Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum

Did Jack wait too much time for Ennis to come around?

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ednbarby:

--- Quote ---I think quitting the love of your life is difficult unless you're getting nothing from the relationship -- when the person is indifferent or abusive or whatever. The only problem with Ennis is that he wouldn't live with Jack, or spend enough time with him. But when they were together, I think Ennis was loving and devoted and things were wonderful. That's why Jack missed him so much, and that would be hard to give up.
--- End quote ---

Tell ya what.  Truth is... what you just said there, Katherine.

I was able to quit the love of my life after only two years of tormented love and passion because he became emotionally abusive when we were together.  Perhaps I should thank him for making it easier.

Nah.

starboardlight:

--- Quote from: opinionista on June 08, 2006, 06:37:10 am ---As I was saying at that other thread, Jack, unlike Ennis, was the sort of person who would rather have 5 minutes of wonderful than a whole life of misery and nothing special. 
--- End quote ---

i think that's precisely why Jack stayed so long. He did get those "5 minutes of wonderful" from Ennis. Each of their trips together, he felt the fire and the passion. Being able to have that made his time away barable. Had he moved on, would he feel that way with any one else? Hard to say. Most of us have said, had he moved on to Randall, he would have been settling for an acceptable "nothing special".

serious crayons:
Right, and as far as we know Jack never met anybody else who seemed even remotely possible. He would have been substituting the love of his life for so-so Randall, or worse, a lifetime of Jimbos and Mexico trips.

But opinionista, I have to respectfully disagree with your comment. Ennis chose five minutes of wonderful, too -- a whole life of misery and nothing special is what he had prior to their reunion. It's just that Ennis was willing to get by on only five minutes, whereas Jack wanted much more.

ednbarby:
I'm not like you, Ennis.  I can't make it on a couple o' high altitude fucks once or twice a year...

opinionista:

--- Quote from: starboardlight on June 08, 2006, 12:27:44 pm ---i think that's precisely why Jack stayed so long. He did get those "5 minutes of wonderful" from Ennis. Each of their trips together, he felt the fire and the passion. Being able to have that made his time away barable. Had he moved on, would he feel that way with any one else? Hard to say. Most of us have said, had he moved on to Randall, he would have been settling for an acceptable "nothing special".

--- End quote ---

I think Jack was having those 5 minutes of wonderful from Ennis before that spur of the moment trip he makes to Wyoming. After that, I don't think he was happy anymore. For me, there's no point in meeting someone once or twice a year, just for just a week or less, then spend the rest of the months feeling miserable most of the time, forcing yourself to have sex with people you don't like, crying your eyes out every night because you miss that person so much that you can't hardly stand it. I think it's humiliating, it's a torture, especially if you know that situation is not going to change. But that's my opinion.

As for Randall, we don't know what he meant to Jack. Obviously, he would never love him they way he loved Ennis, but maybe he was able to find some happiness with Randall, and grow to love him with time. I guess that is what Jack ultimately hoped for.

Jack deserved to feel better about himself, to feel fully loved and that he belonged with someone. We all do. In the movie there are many scenes where Jack is shown feeling out of place. He felt he didn't belong anywhere, not with Lureen, not with his family, not with Ennis, because Ennis kept rejecting him, and not with society. That is why I think he should've loved himself some more.  At least it's something I learned for myself, although I know that, as David points out, love can be blind, deaf, mute and stupid.

PS. I want to explain that what I meant by five minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special it was in reference of Ennis's fear of ending up killed. I think Jack couldn't care less about it. He would rather have a life with Ennis, with the ranch and the calf and cow operation, even if that meant the risk of being killed or tortured like Earl was.

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