Why does Ennis....

[serious crayons]

I don't think ther is ANY way Ennis thought Jack would drive up to see him and expect to move in! He just wanted to share his troubles with his closest friend.

Oh, no, I didn't mean that's why Ennis did it. No, Ennis did not expect that. Sorry, I should have been more clear. I meant, that's why it's in the movie.

[Penthesilea]

Oh, no, I didn't mean that's why Ennis did it. No, Ennis did not expect that. Sorry, I should have been more clear. I meant, that's why it's in the movie.

Ah, thanks for explaining this. I understood it in the same way Mark did and was about to write a kind of  answer when I saw your following post  .

[Penthesilea]

From Katherine:
But I don't see Ennis as someone who would get into other people's business or punish them for perceived misdeeds, let alone kill them. His threat to Jack about Mexico notwithstanding -- I don't think he really meant that sincerely. So even if he thought Earl was wrong, I don't think he considered the murder justifiab

Yes, that's exactly the way I see it. Just wondered why you put the word "possible" [exception] into your earlier post.

Quote from: goadra on Today at 08:39:38 AM
Because Cassie has just slapped him with the knowledge that she fell in love with him. He didn’t mean for that to happen. Going against the majority opinion, but...I don’t think this moment is the earth- (Ennis-) shattering realization that Jack fell in love with him.

I wonder what the majority DOES think. Personally, I'm more in the "he was realizing something about Jack" (either that Jack loved him or that he loved Jack) camp. Anyone else care to weigh in?

I think he realizes about how much he hurt Cassie earlier, during his conversation with her. "I'm sorry" - and he means it.
After Cassie left I think he thinks about Jack, and the word 'love', spoken by Cassie a few moments earlier. He draws the connection between Jack and love.
But: I think it's not the first time he draws a connection between Jack and love. I think he knew it before. But the possibility to phrase it that clear simple is new to him. Hope that makes sense.


I lost track of who is to ask a new question  .

[serious crayons]

Yes, that's exactly the way I see it. Just wondered why you put the word "possible" [exception] into your earlier post.

Well, when I wrote,

he sees everything his father did and said (with the possible exception of the actual murder, which is unclear), as a legitimate and correct reflection of right and wrong.

I didn't express it very clearly. I would guess he's in less than full agreement with his father's actions (assuming his father done the job). Knowing Ennis from the rest of the movie, I don't believe he would think it's OK to kill someone. So from there, I would gather he does not believe that was an appropriate way to deal with Earl's transgression. So he doesn't think it's a legitimate and correct response to right and wrong. Still, it's hard to tell exactly how much he condemns his father for it. I get the feeling he sees it as slightly more justifiable than some random murder, for other reasons, might be
.

[Front-Ranger]

I was just thinking this today, and bingo, I found it in BetterMost where all things BBM are cached!!

Little boys just naturally want to be like their fathers. They are the only role models they know. Growing from a boy to a man involves becoming your own role model and just choosing the parts of your father that you want to adopt or perpetuate. That was what Ennis was doing when he admiringly spoke of his father sometimes and other times with disgust.