savvy would probably analyze it better than me.
Well, for starters, the compass does only point to material things. The compass was never pointing to Liz, it was pointing between Port Royal and the chest. With Port Royal, he doesn't "want to want it." He is in between in wanting to go to Port Royal (material) and wanting to get the chest (material).
Jack: Why is the rum always gone?!
One of the writers insists that there was never a love triangle. The other insists that there was a triangle, but that it was resolved by the end of DMC.
I can see the argument of both sides. Let's start with the first one, that there was never a love triangle.
I believe that when the writers set out to write DMC and AWE, that they never intended for there to be a love triangle. My belief is that given Elizabeth's extreme interest in pirates from early childhood, and that one of the writers have said that the most romantic scene in all of COTBP is the scene on the island, that with the series as a whole, Elizabeth has secretly been attracted to and will probably end up in love with Jack.
If you watch COTBP closely, you can see how they could feasibly set up their claim that there is no love triangle. Yes, there is an interest on Elizabeth's part in Will because she believes him to be a pirate. She recognizes that he will one day be a pirate before any of the other characters do, including Will.
If you look at the way that Jack and Elizabeth meet, you can sort of see what the writers are setting up. For starters, Jack uses Elizabeth to escape in COTBP in the same sort of way that Elizabeth uses Jack to escape in DMC. They use chains for starters (the writers have said that Elizabeth chaining Jack to the Pearl was a deliberate call back to their meeting COTBP).
Also, we see in their first meeting even where and why the attraction started. My hypothesis is that the pirate medallion is symbolic because it reveals Elizabeth's true nature from the start to Jack. He recognizes her pirate nature. In the same vein, we also see why he admires her from the start. She knows he's a pirate, but she's still willing to commend him for being a good man. She sticks up for him against her father's and society's wishes because "one good deed CAN redeem a man of a life time of wickedness."
With me so far? I don't want to write too much. Again, this is the topic of why one writer insists their is no triangle.
That it was pointing to the chest the entire time, but that it doesn't matter where it was pointing. All that matters is how the people who were holding the compass interpreted where it was pointing. So, even though the compass was pointing at the chest the whole time, Elizabeth automatically assumed that it was pointing at Jack. Why is that, I wonder?
So, in other words...there is no love triangle according to one of the writers, because Liz has always been and always will be attracted to Jack and is in fact, in love with him...but doesn't realize her true feelings? will, whom she thought was a pirate, was a romantic notion for her until she met the real thing, Jack Sparrow. The island is a very romantic scene. Will and Liz never even come close to having any scenes like The Rescue scene, Rum Runners Island, Peas in a Pod, Hide the Rum, Persuade Me, Curiosity and the Kiss of Death....very intense scenes where Jack and Liz are in each other's faces in all of these scenes....
Ok, good. I'll go on with the same subject. So, really what COTBP does is two things with the there is no triangle perspective. One, it sets up the theme of choices and the consequences of those choices. Two, it sets up Jack and Elizabeth as opposing but attracted forces. The catalyst of their attraction is the island scene, where you again you see a little of Jack's honest side; he admits to her that his legend is not so real. (You spent three days on a beach drinking rum). And, in turn, this is the first point where we see what an incredible pirate Elizabeth could make. She burns his rum, and while he hates her for it, he also admires her for it.
If they were mildly interested in one another before, this cements the attraction. Also, note Elizabeth's choice of words when she talks about why she burnt the rum. 1) Because it is a vile drink that turns even the most RESPECTABLE men into complete scoundrels.
The man she is referring to is Jack. She respects and admires him, probably all the more now that she knows that the legend is also just a man.
I'm leaving the deleted scenes out because they're not in the final cut. Even though the writers do insist they were cut for time, they can't specifically be considered cannon.
More over, when Elizabeth gives into her pirate side, we see what more she is capable of. She's capable of bartering herself to Norrington to get him to turn around and save Will, a VERY pirate like act, since it destroyed Norrington, and essentially killed many men in the struggle. It was also, a peaceful way to comandeer a ship without firing a shot...sounding familiar?
yes, Savvy...sounds very familiar....
you know I thought about that line last night when I watched POTC "it turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels"...she has to be refering to Jack, cuz who else has she witnessed drinking rum...hum, and what did she mean, did Jack, in fact, take advantage of her? Just kidding...since t and t say that in the final scene when Jack says "it could never have worked between us, darling, I'm sorry"..she has this look on her face "hush up, Jack"..they even comment "just how far did she go with Jack on that island"...just food for thought!
you know this reminds me of why I compare Jack and Elizabeth to all the great historical romance novels I read. They always butt heads, they fight each other, they challenge each other, they play games with each other, they flirt with each other, they despise each other, yet admire each other, and boiling just under the surface is a passion just waiting to boil over and explode and ignite into a passionate love....
and the terms she uses on Jack are atypical of heroines in historical romance before admiting that she loves the hero..."scoundrel" "diispicable" "wretch"
other words commonly used "cad" "cur" "rat" "pig"
Also, I've mentioned before that the Jack and Elizabeth relationship is set up like a chess game in that they're constantly trying to out wit each other. Jack starts the game by taking her hostage and using her as leeverage. Elizabeth retaliates by burning his rum. Jack retalitates in turn by having her locked up on the Dauntless.
The same sort of pattern is established in the verbal banter and behavior in DMC. Jack wins the game between them in the Persuade me scene, Elizabeth wins the upper hand in the Curiousity scene and the kiss of death scene I would judge to be a draw. They both gained something and lost at the same time.
yep....savvy...explain that to me. I've always felt stupid cuz I can't quite grasp all the things that went on in POTC, I guess cuz I've never analyzed as much as we have DMC. So, that's how she gets locked in that room, Jack does it. Explain to me how that happens. I always wondered about her line "that was Jack Sparrow's doing!"...and also, what was Jack's plan that he suggested to Norrington, when Mulroy tells Murtogg "why don't we do what that Jack Sparrow suggested we do."...and then Norrie says something like "because it was Sparrow that suggested it."...and then when Barbossa says "gents, take a walk"...Jack seems surprised by that...I am so confused on all of this...can you help?