Jack and the Beanstalk
Ladder to Heaven
Jack: A Half-witted Hero
Most people are familiar with poor half-witted Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk who trades the family’s last cow for beans rather than the money they needed so badly to buy food. Why is the story of poor Jack, who is a loser when compared to the stereotypical fairy tale heroes, so often rewritten for new audiences? Perhaps we identify with poor blundering Jack and hope that we too can find a way to ascend to a higher level not only economically but perhaps intellectually too.
Jack is a common fairy tale name. One that is generally given to the ‘trickster’ type of hero. In Jack and the Beanstalk, he is the idiot son whose mother unwisely sends him off with their cow in the hope that Jack will sell her for enough money to invest in a new means of making a living.
Jack foolishly trades the cow for a handful of beans. His mother rewards him with a beating and sends him to bed. The unfortunate woman tosses the beans out the window. The next day, a beanstalk outside the cottage reaches up to the heavens. With scarcely a thought, Jack lets go of his mother’s apron strings and climbs the beanstalk.
The Beanstalk: A Ladder to Heaven
The attempt to climb to the heavens is a familiar theme to Christians. The Tower of Babel was an attempt to show up God by building a tower to prove that humans were like gods. It was destroyed. Jacob saw a ladder ascending into heaven on which angels ascended and descended bent on their heavenly tasks.
When Jack reaches the top, he discovers a tall house. It is interesting to note that in many versions of the fairy tale, the treasures that Jack steals from the giant are treasures that the giant stole from his father. It brings to mind the scripture “In my Father's house are many mansions” John 14:2.
The ogre’s wife befriends Jack. When her husband returns home, she hides Jack to protect him. When the ogre enters the house, he cries out:
Fe-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead,
I’ll have his bones to grind my bread.
Heidi Anne Heiner, of SurLaLune Fairy Tales, writes “The ogre’s heightened sense of smell provides suspense and horror to the story. It also marks him more as an animal, an ogre, and not human.” Jack’s ascent could represent an intellectual ascension above that of the animal and into a new realm.
After the giant falls asleep, Jack grabs a bag of coins and runs. He makes it home safely and he and his mother live well. Then Jack’s curiosity and perhaps greed get the better of him and he returns to the heavenly land. This time he makes off with a hen that lays golden eggs. Once again, Jack and his mother live well but once again Jack’s curiosity and greed get the better of him. He returns and this time steals the golden harp, which plays itself.
This time Jack doesn’t make a clean escape. The harp cries out in fear and wakes the giant. The giant chases Jack who makes it down the stalk just ahead of him. Jack chops down the beanstalk and the giant tumbles down and is killed. Much like David, little, ‘simple,’ Jack slays the giant.
Jack's Mental Growth
In some versions, Jack makes it through the three trials on sheer nerve. He never does get smarter. He just rushes in and lets fate protect him. In other versions of the fairy tale, Jack gets progressively more clever or deceptive as the story unfolds. In the versions where Jack’s intellect grows, it seems physical and economic ascent also yields an intellectual ascent.
The appeal of Jack’s journey is two-fold. He literally climbs to heaven and the little guy kills the big guy. It is the simple story of an everyman character who becomes more than he is, which is why it is read to children even today.
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