Mar and Twist

[Brown Eyes]

Hey Buds,

I remember once long ago (somewhere) there was a really interesting discussion of all the different dictionary definitions of the word Twist.  I thought it might be fun to re-examine this line of analysis and look at what the different meanings are for both Mar and Twist and how the associations with those words might function in the film/ story.  Some of these definitions come to seem a little bit poetic sometimes when thinking about the context of BBM. For the record, I'm using my typical dictionary on hand (it would be interesting to see if other dictionaries include more definitions, etc.), which is Webster's 9th Collegiate Dictornary.  And, I'm preserving the dictionary's capitalization, etc. and the examples of usage are also directly from the dictionary's definitions.

Mar (this is in addition to the metaphor of "island in the sea" that seems to fit with Ennis's whole name):

1 mar- vt, marred; marring [marren, fr.: to obstruct, waste...]- 1: to detract from the perfection or wholeness of: SPOIL 2: archaic, a: to inflict serious bodily harm on. b: DESTROY.  syn see INJURE

2 mar- n (14c): something that mars: BLEMISH




Twist (there are tons more definitions for this word than for Mar, which has only the brief entry noted above)

1 twist- vb, 1 a: to unite by winding [--ing strands together] b: to make by twisting strands together [--ing thread from yarn] c: to mingle by interlacing

2: TWINE, COIL

3 a: to wring or wrench so ast to dislocate or distort: SPRAIN  b: to alter the meaning of: DISTORT, PERVERT [--ed the facts]  c: CONTORT [--ed his face into a grin] d: to pull off, turn or break by torsion  e: to cause to move with a turning mostion  f: to form into a spiral shape  g: to cause to take on moral, mental, or emotional deformity  h: to make (one's way) in a winding or devious manner to a destination or objective

~ vi   1: to follow a winding course: SNAKE

2 a: to turn or change shape under torsion  b: to assume a spiral shape  c: SQUIRM, WRITHE d: to dance the twist

3: to rotate while taking a curving path or direction [ball]

4: TURN:  to bring strong pressure to bear on one

2 twist- n-  1: something formed by winding: as a: a thread, yarn, or cord formed by twisting two or more strands together  b: a strong tightly twisted string  c: a baked piece of twisted dough

2: the fleshing between the hind legs esp. of cattle or sheep

3 a: an act of twisting: state of being twisted b: a dance performed with strenuous gyrations esp. of the hips  c: the spin given a ball in any of various games d: spiral turn or curve

4 a: a turning off a straight course  b: ECCENTRICITY, IDIOSYNCRASY  c: a distortion of meaning or sense

5 a: an unexpected turn or development  b: a clever device: TRICK  c: a variant approach or method: GIMMICK




It's interesting that the bull-riding association didn't make it into this particular dictionary's definition. And, I wonder if Proulx went through exercises like this (thinking about definitions of words... beyond what she's said about the association of "twist" with bull riding) in naming her characters.

[HerrKaiser]

Great idea for a re-look subject! thanks much for the thoughts!

for me, I always felt "mar" epitomized Ennis' ocean/sea-like complexity and personality--unpredicatble yet able to be forecast, deep, mysterious, calmly beautiful, stormy at times, conquerable but never conquered, sought after but not always compatible.

there is a section of my town named "del mar" with a nice sign with the name; and I pass it at least twice a day and nod a salute/reverence to Ennis.

[serious crayons]

Good points, Amanda! I'd thought of Ennis' last name in the whole island-in-the-sea context, too, but this is another interesting way to look at it. The men -- or their lives -- were marred and twisted by their culture of hate.

Rich and Earl, on the other hand, have names suggesting wealth and royalty. Earl came to a terrible end, of course, but while they were together they enjoyed life's bounty.

[Artiste]

Wow, wow, atz75!!

You certainly explain Ennis and Jack....
as ineedcrayons say of them:
The men -- or their lives -- were marred and twisted by their culture of hate.
...

Those two words (mar and twist) are revealing!! As the two main roles are too in the movie!!
Annie did think rightly using these two names!!

What do you find for: Del?

Hugs!!

[Brown Eyes]

LOL,  you all give me too much credit.  All I did really is copy the definitions from the dictionary.

Katherine, I've never stopped to consider the idea that Earl and Rich had names with concrete meanings too.  Very interesting observation.

[serious crayons]

Katherine, I've never stopped to consider the idea that Earl and Rich had names with concrete meanings too.  Very interesting observation.

I can't claim credit for it, unfortunately. I can't remember where I heard it. But now that we're on a roll, I bet a lot of names have suggestive meanings.

Lureen lured Jack.

L.D. Newsome had "new money" -- a new sum of money.

Uncle Harold subtly heralded future tragedy.

[Artiste]

What do you find for: Del?

[Brown Eyes]

What do you find for: Del?

Well, there is no plain "del" in my dictionary but here's the definition as printed for "dell"

dell- n: ravine, valley:  a secluded hollow or small valley usu. covered with trees or turf.

[serious crayons]

dell- n: ravine, valley:  a secluded hollow or small valley usu. covered with trees or turf.

Well, that's not altogether unfitting either, hunh? Ennis is secluded and covered, for sure.

[Artiste]

Thanks atz75!

And for Del, Ennis is also like a valley, if I may say like a flat land... as he is steady doing the SAME ways (as in always finding jobs being not lazy, as in wanting to marry his lady, and to keep on befriending Jack but also steadily fearing that)!! Like a flat land or a valley, Ennis is even flat voiced using the SAME tone of voice.

In many ways, Ennis is del Mar, yes a mar.. destroying, as in fighting others, fighting himself, fighting love till he loves more Jack, etc., all as he detracts for perfection,  as in the perfect love between him and Jack they could have; Ennis does waste time too... as he could have lived with Jack after his divorce, yes??


In some ways more and more, Ennis is also Twist, which changes that DEL bit by bit... luckily!! Ennis becomes a rock, a mountain!! ??


Are my thoughts coherent??

Which are yours, and from all,

hugs!!

[Brown Eyes]

I dug deeply back in Open Forum for Throwback Thursday and stumbled across this old thread that started a good conversation, and I think it might be fun to see if the discussion could be expanded a bit.   LOL, I completely forgot I once started this thread...

To me the use of language in naming and in picking locations/ location names seems very important on metaphorical levels... in both the screenplay and Proulx's story.

Things like "Sage" and "Lightning" and "Flat" seem important.  Aside from the associations with wisdom and with herbs for cooking... does sage have other symbolic meaning?  And, "lightning" seems to evoke the "quicksilver" aspect of Jack and his general sense of energy and somehow "flat" evokes Jack's tragedies and disappointments.

I think the Earl and Rich observations are great.  I feel like there must be more things like this tucked away in the rich language of BBM... it makes the whole thing seem very poetic in construction.

[serious crayons]

This IS an interesting thread. I wonder why it didn't get longer at the time?

Artiste makes a very astute point. Dell is a valley. Lightning Flat is flat. Both are terms for landforms that are the opposite of mountains, as in Brokeback Mountain. Jack twisted away from his flat background. But Ennis can't climb out of the valley or out of the sea.

Dell is also a brand of computer, so it might suggest that Ennis, years later, would go back to school for a degree in computer programming.

[Brown Eyes]

Dell is also a brand of computer, so it might suggest that Ennis, years later, would go back to school for a degree in computer programming.

 
Good one K!  Maybe that could be the start of a new fanfic story...

I like the observation that their names refer to land formations.  It reminds me of old conversations about how Ennis is the "earth" while Jack is the "air."   In this regard "Twist" also evokes the idea of a tornado (twister) for me.

I keep feeling like "Signal" must mean something too...

[Front-Ranger]

Things like "Sage" and "Lightning" and "Flat" seem important.  Aside from the associations with wisdom and with herbs for cooking... does sage have other symbolic meaning?  And, "lightning" seems to evoke the "quicksilver" aspect of Jack and his general sense of energy and somehow "flat" evokes Jack's tragedies and disappointments.

Here's something from an interview Annie did with The Missouri Review that reveals her fascination with the metaphorical quality of names. Her mother asked her what some classical music made her think of. She said,  "'A bishop running through the woods,' I answered. I had no idea what a bishop was but liked the word for its conjunction of hiss and hiccup. What the music made me see in my mind's eye was a tall, glassy, salt-cellar figure, ”the bishop,” gliding through a dark forest dappled with round spots of light. The connections of perception between the sounds of the music and the image of trees / slipping figure / broken light had been made."

Jack was a "lightning rod" to the bigoted public and his simple wish to follow his dreams and be true to himself attracted ire. "Flat" expresses not only the disappointments and the harsh judgements of society to flatten him, but also the harmonica (itself a metaphor) that was flattened in a fall from a "filly" (rejection by society) and the way he may have died, from trying to pump up a flat tire which exploded on him.

Sage is a little more obtuse. Although sage is not the official plant of Wyoming, it probably should be. It has a sweet-salty aroma, like Jack and although it grows well in the arid climate, it is unpalatable to animals. To humans, it is tasty in small quantities and benefits the bloodstream. It is good added to beans! I guess that's the closest I can get for a reason Annie might have chosen Sage as Ennis's hometown. Sage and Lightning Flat are in the extreme opposite corners of the state and they are real places although both are ghost towns.

[serious crayons]

the way he may have died, from trying to pump up a flat tire which exploded on him.

Killed by trying to put too much air in something that was flat ...

[Penthesilea]

I looked up Mar and found that in Spanish it means of course sea/ocean, as we all know, but it also means

a lot of/abundance.

la mar   - abundancia      jede Menge
la mar   - abundancia        die Unmenge
(Leo dictionary)


la mar de loc adv (gran cantidad) a whole bunch of n phr
   loads of n phr
   tons of n phr
   scads of n phr
wordreference dictionary

which makes sense, because if I have a whole sea of [whatever], I sure have an abundance of it.

Not sure what to make of it though.


As far as Ennis goes, I found interesting things (I think).

Ennis means island, which is also not new, and in connection with Del Mar still makes the most sense to me: island in the sea.

However, Ennis also means "The only choice" in gaelic (meaning of names.com). I also found a definition that translated it with "one choice".

Now this I can relate to Ennis. He's a 'one-man-man'; he made his one choice with Jack and that was it for him. He also made the only choice he could make in regard to not living together and stuck with it till the end.
He also was Jack's one choice (Radall and Mexico be damned).
I think this "one choice" theme fits nicely with Ennis' character.

[Sason]

That's an interesting interpretation of the name Ennis, Chrissi. I haven't heard it before.

I agree with you, Ennis is a "one choice man", and he sticks with it.

But I can also see the "one choice" being interpreted in relation to external factors, not only to Ennis' personality.

He did, de facto, have very few choices in his life. No money, no education, small town,  a family to support regardless - there weren't  thaat many openings for him.

So, external and internal factors in combination created Ennis - the man of few choices.