What appears to be Jack's black hat hangs by the entry door on the wall behind Ennis. There does not seem to be much else on the white walls in the room except the cross and Jack's hat, so both stand out prominently and they carry similar visual weight. The cross behind Jack's mother is a visual metaphor for the importance of God in her life. Jack's hat behind Ennis can be seen as a similar visual metaphor for the importance of Jack in Ennis's life.
Bruce, I love the detail of the hat in the Lightning Flat scene in the film. I also love all the empty chairs that seem to be constant reminders that Jack is not there. I had never thought to compare the hat on the wall to the cross there too... But this description makes a lot of sense. You're right that it reinforces the role Jack plays in Ennis's life from very early on in the film through to this profound moment here. It really is like Jack is watching over Ennis here and all sorts of forces are driving Ennis to discover those shirts (including Mrs. Twist and probably Jack's longing from beyond the grave). I've always thought of this scene as really rather spooky in a very subtle way. It feels like Jack's spirit is very strongly involved here. When Ennis is in Jack's room and he opens the window to let air (i.e. Jack's symbol) into the room he immediately looks towards the closet as if these two acts are connected. And, then when he's in the closet and touches Jack's old clothing on the rack... I think the detail of the one shirt swinging back and forth almost egging him on to look in the nook at the back is really significant. This whole sequence in Lightning Flat from the time Ennis drives up until the time he leaves is absolutely brilliant filmmaking as far as I'm concerned. It's just loaded with significance. And, while it's clear that there are Christian symbols here, I think it's important to notice that there are also Buddhist/Taoist symbols. I remember really interesting discussions elsewhere on BetterMost about the barn door that we can see outside of Jack's window being like a Yin and Yang symbol but with one of the small dots on one half of the symbol missing (perhaps signifying the absence of Jack now).
What do you all make of the anchor on Jack's bedroom wall (beyond being a reference to Ennis's name)... Is there more to be said about that in terms of any kind of religious meaning? Maybe more of a reference to the fish/ water-walking-Jesus theme?
This is a terrific thread, Amanda - thanks for starting it. And Bruce - excellent observations about the Pentecost.
I'll chime in with my favorite religious symbol in the movie - scales! (I know I've worn this subject out, but I can't help myself.)
There are kitchen scales in Alma's kitchen during the Thanksgiving confrontation with Ennis. I see them as symbolic of her judging Ennis and Jack ('Jack Twist? Jack Nasty! You didn't go up there to fish.') and condemning them. I contrast this to the scales in Mrs. Twist's kitchen when Ennis goes there after Jack's death. She too judges Ennis and Jack, but she reaches out to Ennis with love and compassion and understanding.
And, hey Lynne! Thanks for jumping in here! The scales are definitely a smart detail and very subtle. They certainly carry a lot of different meanings especially with the contrast between the two women and the serious complexities of both those scenes.
Here's another big religious concept that I think is really interesting. It has to do with the idea of Brokeback being a kind of Eden or Paradise Lost that once the boys are "expelled" they can never return. And, they can never really find the same level of peace and contentment in their relationship again. I think this concept is maybe articulated a little better in the story... since it's made clear that they don't return to Brokeback on their camping trips. I think it's easy for a casual viewer of the film to mistakenly think they're going back to Brokeback during their later trips.
In general though, my main point of reference, usually, when thinking about these questions is the film. Somehow I usually gravitate more to the film than the story when I relate to BBM in general. It would be really interesting to me to see a real story- afficionado tackle this topic in-depth.