You know Jack, right? Yeah, that guy with the beanstalk, magic harp, and golden egg-laying goose. But did you know there’s so much more to him?
Jack has been keeping me company for the last few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. And I found out that his adventures are not limited to the beanstalk, but that he fights many different giants (not just the Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum kind), the Devil, a Mossyfoot (a huge, scary monster with the flaming red eyes and enormous feet covered in moss) and has all kinds of other adventures. Jack’s stories have been uplifting when so much of the world seems to be falling apart and everything feels so depressing.
Finding something humorous during a pandemic can be a difficult task, but Jack can save the day. Sometimes Jack makes foolish choices I can chuckle at, like trying to carry milk home in his pockets because his mother told him specifically to use his pockets to carry home his work earnings. Jack has even climbed under a confused, braying donkey to try and carry it home on his back. The princess who saw that ridiculous sight laughed, and I laughed along with her. Jack has even taken delight in his marksmanship while perched in a tree, shooting food off the ends of giants’ forks, causing confusing and comic chaos on the ground. These unusual moments of unexpected humor have hooked me. When I can’t stand watching the news on TV anymore, Jack is there to make me smile.
And though Jack can be a bit of a clown, he is also clever. I appreciate a young man using some smarts when umpteen real-life people can’t be counted on during the pandemic to make healthy choices. In one story Jack outwits some witches, depending on his mother and faithful dogs to save him, because it’s okay to ask for help. Jack also assesses what resources are available to him to proactively help himself, like liberating a silver sword by drinking a potion and then luring giants through a very small tunnel to their doom. Jack likewise learns to adapt his behavior and thinking, for example when he was looking for his first job. Because he had no experience, when shop owners asked what he could do, Jack said nothing, and then was disappointed he wasn’t hired. Jack figured out that he needed to change his answer, and the next time a shop owner asked what he could do, Jack said anything. He was hired on the spot. During this pandemic there has been misinformation and poor decision making. Jack gives me some hope, because he’s able to learn and adapt in positive ways, so maybe real people can, too.
Maybe even more than humor and quick thinking, Jack’s sense of adventure is appealing during this time of forced isolation. Many of Jack’s stories begin when he is a young man ready for some independence. He is forever going off into the wide world to seek his fortune. Jack usually doesn’t have a direction in mind, and he doesn’t always know what his fortune may look like. But that uncertainty doesn’t stop him. Maybe Jack’s fortune will be a real coin he can actually hold in his hand (sometimes he’s never seen one before), or his fortune might be in goods earned through labor or goods traded for what he imagines (not always correctly) are better goods. Sometimes Jack’s fortune is owning nothing at all, because then he isn’t tied down in the world and maintains his freedom. Stuck at home during a pandemic, I appreciate Jack for his willingness to bravely strike out into the unknown world, unclear about what he might find, because he has such a deep sense of adventure and gratitude for the gifts he finds, earns, or are bestowed upon him by sheer luck.
Jack encounters many challenges and some scary situations in his stories. Scary situations and challenges barely begin to describe life during the COVID-19 pandemic. But if Jack can be upbeat and persistent, then we can, too. So, when you need a break, get to know Jack. He’s a good companion on this journey.
The image at the top shows Berkeley Williams, Jr's cover illustration for the 1st edition of Richard Chase's Jack Tales.
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