“’Well, see you around, I guess.’ The wind tumbled an empty feed bag down the street until it fetched up under his truck. ‘Right,’ said Jack, and they shook hands, hit each other on the shoulder, then there was forty feet of distance between them and nothing to do but drive away in opposite directions. Within a mile Ennis felt like someone was pulling his guts out hand over hand a yard at a time. He stopped at the side of the road and, in the whirling new snow, tried to puke but nothing came up. He felt about as bad as he ever had and it took a long time for the feeling to wear off” (Prouix 18).
In this passage, Jack and Ennis are about to go their separate ways after giving in to their sexual feelings towards one another. The situation is a bit awkward because they never know if they are going to see one another again, and neither is willing to acknowledge that they want to. They clearly have not admitted to themselves that there is anything more going on than purely physical attraction, but this passage highlights the moment where Ennis’ body betrays his feelings. The situation that Proulx is describing is relatable to those who have had intense romantic feelings for someone. The nausea that Ennis is experiencing is a physical representation of his conflicting emotions. He wants to stay with Jack and not drive away, although neither of them will admit it. He also knows that it is incredibly dangerous for them to be together because of the homophobia in their community. Hence, he feels as though he is being turned inside out, like “someone was pulling his guts out hand over hand a yard at a time”. It’s a heartbreaking feeling that Proulx expresses simply and eloquently.
These words also serve to draw the reader in and wonder what will become of Jack and Ennis’ relationship. I think that this passage is one of the most meaningful in the story, because of how visceral it is. I can relate to the intensity of the emotion, even though I do not identify with the characters, which made the story all the more interesting from there on out. The awkwardness between the two characters was particularly compelling, and their curt handshake after sharing such intimacy drove home the point that they are conflicted.
Proulx uses such plain language but still manages to gut the reader when she needs to. Her masterful use of sparse dialogue in this case helped me understand how devastating the situation is for these two men. Because they cannot express their true emotions or talk in-depth about their relationship, the goodbye is incredibly unemotional on the surface level but harbors some depth when put in context with the rest of the story.
Proulx’s expert use of dialogue and plain language allows the reader to begin to understand the full scope of Jack and Ennis’ emotions surrounding their new relationship. As a reader, I truly felt for Ennis in this moment, and I could easily relate to his physical emotional response as I too have had my heart broken before. Even without specific confirmation of their deep emotional bond, the two of them manage to break the reader’s heart all over again in this passage.
I like how you connect the type of language Proulx uses with the content she conveys in that part of the novel. I agree that the sparse dialogue and plain language as well as the description of the physical reactions Ennis feels helps the reader to understand how devastating and uncertain this goodbye must have been for the two of them. I also think that by keeping the goodbye unemotional on the surface level, as you described it, the two of them are trying to protect and safe themselves: Protect themselves from showing too many feelings for the other one, a reoccurring theme that we have seen throughout the novel (it was never really possible for them to show feelings, let alone show feelings for each other). But also protect themselves from allowing these emotions to get to their hearts, because that would destroy them, I can only imagine, destroy them because it would make the inevitable truth that they might never see each other again, and the pain that comes with it, too real.