Author Topic: Carving up the Two Old Birds  (Read 38515 times)

ruthlesslyunsentimental

  • Guest
Carving up the Two Old Birds
« on: July 03, 2006, 02:26:16 am »
I don’t know whether this has been discussed, but here’s my take on the symbolism of knives in the film.  If others have discussed this, maybe my post will add something new.

I believe there are no throw-away lines or scenes in BBM.  Everything is there for a reason.

I also believe that in every line there is text, subtext, and metaphor/symbolism.  So here’s my take on knives.

There are several significant occurrences of knives in the film.  The first is when Ennis is lying in the tent carving a little horsey.  We already know that horses symbolism Ennis.  So, he is carving himself.  This has been a major plotline throughout the entire film – Ennis always trying to create a happier, whole Ennis.  Throughout the film, he fails miserably, his carving is never completed.  But at the end, starting with his breakdown at the final lake scene, and continuing with the revelations he gets from Cassie, Lureen, Mr. and Mrs. Twist, and the shirts, he starts to make progress.  In Jack’s bedroom, the first thing Ennis does is he picks up a little horse and cowboy statuette.  We know this couldn’t be the one that Ennis was working on because it’s much smaller, more frail, and it has a rider on it.  This toy is evocative of Jack and his cowboy dreams, but it also is a visual clue to us that Ennis is finally on his road to finishing the carving he started back on Brokeback Mountain.  Also, that Jack’s carving (forming of himself) was more complete much earlier on than was Ennis’.

The next significant knife is the one Jack uses to peel his potato while Ennis peels his clothes off.  Jack is peeling himself.  Yes, Jack is a potato.  Jack is beginning to peel away his outer layer of his homosexuality.  Up until now, he has been interested in Ennis, stealing glances here and there, but he has not really started to “make his move,” if you will.  He has worked his can opener on Ennis, and will continue to do so, but it’s after this scene that Jack starts his “not-just-friendship” actions with Ennis.  This is further reinforced by the Basque.  The Basque is a very important character in the early part of the film.  He’s there to clue Ennis in on timing.  The only time restriction that Ennis has on the mountain is to meet the Basque every Friday at noon.  The one time we see Ennis meet the Basque for deliveries, the Basque tells Ennis that it’s too early in the summer for soup (to be sick of beans) – he’s telling Ennis that it’s too early in Ennis’ development to start a relationship with Jack – Ennis tried to order soup – a sexual relationship with Jack -- but was stuck with beans – a friendship relationship with Jack – but it’s too early for him.  Likewise, when Ennis asks why he didn’t get the spuds in this delivery, he’s told that there are none.  There isn’t a potato yet for Jack to peel – metaphorically, Jack is not yet ready either.  It’s immediately after the Basque scene that Ennis is confronted by the bear and is thrown from his horse, who was spooked.  Ennis was confronted by his fears and was spooked and he, himself, was thrown.  Immediately after Jack peels his potato (he’s getting ready to go further with Ennis) is the ‘yee-haw’ scene where Jack sees his opening – the sad pall brought down on their conversation by Ennis telling Jack that “Hell, that’s the most I’ve spoke in a year.”  And Jack takes his opening, and does his little mating dance for Ennis – Yee-Haw!

They use their knives to carve or form themselves.

The next significant appearance of a knife is when Alma suggests that she and Ennis and Jack go to the Knife and Fork together.  Ennis shoots down this idea.  Metaphorically, Ennis will not let another person carve up their relationship which he knows he is just about to reignite.  Ennis says that Jack isn’t the restaurant type – he’s not the type to let someone else take control and carve – and that they’ll just go out and get drunk – whenever Jack drinks alcohol, he takes control of something, whenever Ennis drinks alcohol he loses control of something – often, himself.

The next significant occurrence is at the Thanksgiving dinners.  Here, two old birds get carved.  The two old birds were, according to Ennis, Earl and Rich.  But Ennis and Jack are also two old birds.  When Ennis tells Jack the Earl death story, Ennis himself is comparing Earl’s and Rich’s situation to Jack’s and Ennis’, making Jack and Ennis a pair of old birds.  At Thanksgiving at the Twist home, LD Newsome starts to carve up the old bird, Jack.  But Jack will not have it.  Jack takes control of his home and his family and metaphorically says “If anyone is going to carve this bird (me), then it’s going to be me.”  And Jack picks up the knife and carves.

At Alma’s Thanksgiving Spectacular, the old bird is being carved by Monroe.  Here, Ennis is not in control of his life or family.  Someone new has come into the picture, replacing Ennis in his roles of husband and father.  He cannot wrest this away from Monroe, and Monroe continues carving their old bird, Ennis.  (Aside -- Now Monroe uses an electric knife and Jack uses a fancy-dancy carving set.  There may be some symbolism in here, but I’ll bet the only real significance of the electric knife is that it was Ennis’ wedding gift to Alma and Monroe.    ;)    :laugh:   )

The final significant appearance of knives is in Ennis’ trailer in the final scene.  He has not one, but two sets of knives in knife blocks.  Because of the revelations he has had concerning the true meaning of his relationship with Jack (the final lake scene breakdown, Cassie, Lureen, the Twists, and the shirts), Ennis is now ready to really take control of carving his life into something that will make him happier and whole.  There are so many knives there either because he’s going to get really good at it, or because it’ll still take him a long time.  He was good back on Brokeback at tying things in knots, and he continued this throughout the film by tying himself in knots with his disassociations between what he felt for Jack and what he was taught to be the truth of such a thing.  Now he has all the knives he needs to cut those knots free.

Now, what have we learned boys and girls?

That knives symbolize the men carving or forming themselves, that each man is responsible for doing his own carving or forming, and most importantly, that Jack is a potato.



Offline serious crayons

  • Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,712
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2006, 01:12:51 am »
Wow, Ruthlessly, very impressive! Everything here makes a lot of sense. And how exciting to add yet another common household object to the (still growing!) list of amazing symbols. And connecting the old birds/Thanksgiving turkeys is a great idea, too.

It so happens that the last time or two I watched the movie I noticed one set of knives and a knife block in Ennis' trailer (what, there are two?!). I got one of those things (actually, come to think of it, two of them!) for wedding gifts -- up until then I just used regular old knives lying in a drawer. It's a pretty unusual possession for a guy who don't have nothin and don't need nothin; it would be odd if he wound up with those when he and Alma divvied up the joint property. And of course when some prop stands out, it suggests some larger meaning ...

Also, you also make lots of little interesting sideline observations on the way, such as:

Quote
Jack’s carving (forming of himself) was more complete much earlier on than was Ennis’.

and

Quote
whenever Jack drinks alcohol, he takes control of something, whenever Ennis drinks alcohol he loses control of something – often, himself.

Other preliminary off-the-cuff reactions:

In that early sequence, we see them sawing a tree together. Does that count, or are saws too far off to count as an example of the symbol?

Your post made me notice that Ennis is carving a horse with no rider and Jack later imitates a rider with no horse (or bull).

There's an unseen but implied knife used in cutting up the elk, symbol of their relationship in balance and harmony.

You know I have a different theory about the significance of the electric knife  ;) but I don't think that interferes with the main point of your theory.

So does that make Alma a fork?


Offline nakymaton

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,045
  • aka Mel
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2006, 01:25:30 am »
Nice post. But it's late and I'm punchy.

and most importantly, that Jack is a potato.

So does that mean that, if one is a Gyllenhaalic, that Jack is a hot potato?
Watch out. That poster has a low startle point.

ruthlesslyunsentimental

  • Guest
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2006, 03:58:07 am »
Everything here makes a lot of sense. And how exciting to add yet another common household object to the (still growing!) list of amazing symbols. And connecting the old birds/Thanksgiving turkeys is a great idea, too.

Thanks.  The connection between the two old birds and the turkeys hit me one day.  Since the first time I saw the film, I connected Earl and Rich as two old birds with Jack and Ennis (one dies, one lives, presumably; and of course, the images of Earl's and Jack's deaths).  But someone somewhere mentioned the bird that flies over the white truck so I got to thinking about all the occurrences of birds in the film.  The two turkeys suddenly stood out like a sore thumb.


Quote
It's a pretty unusual possession for a guy who don't have nothin and don't need nothin; it would be odd if he wound up with those when he and Alma divvied up the joint property. And of course when some prop stands out, it suggests some larger meaning ...

Exactly my thoughts.  And the restaurant name "Knife and Fork."  There are no other forks in the film that have any "stand out" quality, but the knives do.


Quote
Also, you also make lots of little interesting sideline observations on the way, such as:

whenever Jack drinks alcohol, he takes control of something, whenever Ennis drinks alcohol he loses control of something – often, himself.


This didn’t strike me for a long time.  It seemed as if they were always drinking, but then I noticed, they're not always drinking.  So I watched for what happens when alcohol is near them... either them drinking or not drinking.  It seems consistent that when Jack drinks, he takes control.  When Ennis drinks, Ennis loses control.  When one drinks and the other does not, the rule applies for the one who drank, while the opposite of the rule occurs for the other guy -- because he did not drink.  For example, in the reunion river scene, Jack is drinking a beer.  He's going to take control.  He offers up the idea of a cow-and-calf operation.  But Ennis is NOT drinking in this scene.  And so he's not going to lose control; rather, he's going to stay in control... and he does.  He says "no way" to two guys living together.  But when there is alcohol around them and no one is drinking it, then the rules still apply because those are essentially their characters -- Jack taking control, Ennis losing control.  Also, it seems that the amount they each drink has a direct relationship to how much Jack takes control or Ennis loses control.  For example, Ennis drank A LOT before FNIT and before the reunion kiss.  He lost control big time in each scene.  Jack drank just a tiny little shot glass of alcohol just as Lureen approaches him in the bar.  He's going to take control, but in a small way.  He was lonely, he was just scraping by, he was shot down by Jimbo, he was losing at his riding.  But today he was the winner (he even had his photo taken with Lureen, the other winner) and he wasn't shot down (Lureen picked him up) and he saw her family money.  So he took control and made the decision to hook up with Lureen.  It was a life-changing decision, but little did he know that he wouldn't get any of that control he was hoping for in his life with Lureen until more than 10 years later when a glass of wine sits in front of him at his Thanksgiving dinner table.  Then, of course, one of my favorites, is at the final lake scene... they're passing the whiskey back and forth AND they're kicking it up a notch with the marijuana.  The next day Jack takes control of the relationship like never before.  Ennis loses control like never before.  I could go on and on...


Quote
In that early sequence, we see them sawing a tree together. Does that count, or are saws too far off to count as an example of the symbol?

They are starting to form a life together here.  Notice how at this moment the music changes to the full violin.  Ennis is sawing (forming his life) and sawing is a slower and more careful process than chopping.  Jack chops with an axe, more direct and hard hitting.  Now, what's interesting here is that they chop wood, just as Ennis carved wood.  Ennis was carving his life.  This scene is more about Ennis' life being formed.  Ennis is carefully forming his life, Jack is more hard hitting.  Next when Aguirre rides up, Jack is chopping a piece of wood.  It's post-SNIT and he chops the piece of wood right in two, one blow.  He's ready to separate Ennis' two selves... the one that now loves Jack and the one that is fearful of that love.  Similarly when Ennis comes back to camp as Jack is taking down the tent, Ennis first goes and sits on the chopping block.  He picks up a piece of wood, contemplates it for a second, and then throws it away in disgust.  He's sitting on the chopping block literally, like he did figuratively in the Aguirre scene, but as Jack chopped him two, Ennis picks up that one half -- the half that loves Jack -- and throws it away in disgust  -- not symbolizing throwing his love for Jack away, but symbolizing the formation of that piece of wood that Jack formed from Ennis was just futile.  Notice too that at the post-divorce scene, there is an axe in a pile of wood next to Ennis' house.  It's really obvious as Jack backs away in his truck.  Jack missed it when he drove up.  He shouldn't have.  This is also conspicuous because there is NOT an axe outside of his trailer, but there is a shovel.  The one other thing I didn’t include in my OP is the one significant absence of a knife.  In the Twist family home, Mrs. Twist offers cherry cake.  How would she serve it to Ennis?  She'd have to use a knife to cut the cake.  But Ennis "can't eat no cake just now."  Text: no cake just now.  Subtext: he's sick with grief, doesn't feel like eating.  Metaphor: she offers to carve or form him a little more, but he's not ready for that last little bit of forming.  But, after Old Man Twist tells about the other rancher, and Mrs. Twist puts her hand of compassion on his shoulder to nudge him upstairs, the formation will become complete... as evoked by the fully formed cowboy statuette.


Quote
Your post made me notice that Ennis is carving a horse with no rider and Jack later imitates a rider with no horse (or bull).

Yes!  Ennis is forming himself without Jack at this early stage, and at the 'yee-haw' scene, Jack takes his rightful place.


Quote
There's an unseen but implied knife used in cutting up the elk, symbol of their relationship in balance and harmony.

Yes.  I agree.  But the elk is also a symbol of a substitute life.  Beans -- the friendship life, soup -- the coupled life, elk -- the poor substitute (Ennis' intransigence over the years).  Jack goes along with the poor substitute of a coupled life, that Jack really wants, and the poor substitute life dwindles away over the years.  Similarly, the elk is eaten by them, bit by bit, until it, too, disappears.  (Interestingly, it disappears right before they move to the second camp, right before they start the life that Jack thinks is going to be forever.)


Quote
You know I have a different theory about the significance of the electric knife  ;) but I don't think that interferes with the main point of your theory.

I did give it consideration after you mentioned it, but that was also after I originally posted this.    :)


Quote
So does that make Alma a fork?

You know, if it had been Monroe rather than LD Newsome who stuck a fork in that old bird I'd start thinkin' along this line.  One does often stick a fork in a potato to see if it's done...


« Last Edit: July 04, 2006, 04:05:14 am by ruthlesslyunsentimental »

ruthlesslyunsentimental

  • Guest
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2006, 03:59:22 am »
So does that mean that, if one is a Gyllenhaalic, that Jack is a hot potato?

Whatever works...  :laugh:

Offline serious crayons

  • Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,712
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2006, 11:28:16 am »
Well, yay! That all makes sense. I like your analysis of wood-chopping. Yes, I had noticed the music changes when they're cutting up the tree. And I had wondered about the significance of Ennis grabbing the log and then tossing it. I figured that, coming as it does right after Ennis kicking the water in the stream -- their relationship -- it must mean something.

And this is a good way to explain the connection between the little horses, for which I hadn't previously found a really satisfactory answer.

Quote
I did give it consideration after you mentioned it, but that was also after I originally posted this.    Smiley

I'm kidding, kind of. It's not essential to mention, because I don't think my interpretation of the electric knife interferes with your theory (to those who haven't seen me say this before, it reminds me of a vibrator -- albeit a dangerous one -- suggesting that Monroe is a substitute for Ennis). I see it as a subtle joke, but certainly jokes can coexist with more serious metaphoric schemes. (Or enhance them, as with the laundry-entrance sign.)

Anyway, thanks for posting all of this. I like your interpretations a lot.


Offline Meryl

  • BetterMost Supporter
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,205
  • There's no reins on this one....
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2006, 01:32:38 pm »
The next significant occurrence is at the Thanksgiving dinners.  Here, two old birds get carved.  The two old birds were, according to Ennis, Earl and Rich.  But Ennis and Jack are also two old birds.  When Ennis tells Jack the Earl death story, Ennis himself is comparing Earl’s and Rich’s situation to Jack’s and Ennis’, making Jack and Ennis a pair of old birds.  At Thanksgiving at the Twist home, LD Newsome starts to carve up the old bird, Jack.  But Jack will not have it.  Jack takes control of his home and his family and metaphorically says “If anyone is going to carve this bird (me), then it’s going to be me.”  And Jack picks up the knife and carves.

At Alma’s Thanksgiving Spectacular, the old bird is being carved by Monroe.  Here, Ennis is not in control of his life or family.  Someone new has come into the picture, replacing Ennis in his roles of husband and father.  He cannot wrest this away from Monroe, and Monroe continues carving their old bird, Ennis. 

The final significant appearance of knives is in Ennis’ trailer in the final scene.  He has not one, but two sets of knives in knife blocks.  Because of the revelations he has had concerning the true meaning of his relationship with Jack (the final lake scene breakdown, Cassie, Lureen, the Twists, and the shirts), Ennis is now ready to really take control of carving his life into something that will make him happier and whole.  There are so many knives there either because he’s going to get really good at it, or because it’ll still take him a long time.  He was good back on Brokeback at tying things in knots, and he continued this throughout the film by tying himself in knots with his disassociations between what he felt for Jack and what he was taught to be the truth of such a thing.  Now he has all the knives he needs to cut those knots free.

Hi ruthless, I have enjoyed your posts a lot and find them impressively well thought out and persuasive, and this one is no exception.  Your thoughts about the knife symbolism are much appreciated, as this is a topic I've often wondered about.  I also like to think that everything in the film is there for a reason and is rife with metaphor and subtext.

I like your take on the early knife instances as being symbolic of the boys forming their characters and their lives.  This makes sense, and the riderless horse and Jack's imaginary bull make a nice pairing.

Though there's no reason to refute your interpretation of the two old birds, I'll throw in another view.  After Ennis rejects Jack in the post-divorce scene, things take a downward turn.  If Jack and Ennis are the turkeys, it's clear that at this point they start to diminish, no matter who is doing the carving.  The lifeblood has gone out of them, they are done to a turn, and their very essence is consumed by the families they provide for rather than going to fuel their relationship.  In the end, all that is left are the bones of that relationship.

The knives in the trailer could represent potential, following through with your earlier analogy, but I take a more pessimistic view of Ennis's future.  To me, those knives seem to be left over from a former tenant, and as such might represent the leftover baggage Ennis carries from his life--old wounds, old hopes.  The knives speak of stabs of grief, of pain, of guilt, of words unspoken.  Yes, they can slice through knots, but will Ennis ever pick them up to do so?  IMO they are a mute testament to pain.  :(
Ich bin ein Brokie...

Offline serious crayons

  • Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,712
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2006, 02:59:28 pm »
The knives in the trailer could represent potential, following through with your earlier analogy, but I take a more pessimistic view of Ennis's future.  To me, those knives seem to be left over from a former tenant, and as such might represent the leftover baggage Ennis carries from his life--old wounds, old hopes.  The knives speak of stabs of grief, of pain, of guilt, of words unspoken.  Yes, they can slice through knots, but will Ennis ever pick them up to do so?  IMO they are a mute testament to pain.  :(

Wow, Meryl, I like this, too. Besides, I'm not averse to the idea that one object can have two symbolic meanings. That's just two for the price of one, in my book.

ruthlesslyunsentimental

  • Guest
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2006, 03:23:21 pm »
Anyway, thanks for posting all of this. I like your interpretations a lot.

And I like (a lot) that you like my interpretations a lot.  ;D


But they're just mine and I hope to hear some others from others... and I like what you added here.



ruthlesslyunsentimental

  • Guest
Re: Carving up the Two Old Birds
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2006, 03:30:53 pm »
I'll throw in another view.  After Ennis rejects Jack in the post-divorce scene, things take a downward turn.  If Jack and Ennis are the turkeys, it's clear that at this point they start to diminish, no matter who is doing the carving.  The lifeblood has gone out of them, they are done to a turn, and their very essence is consumed by the families they provide for rather than going to fuel their relationship.  In the end, all that is left are the bones of that relationship.

LOVE IT!  Thanks for this addition!


Quote
The knives in the trailer could represent potential, following through with your earlier analogy, but I take a more pessimistic view of Ennis's future.  ... The knives speak of stabs of grief, of pain, of guilt, of words unspoken.  Yes, they can slice through knots, but will Ennis ever pick them up to do so? 

I can certainly go along with this.  I am also pessimistic -- ruthlessly unsentimental -- about Ennis' future.  I see him as working hard every day, maybe going to a bar, alone, for several beers, or to the bus depot, alone, for pie... but then sitting in his trailer all evening long, again, alone, drinking beers, smoking cigarettes and watching TV or gazing at the shirts hanging in the opened closet.  To be brutally frank, I see Ennis starting to talk to the shirts after a while.  I think those shirts are going to become his best and only friend.  Still, we did see a teeny weenie bit of movement on his part at the end, didn’t we?