Comments | idol_reflection: Captain Jack Sparrow

the_stowaway in idol_reflection

Captain Jack Sparrow - A Legend in His Own Mind

Aug 03, 2009 18:28

Title: Captain Jack Sparrow - A Legend in His Own Mind
Author: the_stowaway
Character: Captain Jack Sparrow
Fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean
Spoilers: All three movies
Beta: the lovely and talented jenna_thorn

( Captain Jack Sparrow )

Comments 33

erinrua August 3 2009, 23:11:42 UTC

You, my dear, are my hero. This is the most succinct, clear-eyed, affectionatly unvarnished look at Captain Jack Sparrow that I've read. It's brilliantly done without losing anything that's given to Jack, by the movies, the fans, or fan fiction, and you deliver this with a smile on my face.

Thank you, dear lady! I'm saving this to mems as my reference point for the Quintessential Jack. :-)

the_stowaway August 4 2009, 21:16:10 UTC

YAY! I'm so glad you like it. It was tons of fun to write - I had to re-watch all three movies. Tough job, that. *g*

Thank you!

the_summoning_d August 4 2009, 00:50:09 UTC

That may be the best summary of Jack I've ever read. He's a manipulative, scheming sonofabitch, and you know he's a manipulative, scheming sonofabitch...but you like him. He's so goddamn charming you can't help yourself. Jack's a magnificent bastard and that's why we love him.

the_stowaway August 4 2009, 21:17:15 UTC

Hee! Yep, that's it exactly. We *know* what he is and we love him anyway.

Thank you; I'm glad you liked it!

Kudos!! geekmama August 4 2009, 07:18:50 UTC

I'm so glad you took on this task, you've done a far far better job of it than I ever could. I was signed up to do it at one time, but during the course of the sequels my ideas became hopelessly muddled and I was unable to do more than make a start (and my starting point, not surprisingly, was the same as yours: Jack's superb entrance in CotBP).

You have summarized Sparrow beautifully and honestly here, and this fan, for one, can't thank you enough.

Re: Kudos!! the_stowaway August 4 2009, 21:20:06 UTC

I think I would have written a very different essay, had I started it before the sequels, and yes, P2 and P3 would have thrown me for a loop, too. It was easier starting from scratch at this point in time.

Thanks for your kind words! I'm delighted you like the result. And thanks for the rec, too!

torn_eledhwen August 4 2009, 09:10:41 UTC

Yup, that's Jack Sparrow. Wonderfully done, thanks!

the_stowaway August 4 2009, 21:21:07 UTC

Thank you! I'm so glad you liked. And I see that you've signed up to write an essay now, too. YAY! Go you!

(edited for typos)

(The comment has been removed)

the_stowaway August 4 2009, 21:36:04 UTC

YAY! I'm glad you liked it ( ... )

luvvycat August 5 2009, 18:46:54 UTC

I have to agree with Florencia. I believe Jack does have an altruistic side (infinitesimal though it may be), but it’s likely something he hates having, sees as a major weakness in himself, and tries his best to suppress (mostly because his “good deeds” tend to jump up and bite him on the arse, big-time, whenever he succumbs to his altruistic urges.) ;-) Case in point: see how resigned (and rather pissed-off!) Jack looks just before he jumps in to save Elizabeth; it’s clearly something he doesn’t want to do, it’s not the smart thing to do in Jack’s tenuous situation, but seems to be something he is compelled to do nonetheless. Jack had a helluva lot to lose, and very little to gain, by saving Elizabeth.

Jack went after Elizabeth out of self-interest. He was already about half-way to being under arrest … By leaping into the bay to rescue Elizabeth, he gets himself off the Interceptor, making it easier for him to slip away altogether, if necessary … And rescuing a lady might win him some kind of reward from her grateful family. So I ( ... )

the_stowaway August 9 2009, 06:11:28 UTC

This is what I love about Jack. Everything you say makes perfect sense and holds together beautifully and yet I still think my version can be just as valid. He's such a slippery character, with so much glorious room for interpretation! There's space for a bunch of different versions of Jack, all in one scene, IMO. No wonder he's so much fun to write.

For example, you say Case in point: see how resigned (and rather pissed-off!) Jack looks just before he jumps in to save Elizabeth; it’s clearly something he doesn’t want to do, it’s not the smart thing to do in Jack’s tenuous situation, but seems to be something he is compelled to do nonetheless.Now, while agreeing that what you say makes perfect sense, I see the disgusted look as his opinion of M&M. He expected *them* to jump in and save her, leaving him in possession of the ship, but neither can swim. Bugger. Go to Plan B - get *himself* off the ship and improvise from there ( ... )