Analysis of the fairy tale 'Lazy Jack'

Lazy Jack is a modern fairy, which is the story about a boy named Jacks journey from being the troublemaker and to rich married man.

As the name Lazy Jack implies Jack is a young sluggish boy. Jacks lazy behaviour gives his mother doubts about his future. To encourage Jack to begin to build a future for himself, she makes him work for his meals. Jack understands that he needs to show more responsibility, so he starts working daily.

First day Jack works for a neighbouring farmer. Second day Jack works by a cow keeper. He picks up many odd jobs like working for baker and assisting the cattle keeper. Every time Jack returns with his earnings, he either ruins it or loses it on his way home.

Jack can be categorised as the weak character in this fairy tale. He is a young, carefree and inexperienced.

The good relationship between Lazy Jack and his mother is being sacrificed as his mother pushes him to begin his working career.

The role of woman at the time this tale was written, was that women were the ones who stayed at home and did the washing, cooked the meals and raised the children. In Lazy Jack the mothers’ situation is different to the ordinary women during that time. Jacks mother not only acted as his motherly figure but as his fatherly figure also by spinning all day to provide for her and Jack, which would be the fathers duty.