Author Topic: "There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe..."  (Read 35870 times)

Offline nakymaton

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So, how do you interpret the last line of the story?

Here's my interpretation:

There was some open space
  • the things he knew and tried to believe didn't quite match up

between what he knew
  • that Jack was gone
  • that he missed Jack more than anything
  • that he missed his smile, his voice, his dumb-ass missing, his bitching, the way he looked at Ennis's lips like he'd skip breakfast lunch and supper if he could only taste them now...
  • that he would dream about Jack, and some of the dreams were... enough to warm the day, but not something to discuss, even if they wouldn't disappear if he tried to put them into words
  • that he didn't go up there to fish
  • that he loved Jack

and what he tried to believe...
  • that he wasn't like Earl and Rich
  • that he wasn't like Earl and Rich
  • that he wasn't like Earl and Rich
  • that he wasn't like Rich
  • that "I ain't queer"
  • that... he tried to believe...

(I took about a week off, walked away for a bit, and haven't had time to read all the posts in my absence, so apologies if this has been discussed recently in another thread. It's been niggling at me since I decided to try to walk away, though.)
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Offline welliwont

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So, how do you interpret the last line of the story?

Hi Mel:

What a grrrrrreat idea for a thread!!!  I love it!!!   :) :-*  Ok, Here's my interpretation, that I concluded for myself way back in April:

There was some open space
  • uncertainty
  • room for Ennis to draw his own conclusion about how Jack died

between what he knew
  • that he was in the dark as to the truth about how Jack died
  • he did not have concrete evidence, only Lureen's account of it

and what he tried to believe...
  • that Jack was not killed in a brutal way
  • that it was an accident, just as Lureen described

I hope this is clear, I am saying that:  "There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe", I interpret as:

Ennis did not know a hunnerd percent that it was the brutal death of his imagination, so what he tried to believe was that it was the accident.

The reason I concluded this (and I have not read the story for a couple of months so I hope I haven't forgotten all my proofs) is because in the story Annie writes "Ennis did not hear about the accident for months".  So since the narrator of the story called it an accident, that could very well be the correct description for Jack's death.  (Of course I know that she could be calling it an accident as in "Ennis did not hear about the-accident-described-by-Lureen"  so that 'proof' is not conclusive, but my second 'proof' for thinking it was an accident is again based on what the narrator says:

There was some space between what Ennis knew and what he tried to believe  -  hey wait a minute!  I am using the same line in the story to prove the same line in the story! ???  :o  ::)  Good grief!!   ::)   ::) :laugh: :laugh:  I think I better read the story agin, 'n stop readin' so much fanfic 'n threads on BetterMost!!!  (Never gonna happen!!)  ;) ;) ;D

Is there anybody out there who concurs with my interpretation?  Anybody?  Because on the poll of this subject I know that my vote was in the minority.  I have since broadened my view of the bigger picture, but as to the deciphering of this sentence, this is still how I interpret it.

Jane

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Offline RouxB

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Love this line-it is the perfect end to a perfect story. I interpret the line to mean that the open space was Ennis's acknowledgement to himself that perhaps living with Jack would not have resulted in their deaths, that given another chance he-
Ennis-would have made differenct choices, that he-Ennis-had loved Jack from the beginning and that Jack loved him. But the opportunity was gone and the only option left to him was to stand it.

JT-my opinion of the way Jack died was also colored by the choice of words of the narrator-describing the death as an accident. I have never been in the "Jack murdered" camp but there is some open space between with I know and what I want to believe.

 O0

Heathen

Offline Meryl

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Hey Mel, I'm glad the niggling brought you back.  Was missin' you.  :)

When I boil it down, I think that what he knew was that Jack was killed by the tire iron.  What he tried to believe was that he was not.  :(
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Offline Midnight24

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Hey Mel, I'm glad the niggling brought you back.  Was missin' you.  :)

When I boil it down, I think that what he knew was that Jack was killed by the tire iron.  What he tried to believe was that he was not.  :(

I'd have to agree with you. I know it seems kind of opposite of what most people would think, but I have to agree with your way.  ;D
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Offline fernly

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I agree with all of you, and how about this, too...

Much as it tears at me to say it, I think part of what Ennis knew was that the choices he made did help lead to Jack's death.
(Like Jake himself and many others have said before, once Jack was sure that Ennis would never really be with him, that's when he began to die.)

Far as what Ennis tried to believe (and this tears at me, too, that he isn't sure) - he could only try to believe that, given the chance in November, he would finally have said yes to Jack ("Jack, I swear.."),
and saved Jack, and himself.
« Last Edit: June 30, 2006, 02:50:55 am by fernly »
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Offline Midnight24

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I agree with all of you, and how about this, too...

Much as it tears at me to say it, I think part of what Ennis knew was that the choices he made did help lead to Jack's death.
(Like Jake himself and many others have said before, once Jack was sure that Ennis would never really be with him, that's when he began to die.)

Far as what Ennis tried to believe (and this tears at me, too, that he isn't sure) - he could only try to believe that, given the chance in November, he would finally have said yes to Jack ("Jack, I swear..")

What you said really makes sense. It actually makes this a lot more emotional for me (the movie's already emotional enough), but the idea of him finally saying yes in November in the "Jack, I swear..." actually fit in together. Thanks for pointing that out.  ;)
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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I've focussed my understanding narrowly and a little bit differently from what I've read above, not really looking at in relation to the manner of Jack's death. I wish I had the story in front of me, but I never carry it with me to work, so here's my reading:

What Ennis knew, thanks to old man Twist, was that shortly before Jack died he had been talking about bringing someone other than Ennis up to Lightning Flat.

What Ennis tried to believe, since the shirts were still in the closet, was that Jack had not quit him and still loved him.

But Jack was dead, he could never really know, so he had to stand it. Poor Ennis. ...  :(
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Daniel

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I actually performed on of my daily meditations on this line. Whatever its meaning, it is profoundly stated and suggests a great many things in my opinion. It can be interpreted practically any way. See Daily Meditation 23. http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php?topic=538.msg49485#msg49485.
Why do we consume what we consume?
Why do we believe what we believe?
Why do we accept what we accept?
You have a body, a mind, and a soul.... You have a responsibility.

Offline Meryl

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What Ennis knew, thanks to old man Twist, was that shortly before Jack died he had been talking about bringing someone other than Ennis up to Lightning Flat.

What Ennis tried to believe, since the shirts were still in the closet, was that Jack had not quit him and still loved him.

But Jack was dead, he could never really know, so he had to stand it. Poor Ennis. ...  :(

Phew!  That's a sad take on it, Jeff, but it does make sense to me.  Ennis didn't have a lot of self confidence, and I could see him worrying that Jack had found someone more compatible, maybe more 'fun' (as he said to Cassie) to share his life with. 

Ennis had to know that Jack loved him, but a big part of Ennis's grief must have centered on the fact that he drove Jack to do what he did by his refusal to give Jack what he needed.  He tried to believe that he had been right to refuse, but in the end, he knew that that refusal had cost them both dearly.  :'(
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