Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum

Double meanings: Lines that can be taken more than one way

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serious crayons:
So many lines in Brokeback Mountain are ambiguous or have multiple meanings. I guess the most obvious one is "I swear" -- there's a whole thread devoted to the many interpretations of that one. And there's another thread about the implications of Lureen's "Husbands don't never seem to want to dance with their wives," (something like, "Husbands don't never seem to want to have sex with their wives.")

Then today, a discussion came up on another thread about when John Twist says

"Tell you what, I know where Brokeback Mountain is ... pppfffftttttppp ... Thought he was too damn special to be buried in the family plot."

Obviously, he's saying he could find Brokeback go put the ashes there himself if he wanted to, which he doesn't. And he apparently resents Jack leaving the Twist ranch, refusing to spend his life in that bleak place, moving to Texas and so on.

But it also implies another meaning: "Tell you what, I know Jack was gay." Mr. Twist may not be saying so consciously, but because we know what Brokeback symbolizes, the line is a clue. And in the next sentence, he may be saying Jack figures that, because he's gay ("special"), he thought he could live outside society's rules rather than follow the "family plot."

So what other lines  have multiple meanings? They could be lines that we aren't even sure what they're supposed to mean, like "I swear." Or they could be lines that have a surface meaning and a subtext, like "Husbands don't dance with their wives."

Suggest some lines that resonate, and we can discuss. (If you know of any that absolutely have only one meaning, say those, too! And we'll argue if you're right or wrong!).

Mikaela:
I'll start off with this one, before hurrying off to bed:

When Aguirre has ordered the boys and the sheep down from the mountain, and Ennis gripes, Jack says:


--- Quote ---I can spare you a loan, bud, if you're short on cash. Give it to you when we get to Signal.
--- End quote ---

Which at face value is an offer for a loan, but the subtext is Jack saying that he doesn't want to lose contact with Ennis, and he's looking for a way to achieve that in such a manner that Ennis can defend it to himself, too, even after they've left the mountain and that supposed one shot thing behind. Giving him a loan means the loan would have to be repaid - so they'd have to stay in touch for that.

nakymaton:
Heh. I was going to start with the first words spoken in the movie:

JACK (kicks truck): Shit.

Meaning #1: Ladies and gentlemen, this is an R-rated movie, in case you hadn't heard. Also, you know that line in the story where it says that Jack "was not himself the swearing kind"? Well, you can scratch out one potential meaning for that one.

Meaning #2: Contrast the first appearances of Jack and Ennis. Jack's car doesn't run well, so Jack kicks it and swears at it. Ennis doesn't even have a car; all he's got is a sack with a change of clothes. But Ennis just seems to accept it as if it's the natural way of things.

That first line sets up the conflict of the whole story, even before they look at each other.

Meaning #3: Ever notice that the first line in the movie is Jack swearing, and the last line is "Jack, I swear..."?

Front-Ranger:
That's great Mel! Actually, I came to this thread because I wanted to talk about "I know where Brokeback Mountain is" but you beat me to it! Everything in this movie has a double meaning as far as I'm concerned but that line is the epitome. Another one that is really good is "Texans don't drink coffee?" To me, this line really means, Texans (or Your Texan, to be exact) don't act the way that's expected of them?

Front-Ranger:
Okay, can't resist another one. This line is "You bet." It's written not spoken, on a post card Ennis sends to Jack in response to Jack's post card asking him to "tell me if your there." To me it means, "Let's throw caution to the wind" or "let's take a chance." Or...it could mean "if you take a chance by coming here, I will take your bet and see you one hell of a kiss." I could go farther, but I guess I should stop there.
 :)

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