Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
getting hit hard by offhand revelations (story discussion)
Front-Ranger:
Yes, Jeff, I think maybe she's talking about getting a house in town and envisions Ennis working in town, say at the power company. He hates working on the highway crew, and wants to get another job at a ranch, which would require them to move. So, apparently they compromise, staying at the rental apartment instead of leasing a house.
Okay, I was single at that time in the story, and, yup, you could get birth control pills at the clinic for a nominal fee, say $5 a month.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on December 03, 2006, 05:31:43 pm ---Yes, Jeff, I think maybe she's talking about getting a house in town and envisions Ennis working in town, say at the power company. He hates working on the highway crew, and wants to get another job at a ranch, which would require them to move. So, apparently they compromise, staying at the rental apartment instead of leasing a house.
--- End quote ---
That makes sense. I can see that. (Interesting, then, that in the film, it's Alma's whining here that gets them to move to town.)
--- Quote ---Okay, I was single at that time in the story, and, yup, you could get birth control pills at the clinic for a nominal fee, say $5 a month.
--- End quote ---
Thanks for the "history lesson." ;D I stand advised! Like I said--not something I've ever had personal experience of! And it does make you wonder why Alma wasn't more proactive about this.
mlewisusc:
--- Quote from: injest on December 02, 2006, 01:20:55 pm ---ok we don't know that they stopped having sex totally after that one scene...(from the movie)...and I know if I told my husband in the middle of proceedings to slap on a condom after x number of years?? He would be very very unhappy...the time for THAT discussion was NOT at that moment. Alma was looking for an excuse to NOT have sex...(anyone remember when the pill came out? Why wasn't Alma on it if she was so concerned?)
--- End quote ---
I noticed from reading the story Saturday that the story (as opposed to the film) is unclear on when and where Ennis and Alma had this discussion - it does not appear certain that it took place in the heat of passion.
Later, when the story lists Alma's issues with their marriage, the narrator mentions Ennis's ". . . propensity to roll to the wall and sleep as soon as he hit the bed . . ." which does not say their sex life stopped completely. I'm not sure that the story text supports the notion that Alma was looking for an excuse to not have sex, but earlier on we did hear that she hated the "inverse penetration" that Ennis seemed to most enjoy, so I can't say definitively that Story Alma wasn't looking for an excuse to stop their sex life. It does not appear that she was using it as a weapon against him, from a withholding standpoint, at least. The list of issues against Ennis stated in the story seems to be more a lack of action towards supporting and participating in the marriage, as opposed to actual actions against the marriage (except, of course, for the glaring example of the adulterous conduct going on with Jack!). ;D
Penthesilea:
Lately another sentece in the short story hit me (motel scene):
"I didn't know where the hell you was," said Ennis. "Four years. I about give up on you. I figured you was sore about that punch."
Ennis was about to give up on Jack. In the reverse, it means, that he has not given up on him (yet). He always hoped during these four years to see Jack again, always waited.
Another offhand revelation for the reader.
And quite a revelation for Ennis, even when storyEnnis is more vocal than movieEnnis.
The first quoted sentence with its emphasis leads me to another question/speculation: did storyEnnis try (even half-heartedly) to find Jack? Maybe asking around a little, in a casual, alongside manner, among travelling ranch hands/the rodeo curcuit (when an oppurtunity provided)?
Meryl:
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on January 15, 2007, 01:39:53 pm ---Lately another sentece in the short story hit me (motel scene):
"I didn't know where the hell you was," said Ennis. "Four years. I about give up on you. I figured you was sore about that punch."
Ennis was about to give up on Jack. In the reverse, it means, that he has not given up on him (yet). He always hoped during these four years to see Jack again, always waited.
Another offhand revelation for the reader.
And quite a revelation for Ennis, even when storyEnnis is more vocal than movieEnnis.
The first quoted sentence with its emphasis leads me to another question/speculation: did storyEnnis try (even half-heartedly) to find Jack? Maybe asking around a little, in a casual, alongside manner, among travelling ranch hands/the rodeo curcuit (when an oppurtunity provided)?
--- End quote ---
Good question, Chrissi. He seems to have expected Jack to be the one to make contact, apparently figuring that Jack would know he was in Riverton, though I'm not sure from the story or film why Jack would know that.
Story Ennis had a perfectly good source of information about Jack, namely that he knew Jack's parents lived in Lightning Flat. If he'd really wanted to find him, he could have asked them to tell Jack to get in touch.
The most interesting thing about that quote is that it proves story Ennis never meant to completely cut off his relationship with Jack. In the film it seems that Ennis discourages any further contact by how he acts at their goodbye in Signal. At the motel, he simply states that he didn't think he'd hear from Jack, figuring he was sore about that punch. It's a subtle change, but it's another important thing to add to the list of differences between the two Ennises.
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