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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Mikaela:
Good to see this thread having a revival. :) Hi, dly64 nice to meet you.

I was thinking of returning to one of the much-discussed lines in the film: I just can't stand this anymore, Jack - with Ennis crumbling to his knees.  Thinking of how that statement and Ennis's inability to keep on his feet illustrates the double meaning of the verb "to stand".

It suddenly made me link to the famous "A house divided against itself cannot stand". That's a perfect description of Ennis, IMO - he's been divided against himself since he met Jack, one part of him battling the other, and the foundations have crumbled day by day. Now at their last meeting he can't stand, and he can't stand it, any more.

**Sniff**

Meryl:

--- Quote ---By dly64
Another interpretation is that "perky" could represent a phallic symbol and the "caught a bunch of browns"  could represent Jack. I will go no further with this interpretation.
--- End quote ---


--- Quote ---By Mikaela
It suddenly made me link to the famous "A house divided against itself cannot stand". That's a perfect description of Ennis, IMO - he's been divided against himself since he met Jack, one part of him battling the other, and the foundations have crumbled day by day. Now at their last meeting he can't stand, and he can't stand it, any more.
--- End quote ---


--- Quote from: goadra on June 24, 2006, 09:25:35 am ---They never had to say those three-little-words. They demonstrated the sentiment far better through their actions. And Ennis showed it through his suffering--collapsing, dry heaves, tears all point up the complexity and depth of what he felt for Jack. If he’d never met Jack, maybe he could have suppressed/denied certain parts of his psyche, but “once burned” by love....Imagine that the “cause” of your pain is also the only person you can turn to for comfort, the only person who understands. Ennis so desperately clutches Jack’s coat. Jack holds Ennis so tenderly.

“It’s a short story, honey, it was only about 3 seconds I was on that bronc.” >> “It was only about 3 months I was on that mountain. Next thing I knew...”
--- End quote ---

Triple play!  Thanks, Friends.  That's the way to revive a thread, and a great way to start my Saturday.  8)

dly64:

--- Quote from: Mikaela on June 24, 2006, 05:37:24 am ---I was thinking of returning to one of the much-discussed lines in the film: I just can't stand this anymore, Jack - with Ennis crumbling to his knees.  Thinking of how that statement and Ennis's inability to keep on his feet illustrates the double meaning of the verb "to stand".

It suddenly made me link to the famous "A house divided against itself cannot stand". That's a perfect description of Ennis, IMO - he's been divided against himself since he met Jack, one part of him battling the other, and the foundations have crumbled day by day. Now at their last meeting he can't stand, and he can't stand it, any more.
--- End quote ---

The whole .... "I can't stand it" ... begins after Jack and Ennis' reunion:

Ennis: "If you can't fix it Jack ... you gotta stand it."
Jack:"For how long?"
Ennis:"As long as we can ride it .... Ain't no reigns on this one."

The last time Jack and Ennis are together, Jack says to Ennis (in one of my favorite lines):
"I tell ya what ..... the truth is .... sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it."

And then there is Ennis' line to Jack after they have their row:
"I can't stand this anymore, Jack," and collapses in Jack's arms.

I don't think it is a coincidence. It is almost as if the story has bookends ... from the beginning of their affair (after their four year hiatus) to the last time they are together. Additionally, Ennis' collapsing into Jack's arms mirrors his collapse after he and Jack separate. The last time, however, Jack is there to catch Ennis. I think all of this symbolizes the end of their relationship in life (albeit unbeknownst to both of them).  Ennis' collapse ... feeling like he did when Jack left him at BBM .... could be a foreshadowing of the pain when he finds that Jack has left him again.

serious crayons:

--- Quote from: dly64 on June 24, 2006, 07:13:38 pm --- It is almost as if the story has bookends ... from the beginning of their affair (after their four year hiatus) to the last time they are together. Additionally, Ennis' collapsing into Jack's arms mirrors his collapse after he and Jack separate. The last time, however, Jack is there to catch Ennis. I think all of this symbolizes the end of their relationship in life (albeit unbeknownst to both of them).  Ennis' collapse ... feeling like he did when Jack left him at BBM .... could be a foreshadowing of the pain when he finds that Jack has left him again.

--- End quote ---

This is why the point at which I always burst into tears is the dozy embrace. Well, for several reasons, actually. But a big one is the way, at the end, Ennis says "Gotta go, see you in the morning." Ennis always has to leave, and he always assumes they'll see each other in the morning. Once, they almost don't. The second time, they really don't.

Have I posted this already on this very thread? If so, sorry.

dly64:

--- Quote from: latjoreme on June 24, 2006, 08:18:02 pm ---This is why the point at which I always burst into tears is the dozy embrace. Well, for several reasons, actually. But a big one is the way, at the end, Ennis says "Gotta go, see you in the morning." Ennis always has to leave, and he always assumes they'll see each other in the morning. Once, they almost don't. The second time, they really don't.
--- End quote ---

I agree with you re: the symbolism of Ennis always leaving. I also see this scene as Jack remembering the depth of his love for Ennis. The book says:

What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither explain nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, the silent embrace  satisfying some shared and sexless hunger ...... Later, that dozy embrace solidified in his memory as the single moment of artless, charmed happiness in their separate and difficult lives."

OMG!! This is one scene (of many) that just kills me!

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