (how could he not... dealing with Ennis all the time), but he loves Ennis and is willing to risk it.
Anyway, one of the main things I wanted to post here was something I was lying awake thinking about last night in bed. I was thinking about the end segments of BBM and how strong, powerful and important the metaphor of the closet is in contexts involving both Jack and Ennis almost in equal measure. The fact that the closet is an almost over-determined symbol for gay people concealing their identities or hiding what's important to them goes without saying. Clearly at the very end we know that Ennis is keeping his most precious things in his closet (his daughter's sweater and his shrine to Jack). And, earlier the profound secret that Jack kept even from Ennis was concealed in his childhood closet (and I guess on a broad level we could say that his secret was how long he was deeply in love with Ennis... and how long he was completely and consciously aware that what he felt was love and was profound enough to save and preserve carefully). Somehow the fact that we know both Ennis and Jack are/were tied to their closets in super important ways creates an equivalence between them. It is true that Jack's daily life was dominated by activities and people that had very little to do with his true desires and identity. So, in "faking" his life in Childress Jack is conceding that he's willing to hide or even fells the need to hide his identity like Ennis does.
Of course the argument can also be made that Jack only "fakes" his life in Childress in response to the constraints placed on their relationship by Ennis. The ultimate consequence of his short leash.
BlissC:
--- Quote from: Brown Eyes on April 04, 2008, 09:21:25 pm ---I think the fact that he's a bull rider is very important to the notion that Jack very easily throws off fear and will go ahead and do something that he loves even if he knows that it's dangerous. He knows that he could get killed riding a bull, but he loves it and pursues it (even if he isn't very good at it always). And, he has an awareness that there are dangers in the world for gay men (how could he not... dealing with Ennis all the time), but he loves Ennis and is willing to risk it.
--- End quote ---
That's a very good point! I just love the way that just when you think that Annie can't have hidden away any more metaphors and subtle mirrors of the story and events, someone goes and spots another one! I really do feel that for all it's brevity, Brokeback should be up there with the classics as an example of how to do literature really well.
--- Quote from: Brown Eyes on April 04, 2008, 09:21:25 pm ---Anyway, one of the main things I wanted to post here was something I was lying awake thinking about last night in bed. I was thinking about the end segments of BBM and how strong, powerful and important the metaphor of the closet is in contexts involving both Jack and Ennis almost in equal measure. The fact that the closet is an almost over-determined symbol for gay people concealing their identities or hiding what's important to them goes without saying. Clearly at the very end we know that Ennis is keeping his most precious things in his closet (his daughter's sweater and his shrine to Jack). And, earlier the profound secret that Jack kept even from Ennis was concealed in his childhood closet (and I guess on a broad level we could say that his secret was how long he was deeply in love with Ennis... and how long he was completely and consciously aware that what he felt was love and was profound enough to save and preserve carefully). Somehow the fact that we know both Ennis and Jack are/were tied to their closets in super important ways creates an equivalence between them. It is true that Jack's daily life was dominated by activities and people that had very little to do with his true desires and identity. So, in "faking" his life in Childress Jack is conceding that he's willing to hide or even fells the need to hide his identity like Ennis does.
Of course the argument can also be made that Jack only "fakes" his life in Childress in response to the constraints placed on their relationship by Ennis. The ultimate consequence of his short leash.
--- End quote ---
Again, so true. I'd picked up on Ennis's closet, but strangely never considered Jack's hiding place for the shirts, except to note that Jack's mother seemed to know of the whereabouts of the shirts (really must pay more attention! :laugh:).
--- Quote from: Brown Eyes on April 04, 2008, 09:21:25 pm ---Of course the argument can also be made that Jack only "fakes" his life in Childress in response to the constraints placed on their relationship by Ennis. The ultimate consequence of his short leash.
--- End quote ---
I agree. I think if Ennis had agreed to the "sweet life" back at the 4 year reunion, Jack would have given up everything in Childress to be with him.
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