{"id":394,"date":"2021-03-04T14:59:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T19:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/?p=394"},"modified":"2021-03-04T15:08:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T20:08:45","slug":"sparks-and-fire-as-metaphors-in-identity-coping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/2021\/03\/04\/sparks-and-fire-as-metaphors-in-identity-coping\/","title":{"rendered":"Sparks and Fire as Metaphors in Identity Coping"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although all of Annie Proulx\u2019s <\/span>Brokeback Mountain<\/span><\/i> is beautiful, the following passage, on page 39, speaks to me unlike any other. The passage begins with, \u201cwithout getting up he threw deadwood on the fire, the sparks flying up with their truths and lies\u201d. I interpreted this section as Proulx using sparks from a fire as a metaphor for the individual and specific yet fleeting moments in time. The words \u201ctruths\u201d and \u201clies\u201d seem to embody the sparks, illustrating these burningly specific realities we disclose and leave unsaid. Furthermore, the \u201csparks flying up\u201d implies that, although these moments are important at the moment, they do not matter in the larger picture of one\u2019s life because they will eventually disappear, evaporating into the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

The passage continues with, \u201ca few hot points of fire landing on their hands and faces\u201d which I interpreted as the attachment truths and lies, and more generally interpersonal conflicts with one\u2019s identities, have with an individual in an overwhelming yet also subconscious way. Sparks flying towards you can startle someone while at the same time failing to be noticed by someone when they land on them in increments that are few and far between. The points may be hot at the moment, but they are quickly ignored because of their fleeting nature. Similarly, the identities one has may cast quick doubts and questions in their minds but they ultimately choose not to pay attention to them because of their fleeting nature and their seeming insignificance in the moment. <\/span><\/p>\n

The passage continues with, \u201cnot for the first time\u201d, implying that these \u2018sparks\u2019 are experienced so frequently by the two boys that they have become routine and therefore are quickly disregarded. The flashes of identity questions and concerns they experience are brief as they are too caught up in the moment with each other to think about who they really are. The passage ends with, \u201cand they rolled down into the dirt\u201d which further illustrates the boys’ concentration on one another in the moment and subsequent disregard of themselves on an individual basis. These final words illustrate their choice of choosing the (literal) action of rolling as opposed to noticing the \u201csparks\u201d of the truths and lies they tell themselves and thinking deeper about these things. This stanza ties into the book\u2019s broader theme of choosing to simply live and love in the moment as opposed to understanding the why and how of one\u2019s desires. <\/span><\/p>\n

In conclusion, this matters because it illustrates the beauty individuals have of simply existing in the moment and getting lost in the \u201cfire\u201d, or passion. Life can, and usually does, get hard and complicated and, as Ennis and Jack show us, we can always step back and let ourselves exist in relation to one another; love for another person can sometimes be the greatest escape of all. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although all of Annie Proulx\u2019s Brokeback Mountain is beautiful, the following passage, on page 39, speaks to me unlike any other. The passage begins with, \u201cwithout getting up he threw deadwood on the fire, the sparks flying up with their truths and lies\u201d. I interpreted this section as Proulx using sparks from a fire as … Continue reading Sparks and Fire as Metaphors in Identity Coping<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4641,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[169398],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2021-blog-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4641"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/lgbtqhistoryandliterature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}