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TOTW 2/09: Questions about Jack's last will particularly his cremation

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Penthesilea:
Hey BetterMostians!


I had an idea for a TOTW and I've gotten a whole load of TOTW suggestions by a collaborating team of three lovely BetterMost Ladies :D.
Thank you very much LauraGigs, Belbbmfan and atz74 for this week's topic and some more!!!

I plan to set up those topics on a biweekly basis. One of the topics will be a quiz, so keep an eye on the Open Forum, all you quizzers and gamesters out there :).


In the long history of BetterMost BBM threads, it's entirely possible that some of these things have already been discussed here and there.  But, it might be fun to repackage and reexamine some of these in fresh ways.
Don't be shy to express your thoughts even when someone else already said something similar or when you just want to express agreement. Nobody can see it when you sit at your computer, silently nodding along. But we're interested in your opinion, so let it be known :).



Questions about Jack's last will
particularly his cremation

Do you think Jack had an official last will, a written testament? In the story Lureen says "He use to say he wanted to be cremated...". In the movie Lureen also uses the phrase "He used to say he wanted [his ashes scattered on Brokeback Mountain]."
Why was he so prepared with a detailed will (if he had a detailed will, that is) and instructions about his burial so young?  Was it unusual for people in Wyoming and Texas to be cremated in the 70s and early 80s?  What were his real expectations regarding Ennis?  Would he have really expected Ennis to get so involved in trying to take his ashes to Brokeback, meeting his parents, etc.?

Katie77:
I doubt if Jack would have had a written will, at his age.

I think, him telling everyone he wanted his ashes scattered on Brokeback Mountain, was his way of making sure, that in the event of his death, Ennis would know, what the meaning of this request meant. How important HE was to him, and how the place that they met had so much meaning to him. He would have also known, that if his ashes were on Brokeback, then Ennis would have been free to go there without any questions asked.

I guess too, it was his way of saying that he would be there where he felt the greatest amount of peace, where he could be who he really was.

Maybe he also assumed that Brokeback, would be the place that Ennis would request his ashes be scattered as well, so that at least in death they would be together. Of course, Jack did not know he would die before Ennis, so, it is doubtful that Jack would have forseen Ennis meeting his parents or talking to Laureen. I just think that he maybe hoped that they both would eventually be scattered on Brokeback, regardless of who died first.

He also would have known, that if his request was granted, and Ennis was still alive,  then Ennis would be involved in the scattering of his ashes on  Brokeback.

sel:
To me when Ennis learns from Lureen that Jack wanted his ashes to be scattered on Brokeback Mountain is a very poignant moment. It is Jack telling him indirectly “I want to be with you for eternity”.

I'd like to think that Jack  hadn't written a will but that  he had often mentioned Brokeback Mountain to both Lureen and Bobby as a place where he had been very  happy during his youth, and for this reason he indicated , to Lureen only, that's where he would have liked his ashes to be scattered one day.
No matter how hard he tried, away from Ennis Jack didn't lead a  happy life, he drank heavily, I'd say at times he thought about death, about where he would have liked to rest one day.


--- Quote from: Katie77 on April 20, 2009, 07:54:19 am ---
He also would have known, that if his request was granted, and Ennis was still alive,  then Ennis would be involved in the scattering of his ashes on  Brokeback.

--- End quote ---

Yes, that's possible.

Katie77:

--- Quote from: sel on April 20, 2009, 10:17:48 am ---To me when Ennis learns from Lureen that Jack wanted his ashes to be scattered on Brokeback Mountain is a very poignant moment. It is Jack telling him indirectly “I want to be with you for eternity”.


--- End quote ---

I agree completely....it was Jack's way of speaking from the grave to Ennis.

And maybe not only to Ennis, but to everyone else, saying that is where he belonged, if it was not possilbe in life, then I want it to be in death.

Front-Ranger:
What a very poignant topic! Thank you, Chrissi, for reviving TOTW, I've missed it. I agree that Jack probably got morose when he was drinking and made some comments about his death. Don't forget that he indulged in death-defying activities like bullriding. With his companeros getting their oil checked with a horn dipstick, death must have been on his mind at times. As a wealthy farm equipment executive, he might have had a will after all. Lureen might have made him set one up shortly after Bobbie was born. He did a lot of travelling, so it might have been the prudent thing to do.

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