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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Lynne:
On my drive yesterday, I listened to the short story audiobook a couple of times (and the soundtrack too).  I was struck by a few ideas, that I doubt are new, but that I came to understand in a new way...I found this thread by a cursory search of 'not the swearing kind' so I'm going to post it here.

We've noted before that Jack (and Ennis) to some extent are the swearing kind - The first word uttered is 'Sh*t' after all.  In listening to the short story, I noted that during the Siesta motel scene when Jack is talking about trying to keep his truck running during the hard year he had rodeoing where he nearly starved, he talks about being under his 'c*nt truck'.

One of my thoughts is that because this is pretty extreme swearing, I think that later when Ennis describes Jack as not 'being the swearing kind' that he is more likely talking about Jack being one to take oaths, make promises.  I don't mean to imply that if Ennis had taken Jack's offer of a 'sweet life' that Jack would not have made a commitment to Ennis.  But the point is also made during this scene that Jack has been riding more than the bulls instead of rolling his own as Ennis has.

Another thought is the idea of interpreting Jack spending time 'under the c*nt truck' as metaphorical...can it also be related to spending time creating a family with Lureen and all the baggage that comes his way as being LD's son-in-law and working for him in the farm equipment business?  I realize that Jack is directly talking about his hard year rodeoing, but I see the possibility of extending this metaphor to include his marriage to Lureen and his relationship with LD.

FWIW.

Front-Ranger:
I'm not sure I would agree with you about Jack's terminology, Lynne, I'm sorry to say. From the time I've spent around young men, roughnecks, rodeo people and rural people, I have to say that a certain percentage of them have nasty potty mouths. What's worse, it's like alcohol, the more you indulge in it, the more it takes to be effective. For some of these people, the F word is like saying "uh" or "you know" or "very."

Plus, young men's vehicles are thought to be female as ships are or hurricanes used to be. Jack calling his truck a c*nt is close to a term of endearment!! He probably imbued it with another layer of meaning, since he felt the oppression of what he saw as a female-dominated society, since Lureen sort of wore the pants in that household!

Katie77:
Was the term c*** truck, used in the movie?.....I dont recall hearing it. And I've just read the part in the book, and noticed it there for the first time.

I just think the use of c***, and fuckin this and that, is just to emphasise the word after it. Once upon a time those words were only spoken between men, and not within earshot of women, just out of courtesy. Nowadays, some women say it as much as men do.

So when two blokes get together like Jack and Ennis did, they get into their "blokey" way of talking with all the expletives.

Front-Ranger:
No, Sue, I'm sure I would have remembered it if Jack had said that in the movie! That was one of the things left out, along with Jack killing the eagle, K.E. beating up his brother (and vice versa) and Mr. Twist pissing on his son.

However, Jack did kick the tires of the truck at the beginning of the movie, and he was somewhat disparaging of women, saying "You and Alma, that's a life" causing Ennis to respond "Now you shut up about Alma, this ain't her fault."

Lynne:
The term is just in the short story, Katie, and it jumped right out at me because of the discussion in that McCain thread...got me thinking about a parallels between Jack's truck's mechanical failing and shortcomings later on in his marriage and business.

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