Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
Double meanings: Lines that can be taken more than one way
ednbarby:
Well, there's the ever-popular "No more beans!" followed shortly thereafter by Ennis replying to the Basque upon his saying "I thought you didn't eat soup" with "Well, I'm sick o' beans."
A no-brainer, I know, but beans = trying to pass as straight when you're not and soup = being open about your homosexuality, even if it's only with the one you love. Quite possibly my favorite symbol in the whole dang thing.
Another one: "Gonna snow tonight for sure." Snow was the harbinger of the early end of their summer on Brokeback, and here it's the harbinger of the early end of their relationship and Jack's life. Breaks my heart every time I hear him say it.
belbbmfan:
Yes ednbarby. I really liked the entire 'soup and beans' too. The fact that Ennis actually wanted to give Jack 'soup' but the Basque (society?) decided otherwise, is very meaningfull. Remember that later, when they're entangling 'them Chilean sheep outta ours' (love this line!) Ennis mentions working for Aguirre again. Could it be possible that at that point he was still contemplating some sort of life with Jack?
Anyway, after the bear encouter, Ennis decides to 'stick with beans'. But what does he do? Yes, kills them a nice elk. Ahh, he's really looking after his man.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: ednbarby on May 24, 2006, 01:20:49 pm ---Another one: "Gonna snow tonight for sure." Snow was the harbinger of the early end of their summer on Brokeback, and here it's the harbinger of the early end of their relationship and Jack's life. Breaks my heart every time I hear him say it.
--- End quote ---
Me too, Barb. And then, by that same token, "Why is it always so damn cold?" = why is our rendezvous/relationship always on such tenuous ground? "We oughta go to Mexico." = We ought to to go where we can be together openly and permanently.
Front-Ranger:
What about the line, "As clumsy as I am, I'd probably electrocute myself." I always thought there was something more to that than that Ennis wanted part-time jobs, what with all the other lightning/electricity imagery. Maybe having a job at the power company, a utility, represented a utilitarian life that Ennis felt he could not handle because he had been jolted out of an ordinary existence by Jack and Brokeback Mountain.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on May 24, 2006, 03:36:27 pm ---What about the line, "As clumsy as I am, I'd probably electrocute myself." I always thought there was something more to that than that Ennis wanted part-time jobs, what with all the other lightning/electricity imagery. Maybe having a job at the power company, a utility, represented a utilitarian life that Ennis felt he could not handle because he had been jolted out of an ordinary existence by Jack and Brokeback Mountain.
--- End quote ---
That's a possibility! I was going to try to analyze that one myself in a previous post, but then I didn't. My idea was that "power" could be alluding to another kind of power -- socioeconomic power, the kind he gave up in favor of being with Jack.
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