The mettle of a man

[Lynne]

Lynne...I'm not a fisherman (did , though, when I was 8-10 yrs old), but I think those rods with the eyelets for the line are fly fishing rods.  Someone with more knowledge please respond....Doug
 

Hey Doug - good to see you back!  I also hope you're recovering well!

I visited Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_rod

"A 'fishing pole' is a simple pole or stick for suspending a line (normally fastened to the tip), with a hooked lure or bait. In contrast, 'fishing rod' refers to a more sophisticated casting tool fitted with line guides and a reel for line stowage."

I think the 'line guides' are the metal eyelets I was thinking of - Do we know if J & E had poles or rods?   

Do we know if they were 'fly' fishing? 

"Fly rods tend to have a single, large-diameter line guide (called a stripping guide), with a number of smaller looped guides (aka snake guides) spaced along the rod to help control the movement of the relatively thick fly line."

I haven't find out yet what the stripping guide/looped guide material is.  The article does say that the fly rods were traditionally made of bamboo, so I doubt they started out with mettle. 

[Front-Ranger]

I don't think they were fly fishing. That's regarded as "sissy" in Wyoming, I think. Y'all are invited to rush in and correct me if I'm wrong!! I think they were using live bait, which would just "fly" off the hooks if they were fly fishing. Plus, they were probly fishing in streams where the line doesn't have to go a great distance. Streams and beaver ponds, I would think.

Looking at some of the pics from the movie this morning, I notice how often there's something metal lying on the ground, either the shotgun, ax, or saw. I wonder whether these items are different for a purpose in the various scenes. Like in the "I ain't queer" scene, the gun is lying on the ground, pointing toward the mountains. We know that the gun is a powerful symbol in this movie. But what about the ax and saw? I recall that in one camp-building scene, Jack is using an ax, while Ennis is using the saw. Do they just represent elements of their personalities??

[Lynne]

But what about the ax and saw? I recall that in one camp-building scene, Jack is using an ax, while Ennis is using the saw. Do they just represent elements of their personalities??

Yes, IMO, they were regular fishing rods with the metal line guides.

I always interpreted the ax and saw symbols (and I'm sure this isn't original, but I have no idea where it was first discussed) as being indicative of their respective movie personalities'approaches'.  Ennis is using the saw - slow and steady progress; Jack is swinging the ax - a more direct, less delicate way of getting the same job done, similar to how he keeps at Ennis until he gets him to open up.

It may be inconsistent for story Ennis who 'ran full throttle on all roads'.

[Front-Ranger]

Yes, story Ennis is definitely different than movie Ennis.

I would like to quote from the prologue of the story, which alerts us right away that metal will be very important in this story:

Ennis del Mar wakes before five, wind rocking the trailer, hissing in around the aluminum door and window frames. The shirts hanging on a nail shudder slightly in the draft.

How many metallic things do you count in those two short sentences? I count five, the trailer, the door, the window frames, the nail, and the hands on the clock that point to five!

[Front-Ranger]

Listening to RodneyFL reading Brokeback Mountain, the phrase "rusty but still useable" lept out at me. Metal appears in the dozy embrace scene, as it should. The rusty phrase is "Time to hit the hay" from Ennis's childhood, said by his mother.

[Front-Ranger]

Jack is pictured in the movie with metal implements often. In one of the first scenes of the movie, he is looking at Ennis in a MIRROR while holding a metal RAZOR, knocking it against a TIN cup. Later in the movie, he is often pictured with his trusty HARMONICA. Still later, he is depicted as the seller of big farm equipment made of tons of metal.

[Front-Ranger]

Let us not forget the flashy metal rodeo belt buckle and the lovely clink clink noise as Jack flicks it, setting off the wonderful series of events that follows!!

 

[Front-Ranger]

Then, later, Jack is burdened down with metal watches and his wedding ring that enchains him. This is a heartbreaking shot from the post-divorce scene, where he is actually fingering the wedding ring, while wearing the rodeo belt buckle.

[Lynne]

Listening to RodneyFL reading Brokeback Mountain, the phrase "rusty but still useable" lept out at me. Metal appears in the dozy embrace scene, as it should. The rusty phrase is "Time to hit the hay" from Ennis's childhood, said by his mother.

Lee - I listened to Rodney's reading today on the way to work and this leapt out at me too - there must be something about the way Rodney says it - I *love* it, btw - way better than the audiobook version, IMO.  I scribbled it on an envelope, so I could check this thread, see if it had already been mentioned.  There were a few other phrases that I 'heard' differently than I ever have before, so I'm off to look for related posts. 

[Lynne]

There were metal things in Jack's room. The most heartbreaking was the bronzed shoes. There was also a lamp sconce on the wall in the shape of an anchor.

So, we see that Jack had metal things all around them but either he bungled manipulating them (harmonica, truck, farm equipment, rodeo belt, can opener) or was done in by them (tire iron). Was it that Jack's "mettal" was not sufficient for him to survive or that he didn't have the hardness or armour that Ennis did? Or?

I knew someone HAD to have discovered the anchor before me!  And sure enough I found Lee's post!   

Tonight at the Castro viewing was the first time I noticed the anchor sconce, and I'm left wondering what it means -  so I hope some folks with some sharp analytical skills can help out.

My first impression was that the anchor reference relates to Jack's role in relation to Ennis - that in some sense, Ennis, man of the earth, serves to anchor Jack, who we sometimes interpret as spiritual, air, ephemeral.  It's interesting to note that we see the anchor not long before I think Ennis perhaps feels Jack's presence beckoning him to look into the closet nook.  Jack's earthly, corporeal presence is no longer able to provide a fixed point for Ennis.  Ennis now is left to set his own course - no longer 'anchored' by his relationship with Jack.  That the discovery of the shirts in some sense hoists the anchor leaving Ennis the choices of being adrift or setting his own course.

OK - I know I'm flailing about here.  What do others think??

-Lynne