The first time Jack climbs the beanstalk, everything takes him by surprise, and his theft of the gold is almost warranted by the giant's threats to eat him. The second time, however, Jack knowingly walks into danger with the intent of stealing, apparently not having tried earning a living in the interim. He also manipulates the giant's wife into letting him back into the house (Jacobs 138-9). The third time, his manipulation turns to trickery, and he and his mother don't even require anything else -- he could live a life of lazy luxury with just the hen. Instead, he decides to see what else he can steal just because he wants it, and though his theft of the harp shows signs of an appreciation for culture, is decision to ignore its pleas for its master makes the act almost rapacious in its disregard for anything but Jack's desires (Jacobs 142).
The outcome of the story necessarily has an impact on its overall meaning and interpretation, and this is one of the areas that is most often varied in the telling of the story. Jacobs' version is generally accepted as a fairly faithful account of the oral tale, and it lacks any overt moralization, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions (Cook par. 2). Jacobs does conclude, however, that "Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a great princess, and they lived happily ever after" (Jacobs 144). Not a bad life, most would admit, so are we to believe that Jack's theft and greed...
It also shows a foolish willingness to
risk his own life for a bunch of stuff he doesn't really need, and would need even less if he went to work like most men of his era (and our own).
Through this mixed set of observations, the possible truth of Jack and the Beanstalk emerges. The tale quite obviously justifies Jack's actions by rewarding him with everlasting wealth, an adoring mother, and a princess for a wife (every Jewish man's dream). At the same time, the behavior Jack exhibits reflects nothing in his
character other than a lazy though reckless opportunism and a definite greed and disregard for others. What is in question, then, is not Jack's passage through
adolescence, but the fairy take's author. Jack and the Beanstalk does present one view of a journey through puberty and into full adulthood, but it is a very adolescent view. It presupposes the inherent rightness of bold action as well as the rewards for such action, and treats the world and the objects in it as though they are simply up for grabs. Jack goes through a journey, but he never really grows up.
Works Cited
Cook, Jeff. "Jack's Quest for
Maturity." Accessed 24 September 2009. http://www.llp.armstrong.edu/watermarks/9911023rd.html
Jacobs, Joseph. "Jack and the Beanstalk." The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, Maria Tatar, ed. New York: Norton, 2002.
