MovieChat Forums > Centennial (1978) Discussion > Pity McKeag and his tragedy with Jacques

Pity McKeag and his tragedy with Jacques

posted 14 years ago by jeffyoung1
8 replies | jump to latest

I felt sorry for the McKeag character. He comes across as such a forthright honest, ethical man, something hard to find these days. He loved Pasquinel as a brother and his sons. But Jacques inexplicably took an almost instant dislike to McKeag and it had nothing to do with McKeag's ethnic background.

Have any of you out there reading this ever came across a complete stranger who took an immediate dislike to you, maybe even became your enemy? And you have absolutely no idea what you said or did to piss off this person who's known you for only one hour? And you instinctively know it has nothing to do with your own racial or ethnic heritage. It's just you for some odd reason this person hates you. That's what happened to McKeag.

I did think that perhaps Jacques instinctively perceived the relationship between his mother and McKeag, but drew the wrong conclusions that it was somehow wrong and bad. But Marcel didn't feel that way. Some people are just more intense and feel anger more than others.

[–] liscarkat-2 13 years ago

Yeah, most of the people I meet, including those who are related to me.

[–] lld3497 13 years ago

Yup a co worker of mine decided from the first i meet her she hated me and spent 5 yrs telling lies to get me in trouble
I never did anything to this person not a damn thing but breathe

Funny thing is when she started getting harrassed by a new boss she started being nice to me because she needed me as a Witness

Sláinte I refuse to get into a battle of wits with someone so woefully unarmed

[–] jeffyoung1 10 years ago

It's nice in one way to know that I'm not alone in this world in mysteriously finding new enemies without trying. I tell myself that even Jesus of Nazareth and mother Teresa both had enemies, just for who they were. Still it is most disturbing from a psychologist's viewpoint of why some people decide in their own minds to dislike and to hate someone they've physically never met before, even when it has nothing to do with skin color and race. I know that it's not my fault for strangers to hate me for reasons I cannot fathom, even more of a mystery when some strangers I meet take a liking to me.

[–] Rheli 13 years ago

There is a reason, actually, if you watch carefully. Jacques realizes that his mother is not in love with his father, but with McKeag, and McKeag with her. That strikes Jacques as Not Right. As he grows older it seems he finds just about everything he encounters in the world is Not Right; he's just that type of person.

[–] Bobby_vs_Satan 10 years ago

Jacque was portrayed as being somewhat crazy from the get go…

"Fishin'? Right now, my boat ain't rigged for fishin' Bear'"

[–] jeffyoung1 10 years ago

You're absolutely correct. I hadn't considered that before. But while Jacques' brother, Marcel accepted that everyone was happy with the situation, Jacques couldn't think that way. Jacques wasn't as happy-go-lucky as Marcel. True, Jacques' mind may have become twisted at an early age.

[–] jfitzpatrick3 9 years ago

The wound in his face caused more than just a physical scar with Jacques. The wound from the Indians made it worse, as Claybasket observes.

"At the end of life, we will be judged by love" ST John of the Cross

[–] clearthinkernow 9 years ago

he disliked mckeag because he could see how mckeag cared for his mother, thus supplanting the child's father. it's pretty typical of the way kid's think, even today. how do kid's welcome the new girlfriend or boyfriend of mom or dad?