How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
Her resentment opened out a little every year: the embrace she had glimpsed, Ennis's fishing trips once or twice a year with Jack Twist and never a vacation with her and the girls, his disinclination to step out and have any fun, his yearning for low paid, long-houred ranch work, his propensity to roll to the wall and sleep as soon as he hit the bed, his failure to look for a decent permanent job with the county or the power company, put her in a long, slow dive. (82)
Ennis's choices have consequences, even if may not realize he's making a choice in the first place. One of the great tragedies of this story is how Ennis's inability to commit to Jack wreaks havoc on the lives of others.
Quote #5
"Let me tell you, I can't quit this one. And I can't get the time off. It was tough gettin this time—some a them late heifers is still calvin." (111)
Ennis is referring to a specific series of choices here—jobs that he can't leave in order to spend time with Jack—that ultimately define his life. He never advances much above the ranch-hand level, though we're never sure if it's because of Jack or because he's just like that.
Quote #6
"Try this one," said Jack, "and I'll say it just one time. Tell you what, we could a had a good life together, a f***in real good life. You wouldn't do it, Ennis." (117)
Jack's blaming Ennis here, even though his scenario is sounds like a bit of a pipe dream to Shmoop. It suggests a lack of options in his life; there are things he'd like to do but can't. Blaming Ennis may be easier than admitting he could never have that ranch no matter what he did.