Jack and the Beanstalk essay

Jack should be in a Juvy. He stole from the ogre, not once, but three times. Even if the ogre didn’t need the items, Jack took something from the ogre that’s not his to take. When Jack was caught stealing the third time, he killed the ogre, ending the life of another intelligent, speaking creature. Some might argue that an ogre is not any different from an animal, making Jack’s actions harmless. However, the fact is that Jack and the ogre are from different, intelligent species that follow different sets of morals and laws. Although the ogre might be allowed to eat boys, it doesn’t mean Jack is allowed to steal from and murder the ogre. For example, Canadians don’t follow the laws in China, and the Chinese don’t follow the laws in Canada. Jack is a criminal who should be punished for being a thief and a murderer according to the law.

The poor ogres have to suffer under the stereotype of being mean and evil. The ogre is not at fault for wanting to eat Jack considering it is in the ogre’s nature to eat boys seeing as that’s how the food chain functions. Ogres killing humans to eat is not any different from humans killing cows to eat. Also similarly to humans, ogres have feelings and can prove to be helpful and generous. As a matter of fact, Jack, the human, was the one who deceived the ogre even after the ogre’s wife fed him and protect him. Regardless of what species you belong to, there are the good and the bad. Shrek, for example, is an ogre with feelings who was misunderstood to be evil. In the end, the stereotypic bad ogres are simply living species who follow their instincts and have unique, sometimes caring personalities.

As a greedy criminal who harms misinterpreted ogres, Jack’s actions fit the role of the antagonist better than the protagonist. Being bad for a “good reason” does not justify Jack’s actions either. It does not change the fact that Jack’s deeds do not suit the role of the protagonist.