The Names

[Front-Ranger]

Jack Keroac is such a good one,The book is a must read for most teens.Thanks for that reminder.

Fiona and everyone, there's a discussion of On the Road here:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,8941.0/all.html

I am currently listening to the book on CD, as read by Matt Dillon.

[optom3]

Fiona and everyone, there's a discussion of On the Road here:

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,8941.0/all.html

I am currently listening to the book on CD, as read by Matt Dillon.

Reading your post brought back so many teenage memories that I nipped out to Barnes and noble and bought a copy.While I was there I also bought,the road to Wigan pier and down and out in Paris and london by Orwell,which I had read about the same time

[Artiste]

Very interesting posts and thread !!

[Artiste]

Front-Ranger, you say:
     The names Ledger and Gyllenhaal seem to be opposites in several different ways. Gyllenhaal is a playful sounding name with lots of vowels; Ledger is a solid sounding name with more consonants.
 
 
 
     
............

Front-Ranger, may I totally agree with you!

Maybe, it's likewise with the names Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist; it seems to me that Jack was playing with the names Ennis Del Mar the first time he heard it  !!  ??

Au revoir,
hugs!

[Front-Ranger]

Front-Ranger, you say:
     The names Ledger and Gyllenhaal seem to be opposites in several different ways. Gyllenhaal is a playful sounding name with lots of vowels; Ledger is a solid sounding name with more consonants.
............

Front-Ranger, may I totally agree with you!

Maybe, it's likewise with the names Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist; it seems to me that Jack was playing with the names Ennis Del Mar the first time he heard it  !!  ??

Good point, Artiste. Maybe it was a family trait...Old Man Twist seemed to be playing with Ennis' name too, but in an acrimonious way. "'Ennis Del Mar...Ennis Del Mar' he used a say. We gonna come  and whip this land into shape." (I'm paraphrasing here). Ennis seemed to be sensitive about his name. When he HAD to divulge his last name to Jack, he said DEL mar, instead of del MAR, as if trying to make it more manly and redneck. It is certainly easy to imagine Ennis as a boy being taunted on the playground about his first name!!

[Artiste]

Front-Ranger, you made my day !!

Wondered why Ennis was accenting DEL ?

Au revoir,
hugs!  Is that too in Annie's story?

[Shakesthecoffecan]

Twist could also be a reference to sexuality, in earlier times someone suspected to be homosexual would be called "Twisted" and sometime queerpeople would even refer to theirselves that way.

I think it interesting that Del Mar is a name of obvious Spanish origin, as is Aguirre, reflecting the settlement of the area as parts of the west as "New Spain" in the 1600s. Neither man would probably ever think of theirselves as anything but American.

[Artiste]

Wow, shakestheground, well said:
      Twist could also be a reference to sexuality, in earlier times someone suspected to be homosexual would be called "Twisted"       
............

Even some presidents (and others) of some countries to-day call us gays as mental, twisted, sick, etc.; unfortunately, since they are ignorant!

Much can be done for education yet ! And respect for human life, not seen in China, Iran, etc., for gays !!

Au revoir,
hugs!

[Gabreya]

I heard that Ennis and Jack's names are a bit of a logical and non-logical sense. It was once a discussion over at IMDb, as well. Someone had said that the name of Ennis something you wouldn't hear every day.
It's more of a small town, country boy-like name. The name of Jack sounds very common. It can be any guy's name. It's more of a strong, tough guy-type. Not that Ennis doesn't sound like it.

And also, someone said that few people would know a guy named Ennis but most people would probably know a guy named Jack. It sorta doesn't matter exactly where in this country but still, that seems to symbolize a little bit how Jack seemed more OUT THERE and Ennis is more INSIDE.

Any thoughts?

[Brown Eyes]

I heard that Ennis and Jack's names are a bit of a logical and non-logical sense. It was once a discussion over at IMDb, as well. Someone had said that the name of Ennis something you wouldn't hear every day.
It's more of a small town, country boy-like name. The name of Jack sounds very common. It can be any guy's name. It's more of a strong, tough guy-type. Not that Ennis doesn't sound like it.

And also, someone said that few people would know a guy named Ennis but most people would probably know a guy named Jack. It sorta doesn't matter exactly where in this country but still, that seems to symbolize a little bit how Jack seemed more OUT THERE and Ennis is more INSIDE.

Any thoughts?

Yes, I think there probably is something quite significant about the differences in the way the two names sound and the relative common-ness of the names.   It's certainly true that almost everyone knows someone named "Jack" or "John"... and Ennis even implies this in his response to Alma when she asks him if he "knows someone name of Jack".

I like your interpretation that this seems to imply that Jack is more immersed in society (by way of how his name functions in society) vs. the relatively unusual name of Ennis.  The name "Del Mar" also is in Spanish, while "Twist" is a straightforward English word.

In general I think the contrasts between their names is important.  It works well with the yin and yang nature of their personalities and relationship.