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TOTW 20/08: Ennis rejecting people close to him

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Artiste:
In some ways, Jack also is Ennis ! But I will not explain that now, as that is very difficult and since I do not have your talent to express it !

........

Let's try this:

1-
Both Jack and Ennis like sex together !

2-
But it is not only sex: it is also tenderness; as we see in that tent scene where Ennis enters willingly and is caressed by Jack; there is mutual caring ! Two humans caring beautifully  for each other/for one another !!

3-
Ennis is in dire hard times throughout his life like a war zone because he saw that mutulated gay man's body, and he does NOT want to be murdered that way at all; so he fears that ! Ennis is true to himself ( and to others too in some ways or all the ways); he seeks a real friendship even in war-time-like society, expressing that by less sex ! If Ennis expresses himself with much much more sex, then he will be murdered he feels !

Jack is also in dire times in his life as he seeks too true friendship; and somehow times are like a war-time-society for him too, but he expresses that by much sex !

Ennis knows that Jack will likely get murdered because Jack is gay, much more than his (Ennis') chances are and that is why he remains straight even if he wants and is gay !

........

Since I am exhausted, I must come back to this another time. Maybe this post helps ?

Au revoir,
hugs! Note that war-time logic is NOT nescessarily the same as in peaceful times ??

brokeplex:
sorry, I am still confused.

Front-Ranger:
I find the idea of Ennis being in a "war zone" interesting. Ennis described to Jack how his daily life was like navigating thru a mine field: "Ever go out on the pavement and see the people and think that they all know?" he asked Jack. Ennis was concerned for his physical safety, afraid he'd be ambushed at some unsuspecting time and strung up just like one of those two old birds he saw when he was nine.

I also think the idea of Ennis and Jack being the same is true in a way. Ennis and Jack were complementary, like the two sides of a coin, or like yin and yang. They grew up in opposite corners of Wyoming and, altho they had each endured hardships and were inured to the stoic life, they reacted to life's adversities in opposite ways, Ennis withdrawing to within, Jack reaching out.

The only thing I know about the greyhound bus, though, is that Ennis was eating pie in the station when Cassie came upon him!

Now, back to the rejecting...Ennis in the story even rejected his daughters after the divorce. Although he continued to pay child support.

Brown Eyes:

--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on August 07, 2008, 04:14:29 pm ---
Now, back to the rejecting...Ennis in the story even rejected his daughters after the divorce. Although he continued to pay child support.

--- End quote ---

Yes, I recall that in the story it's made quite clear that he avoids seeing his daughters for quite a long time after the divorce.

I'm not sure this is entirely clear in the film

But, the more I think about the ending, the more it seems the filmmakers wanted to show a level of distance between Ennis and Junior following Jack's death (as lovely as that encounter ultimately ends up being).  In their conversation right after she pulls up, it's clear he doesn't really know what's going on in her life and later she seems irritated that she needs to tell Ennis that she's known Kurt for about a year.

mariez:

--- Quote from: atz75 on August 07, 2008, 04:29:41 pm ---Yes, I recall that in the story it's made quite clear that he avoids seeing his daughters for quite a long time after the divorce.

--- End quote ---

Yep.  After the Thanksgiving disaster:

He didn’t try to see his girls for a long time, figuring they would look him up when they got the sense and years to move out from Alma.

But we never find out exactly what "a long time" means.  It's not specifically stated in the story what year that Thanksgiving dinner takes place, mid-1970's?  But, then, during their last camping trip in May of 1983 (story) Ennis tells Jack:

he saw his girls about once a month, Alma Jr. a shy seventeen-year-old with his beanpole length, Francine a little live wire.

So, clearly he didn't wait until the girls moved away from Alma and looked him up on their own as was his original thought.  But it's also not clear when he started seeing the girls again or what precipitated his decision to start seeing them again.  I always wondered about that. 

And, yeah, in the film we're given the impression that he doesn't appear to know a lot of (seemingly important) details about Junior's life. 

Marie

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