Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
"I figured you were sore from that punch"
Mikaela:
The wisdom of pa Del Mar:
--- Quote ---You got a take him unawares, don't say nothing to him, make him feel some pain, get out fast and keep doing it until he takes the message. Nothing like hurting somebody to make him hear good. [ ] The lesson was, don't say nothing and get it over quick.
--- End quote ---
>:( >:(
I think I agree with Mel in this respect; - Ennis is lashing out for many reasons, but one of them is the painfully perceived need on Ennis's part to start separating himself completely from Jack in order to go back to "real life". I don't think he belives he can do it at all, without the message being delivered silently, surprisingly, quickly and painfully. Ennis always was a doer, not a talker.
Punching Jack out, and just leaving him - it's such a contrast to the tenderness of TS2, and a contrast to the affection that Jack is demonstrating in comforting Ennis and wiping his nose. All that affectionate stuff - it would be considered to be definitely "queer" outside of the mountain! Ennis is switching over to his "straight guy mode" - where such sissy behaviour and any hint of queerness deserves a punch in the face. He is telling Jack that "as of now, I'm not only "not queer", but behaving "not queer". I'm behaving straight. Our one shot thing is over, ended by a one punch in the face thing."
I don't know which one of them hurts the most when Ennis walks away from Jack, nose still bloody and mind in complete turmoil.
And it certainly gets a message across; - if not for that punch I can't imagine Jack accepting that Ennis is getting married and getting work on some ranch, and just driving off without any further try at arranging to keep in contact once they get down to Signal. The punch creates enough uncertainty in Jack that he lets Ennis walk away.
opinionista:
I have never ever been punched in the face or anywhere else by anyone. However, I know this from experience. I had a relationship a long time ago with a man whom I was very in love with. We were very close and passionate, but lived in different countries and spent lots of time apart. Everytime we had to part ways, we would get mad at each other for no apparent reason, even got into heated arguments, and there were times in which he will leave not speaking to me. After a while, after we have broken up, I figured out those fights were a way to ease the pain the idea of spending time apart caused us, because later when we spoke on the phone or something, neither of us would remember the fight or were mad at the other.
From that experience, I have come to the conclusion that Ennis needed to be mad at Jack, and make Jack somehow hate him, to be able to let go. He needed to ease the pain, so he punches Jack in the face and hard. The split hits harder on Ennis because he was a pessimist. He probably couldn't think of way of seeing Jack again. He thought he was losing him forever. We all saw how bad the split hurts him. When Ennis sees Jack driving away, he gets cramps, drops on his knees and punches the wall very hard to try to ease that horrible pain he was feeling.
In the short story, Ennis tells Jack:
"That summer," said Ennis. "When we split up after we got paid I had gut cramps so bad I pulled over and tried to puke, thought I ate somethiin bad at that place in Dubois. Took me about a year to figure out it was that I shouldn't a let you out a my sights. Too late then by a long, long while."
Jack, on the other hand, had it easier because he was optimist. He had faith in himself, and knew he'll find a way to contact Ennis again. Besides, I think in the mountain when the learn the have to leave, Jack was sure he and Ennis would get back together the next summer. We see Jack hurt when Ennis reminds him that he's marrying Alma and isn't coming back to BBM. I guess Jack figured out that after they had been together, Ennis would decide to break up with Alma. Still, he doesn't quit. He goes back to Aguirre the following summer, hoping to see Ennis again.
Brown Eyes:
Wow! Thanks Friends! What awesome posts here! It's amazing how many different responses we've all had to this scene. Opinionista, I like the idea that Ennis and Jack respond to the split-up differently based on being generally more pessimistic vs. optimistic. That makes sense to me. And, yes, Katherine, I don't think Ennis would have an easy time really beating Jack up. Someone once commented on how much stronger Jack looks, especially in the '63 summer (I think the comment was something like "he's the one with the muscles." lol). I'm guessing that, as you said, the rodeo-ing required a lot of strength and he probably was more well fed (with loving Ma Twist looking after him) than poor Ennis who has to fend for himself.
I think the motivations for the punch are an incredibly complicated mixture of all the things people have suggested. And, the one thing for sure is that it wasn't based on logic. If Ennis was really thinking about it, I'm sure he wouldn't have done it. My initial reaction was along the lines of nakymaton's post. After my first few viewings I was sure this was all about Ennis forcing himself to detach from Jack in order to try to force himself back into his life with Alma, etc. And, I still think this is one very plausible way of looking at things. But, now after reading lots of different arguments about this crucial moment when they split up after the '63 summer, I can see how the situation can be read very differently (along the lines of Katherine's reading) and about his desire not to detach. Maybe it's two sides of the same coin.
Anyway, it's interesting that the souvenir from this heart-wrenching moment became the most sentimental symbol of their love. In taking Ennis's bloody shirt and not washing it... Jack must have moved on from the immediate problem of the punch pretty quickly and instead focused his attention on his desire to hold on to Ennis (or at least a reminder of him).
jpwagoneer1964:
In the movie Jack DOES respond when Ennis says "I thought you were sore about that punch". He says quietly no and says he went back to Signal next year...
In the book the punch was explained by a reflex brought on by roughousing with his brother K.E. (what does that stand for?). as his farther taught hin to handle him. I don't think he meant to hurt Jack.
Midnight24:
--- Quote from: jpwagoneer1964 on June 30, 2006, 02:56:56 am ---In the movie Jack DOES respond when Ennis says "I thought you were sore about that punch". He says quietly no and says he went back to Signal next year...
In the book the punch was explained by a reflex brought on by roughousing with his brother K.E. (what does that stand for?). as his farther taught hin to handle him. I don't think he meant to hurt Jack.
--- End quote ---
I don't think Jack meant to hurt Ennis, he was just roughhousing and maybe it was by instinct.
--- Quote from: goadra on June 29, 2006, 10:33:55 pm ---Slightly off-topic: Does anyone know how actors fake a bloody nose? Just curious.
--- End quote ---
I've always wondered that, too. How do they do that...
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