Two Main Characters, Ennis And Jack's 'Brokeback Mountain'

More probable, Dickey meant to impose Ed’s need for masculinity within his own life, his appreciation of a man whom you could, “even see the veins in his gut” (Dickey 103), is simply Ed’s internal longing for manhood rather than a repressed homoerotic fantasy. Ed’s appreciation of Lewis’ toned physique represents to him what has been lost, an inner purity that he hoped to find on the canoe trip.

mind and severed him from the reality of the real life he was living with his family in the small

crazy, he knew of the stakes at hand; he forced himself to get up and find his freedom and there

Instead he got scared of himself growing too close to anyone. His bitterness is evidence and is so powerful that human emotional connections made him a fleeing coward.

In April 1992, a twenty-four-year-old man walked into the Alaskan wilderness alone, only for his decomposed body to be found in August of that same year. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. Some people thought he was crazy but others who looked deeper into his past, such as Jon Krakauer and I, found that there were elements of emotional trauma and adolescent defiance that led to his sense of narcissism and avoidance behavior. Through a better understanding of Chris’s family dynamic, we can start to understand Chris’s behavior, and perhaps our own. In the novel, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, we see the authoritarian parent personified in Walt McCandless and the long term effects that such a parenting style has on his son, Christopher Johnson McCandless.

The short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, is about a man trying to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion. The couple sits in a train station waiting for their trip to Barcelona, and are staring outside at the scenery—the line of hills “like white elephants”, as the girl, Jig, remarks. They sit and drink and they try to keep conversation light and to enjoy themselves. As the story progresses, however, cause for their underlying tenseness boils to the surface.

the desire to do what he wanted, to go against the rigid rules of the

Brokeback Mountain, being the more homosexual romance-oriented Western that it is, subverts a large number of the typical traditional elements of the Western film genre as a whole, this one especially, by having another male be in the position of the love interest of the hero. Although this subversion in particular is very problematic for Jack, as it puts him in the shoes of being associated with all things relating to femininity in the relationship. For example, Jack is the one who makes the first move when seducing Ennis, using his own allure and sexuality into tempting Ennis when he calls him into the tent, leading Ennis down somewhat of a risky path. Ennis, however, is portrayed as somewhat of a saint, his being repressed and restrained by social standards, saying to Jack, “You may be a sinner but I ain't yet had the opportunity”. Another interesting typical thing in the Western genre that was altered was that instead of Indians being the villain, the enemy is that of a ignorant and oppressive society–a society that would kill Ennis and Jack for being “different”, Ennis says to Jack, “this thing takes hold of us at the wrong place, wrong time and we're dead,” which shows how much they both worry about it–but the two cowboys still have to find some way to pull through and struggle to find their true selves in this society, but it is also that fear which causes the devastating events

mountain. He said it was there that he received his first revelation from God at age 40. Three years after

It is easy for readers to categorize Jack as a cruel, cold hearted, upper class bigot considering his actions and words. I have to admit I think he comes off that way sometimes. But he also is a lot more than just

betrayal, and violence. His father abandoned him seeking to find a life less confrontational to a

7. The Mountain – The mountain in Hindu (India) culture was seen as the center of the universe from which all things could be seen. Since people climb “up” mountains, characters that climb the mountains can be seen as moving upward on a spiritual/emotional journey. Biblically, mountains are places where God reveals his truths to man. In nearly all stories mountains are mysterious, powerful places.

By stating that he did not know anyone by the name of Cecily, Jack initiates his own debacle. He has to clarify that Cecily is actual his ward. Nonetheless, Jack bears no anguish to dissembling to his closest companion. Jack’s morality has been impaired by his lies and it implies that his animalistic qualities control him. Yet, he falls in love and he must tell Gwendolen, his sweetheart, of his morally wrong character. In order to do so Jack has to disclose that Ernest was not in fact his real name but a mere alias created to cover up his dastardly ways. He can think of no other way than to “kill” his brother. Wilde shows how Jack’s urbane nature begins to be marred by his animalism since he was willing to kill a man, fictional or not. Ensuing in the play Jack is speaking with Algernon and he begins to ponder on how to commit the murder. He states “My poor brother Ernest is carried off suddenly in Paris, by a severe chill. That gets rid of him” (Wilde 16). Though fictional, Jack’s murder of Ernest still seems to carry the same implications further into the book. This murder eventually skews his reputation once his lies become known. Wilde proves how Jack’s lies soon catch up to him and flaw his esteemed moral persona. Later in the play Algernon sets off on a trip to Jack’s country estate and claims he is Ernest Worthing. Later when Jack arrives Cecily informs her caretaker that his brother Ernest is in his room. Jack replies

In the poem and story there are characters, Mrs. Mallard in The Story of an Hour and the narrator

Although Jack felt societal pressure to create the persona of Ernest, they are still the same man, having