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

Knowing

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Front-Ranger:
Jack complained that Aguirre expected him to know how to change the weather and to cure pneumonia. People were always asking him about knowing. Ennis asked him about the Pentacost, but he said he didn't know, his mamma never told him. Nevertheless, he advanced a theory. Later, Ennis asked him if he ever looked around and thought that all the people "knew." Altho Jack just shook his head, he tentatively suggested that maybe Ennis should get out of there, to a place where knowing/not knowing did not matter.

Front-Ranger:
Musing on the use of the word know in the movie and story got me thinking about what I find to be the most puzzling line of dialogue, to me. Ennis saying "What I don't know, all them things I don't know could get you killed if I should come to know them."

In response, Jack goes into a tirade, but an eloquent tirade, that ends with, "I wish I knew how to quit you." And he also says in that speech, "I hope you know that if you don't never know the rest." (Note: Jack's famous double negative crops up here.)

What was it that Ennis was so afraid to know that he had to threaten Jack about? Did all this have anything to do with the Tree of Knowledge that was the downfall of Adam and Eve?

serious crayons:

--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on January 25, 2009, 02:04:30 pm ---What was it that Ennis was so afraid to know that he had to threaten Jack about? Did all this have anything to do with the Tree of Knowledge that was the downfall of Adam and Eve?
--- End quote ---

Yes! Good observation, FRiend!  :D

Brown Eyes:
This train of observation really is great Lee!  You're right that there is certainly quite an emphasis on the concept of "to know" or "knew" when it comes to Jack... and when it comes to Ennis trying to make sense of/ understand Jack.  When you think about the significant lines that you point out, it really becomes very striking.  And, it seems significant too that Jack's most famous line (or even the most famous line from BBM) is "I wish I knew how to quit you." 

There does seem to be a bit of a disconnect between people expecting Jack to have lots of answers and his own sense of doubt and not knowing.  He was expected to know how to control the weather, Ennis assumed he would know what a Pentacost was... and he himself is in a quandary about his own half-hearted desire to know how to quit Ennis.

I think there's probably a way to link this idea of "knowing" and "not knowing" (or doubt) to the religious metaphors that have often been discussed in relation to BBM.  Maybe the other characters' sense that Jack must have a special ability to know is related to his often-remarked-upon Jesus-like associations (again, in a completely metaphorical sense). 
The fact that he himself keeps stressing his lack of knowledge, contradicting these expectations.

Front-Ranger:
Hmmm, friend, you have reminded me of another pivotal sentence that refers to knowledge, and that is the last line of the story:

There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it.

I still don't know what "it" is referring to. I have a suspicion that it does NOT refer to how Jack died. Perhaps it refers to the nature of Ennis' and Jack's relationship, or perhaps it refers just to Ennis himself??

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