Ennis and Jack maintain their relationship a secret for many years, or so they believed. From beginning to end we see how problematic it was for a homosexual couple to be together. Not alone for the fact that society didn’t allow it, but because, as individuals, Ennis and Jack felt somewhat looked down on.
Chauvinism was a state of pride, especially for southern cowboys, and Ennis was taught precisely that as a young kid. We can examine both characters and see how different yet alike they really are. Jack, on one hand, wants to be with Ennis above everything, build a life together get a ranch and so on. While Ennis, has this barrier that doesn’t allow him to express what he truly desires, and whenever Jack talks to him about moving in together all Ennis pictures is that dead cowboy his father took him to see many years ago. So, though they want the same thing, their willingness is what separates them from being together.
During their first time in Brokeback, Ennis and Jack have a physical confrontation, which started out as game. The shirts they were wearing during the confrontation are pictured above, and I believe they represent more than just a pair of shirts, a relic of their relationship dare I say. When Ennis finds out Jack has died he decides to visit Jack’s parents. At the Twist household Ennis finds his shirt and Jack’s, hung together. When we see both shirts Jack’s shirt is over Ennis’s, then in the picture above they are switched. The moment Ennis takes to contemplate both shirts tells a lot about how he regrets things turned out, and probably wishes to take it all back at that precise moment. The symbolism in the shirts alone describes the feelings both characters have for each other. Probably it did not mean as much to Ennis as it did to Jack at first, but once Ennis finds both shirts it becomes all that’s left of Jack and what would’ve been. During the last scene of the film Ennis mutters: “Jack, I swear…” which is left unfinished for us viewers to interpret it. This line, in my opinion, is the closest Ennis comes to telling Jack he loves him.
1 comment:
Good use of picture to show how the shirts represent a visual metaphor, first of Jack's protection of and love for Ennis and then of Ennis's final admission that he really loved Jack and lost something invaluable when Jack died.
Post a Comment