Hi, inwooder, and welcome! Thanks for reviving this thread! These are hard questions, so I will tackle them one by one, starting with the third one. As Ennis is packing to meet Jack for a "fishing" trip, we hear the radio in the background, where a joke is being told about a big guy, a construction worker, and a little guy. There seems to be a subtext to the joke, hidden meanings that are not expressed but only implied. My feeling is that this background dialogue was chosen for two reasons: it shows the homophobia that is just under the surface in daily life of people in those times (as well as now) and, secondly, it hints at the duplicity of Ennis, the fact that he was leading a double life.
Another thing that happens in this scene is that Ennis gropes in the kitchen cupboard to get his canister (what does he keep in it, coffee or whiskey?) and then heads out the door. Alma, without looking up, says, "Forgettin something?" He has almost left without his fishing creel and net! Later we find out that Alma, through stealthy means, has found out that Ennis doesn't use his fishing gear on these trips. She has ceased to care, though, and casually reads a newspaper. Maybe she is reading the grocery specials for the week that Monroe is offering! It's a good transition scene that illustrates the "slow corrosion" between Alma and Ennis, and the enduring spark between Ennis and Jack.
3. Next scene-(this is right after we see Jack ask Lureen where is blue parka is) Ennis is getting ready to go fishing with Jack, he is packing his bag in his bedroom and there is, off camera, a man talking. He is describing someone, "construction worker...etc" What is that supposed to mean or symbolize?
I think thats all. I apologize if these were all discussed at length some time ago.
They may have been discussed before, but never resolved certainly. Such is the nature of Ang Lee's work, always leaving that "open space" between what we know and what we believe!