Line #24 Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scott_gustafson_jack_and_the_beanstalk.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Oh, ''first'' it's only stealing some poultry, and before you know it, it'll be harp-jacking and giganticide!]]
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4	The story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" seems to be an amalgamation of many of the giant-killing stories such as "Literature/JackTheGiantKiller" (which has its links to [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Arthurian]] lore), and the tale of "Literature/TheBraveLittleTailor". It is the English version of an ancient (the oldest are thought by some to originate circa 3500-4500 BCE) series of fairy tales collectively known as "The Boy Steals the Ogre's Treasure".
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6	Jack and his widowed mother are a poor family with nothing to their name but the family cow. When the last of their money finally runs out Jack's mother sends him into town to sell their cow at the local village. On the way, however, Jack meets a mysterious stranger who offers him five magic beans in exchange for the cow. Jack accepts the offer and brings the beans home to his mother. Needless to say she is furious and throws the beans out the window. Overnight the beans grow into a massive beanstalk that stretches onwards up into the clouds. Jack decides to climb the beanstalk and when he reaches the top finds a massive castle. He sneaks into the castle to find that it is the home to a Giant, who says:
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8	->''Fee-fi-fo-fum!\
9	I smell the blood of an Englishman.\
10	Be he 'live, or be he dead,\
11	I'll grind his bones to make my bread.''
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13	Jack is about to run but he sees a bag of the giant's gold, which he quickly nicks before fleeing back down the beanstalk.
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15	The next day Jack, remembering all the other treasures up the top of the beanstalk, decides to give it another crack. He climbs back up and into the giant's castle. Once again the Giant's nose gives him the tip-off that there is a human around, but the Giant's wife hides Jack in the oven until her husband falls asleep. Jack sneaks out, but on his way grabs the goose that lays the golden eggs and takes it with him.
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17	On the third day Jack decides to head up the beanstalk again. His mother pleads with him not to go, but Jack chooses to give it one more time. When he reaches the castle the Giant pulls out a little golden harp that plays music by itself. [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast The soft music lulls the Giant to sleep]], then Jack sneaks out and snatches the Harp. But the Harp doesn't like the idea of being stolen and cries out to the Giant, waking him up. The Giant chases Jack down the beanstalk, but Jack reaches the bottom first, grabs an ax and chops down the beanstalk, killing the giant.
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19	The first known printed version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" dates from 1734 and was called "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean". Of the numerous variants of the tale printed in the 19th century, the one by Creator/JosephJacobs (1890) is the most popular ([[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/jackbeanstalk/index.html read it here]]).
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21	Many critics of this story like to point out [[DesignatedHero Jack is a petty thief, who also kills the Giant he robbed]]. Some versions justify his actions by various means, such as [[AdaptationalVillainy adding a bit about how]] the Giant [[YouKilledMyFather killed Jack's father]] and/or that the Giant stole most of his treasure in the first place. In the latter retellings, such as in ''WesternAnimation/FunAndFancyFree'', the Harp is explicitly eager to be liberated from the Giant and helps Jack (or his stand-in) in any way she can. At other times this story gets the FracturedFairyTale treatment, showing Jack as a jerk of a robber.
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23	Not to be confused with "Literature/JackTheGiantKiller" which has a different plot and is much BloodierAndGorier despite common elements.
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25	----
26	!!This folk tale provides examples of:
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28	* AdaptedOut: A lot of adaptations tend to leave the Giant's wife out.
29	* AdaptationSpeciesChange: Many versions feature a hen instead of a goose. A few replace the giant with an ogre.
30	* AdaptationalHeroism: In many interpretations of the story, the Harp has been stolen by the Giant and is completely on Jack's side. As a result, Jack is rescuing it as opposed to stealing it.
31	* AdaptationalVillainy: Crosses over with AdaptationOriginConnection. In a version retold by Trinka Hanks Young and illustrated by Stephen Kellog, the Ogre is shown to have some sort of ability to descend from the sky at, using such to raid a ship of pirates of thier treasures: the harp, their gold, and the hen that lays the golden eggs. The wreck of their ship can be seen in the first few pages of the story proper.
32	* AntiHero: However you look at it, the protagonist goes from gullible fool to thief to killer (albeit in self-defense) over the course of the story.
33	* {{Deconstruction}}: Music/StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'', Brian Henson's ''Series/JackAndTheBeanstalkTheRealStory'' and (briefly) Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' all have a go at Jack.
34	* DisappearedDad: According to most tellings, Jack's mother is a widow.
35	* DisneyVillainDeath: Jack kills the Giant by cutting down the beanstalk, making the Giant fall to his death.
36	* FloatingContinent: The Giant's [[OminousFloatingCastle cloud castle]].
37	* GiantFood: Whatever the giant's wife feeds him qualifies.
38	* HardTruthAesop:
39	** The moral of the story seems to be that you should totally give away something that has a lot of worth for something that seems worthless, because it might pay off by giving you immense wealth. A more reasonable take on this line may instead be read as "Don't be afraid to take a risk, as it may pay off in the future."
40	** There's an animated FracturedFairyTale version that portrays Jack's mother as constantly thwarting her son's efforts to enrich them by stealing magical money-making devices from a cruel and magical millionaire, ultimately leaving them both as poor as ever as the narrator openly proclaims honesty and principles are not inherently rewarding.
41	* ImAHumanitarian: Perhaps the giant and the witch from "Literature/HanselAndGretel" swap recipes.
42	* JourneyToTheSky: The tale consists of Jack climbing the magical beanstalk that grew overnight out of a set of magical beans he obtained by trading a cow he was supposed to sell for money. When Jack reaches the top, he discovers a castle inhabited by giants.
43	* MysteriousBenefactor: The man with the beans.
44	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: The giant's wife lets Jack into her home, gives him food and helps him hide from her husband. In return, he steals from her home and eventually kills her husband.
45	* NoNameGiven: The Giant.
46	* TheNoseKnows: For most of the tale, the giant's sole indication Jack is there is his scent.
47	* OurGiantsAreBigger: This variety of giant lives in gravity-defying castles in the clouds.
48	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: The giant hates Englishmen. (Or perhaps they're just especially tasty?)
49	* RuleOfThree: Gold, Goose and Harp. On the third and final theft, the Harp acts as an alarm system and alerts the Giant of Jack's presence.
50	* SellWhatYouLove: Jack and his mother are forced to sell their family cow to make enough money to live. Instead of getting cash for the cow, Jack trades the cow for magic beans.
51	* SignatureInstrument: The giant owns a harp that plays itself on command and lulls him to sleep. A plot point involves Jack stealing it.
52	* SpaceElevator: The magic beanstalk goes up into the clouds, too far to see the top.
53	** Taken up to eleven with the Trinka Hanks Young version. The Beanstalk takes Jack to the Ogre's castle which is located on the moon.
54	* WealthyEverAfter: Jack's happy ending entails getting ([[DependingOnTheWriter or reclaiming]]) riches from his adventure.
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56	!!Adaptations with their own trope pages include:
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58	* ''Series/JackAndTheBeanstalkTheRealStory''
59	* ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'', a Music/StephenSondheim musical that combines it with several other fairy stories
60	* ''WesternAnimation/FunAndFancyFree'': The Creator/{{Disney}} version, with a [[Franchise/MickeyMouse certain mouse]] playing the part of Jack.
61	* ''Anime/JackAndTheBeanstalk1974'': {{Anime}} version of the story from the '70s.
62	* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots2011'': The ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' SpinOff has Puss involved in a plot to get the magic beans and use them to get the goose that lays gold eggs.
63	* Although not a true adaptation, this Jack is a supporting character and love interest in ''ComicBook/RapunzelsRevenge.''
64	* Alluded to in the Green Bean Casserole episode of ''Series/GoodEats''. The Giant is upset with Alton, but is appeased by Alton's casserole. Apparently, the Giant is also something of a HenpeckedHusband.
65	* Alluded to in ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' of all things - in ''Makin' Magic'', casting enough magic spells can cause a beanstalk to grow on the property. Climbing up the beanstalk will lead the Sim to a cloud with a giant version of Will Wright sleeping... and they can steal magic beans from a can of baked beans. (A spell ingredient).
66	* The 2013 film ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer''.
67	* The original ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon1'' game had a part where you could grow a giant beanstalk.
68	* Fragments of the tale appear in ''Series/OnceUponATime'', where Prince James and a [[GenderBender gender-bent]] Jack climb the beanstalk in order to rob the giants and kill them all and the last surviving giant is a human-enthusiast. The Beanstalk still stands in the middle of the enchanted forest long after the events of the tale have passed.
69	* The Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse book ''Literature/TimeLordFairyTales'' retells this as "Jack and the Wormhole", in which Jack is more of a straight-up hero as the story is ''also'' a TwiceToldTale retelling of [[spoiler:the Fourth Doctor serial "The Horns of Nimon"]].
70	* Jack is also the title character in the sixth ''VideoGame/DarkParables'' game, ''Jack and the Sky Kingdom,'' which paints him as something of a Myth/RobinHood-wannabe and a LovableRogue. He assists the Fairy Tale Detective in getting to the Sky Kingdom via the beanstalk, as he left something rather important there when he went treasure hunting there ten years earlier. [[spoiler:That something would be his fiancee, Emma.]] Like all of the ''Dark Parables'', the story connects multiple fairy tales; in this case, Jack's story is joined to that of Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}} and also Literature/TomThumb. He later returns to also be part of the action in the tenth game, ''Goldilocks and the Fallen Star.''
71	* Literature/NurseryCrime's hero Jack Sprat is a "Person of Dubious Reality (PDR)" who is both the giant killer and the Jack Sprat who "ate no fat," which he has kept secret from his family and friends. When asked why his role spans two nursery rhymes, he says that it's a matter of economy. Throughout the book he also [[InsistentTerminology regularly points out that only one of the giants he killed was an actual giant; the rest were just tall.]]
72	* Jack makes several appearances in ''WesternAnimation/SuperWhy'' This version of him has been {{age lift}}ed to a teenager (at least 18, since one episode shows him going to college), and gives him a family; parents, a little brother, Whyatt (the main protagonist), and a baby sister, Joy.
73	* "WesternAnimation/JasperAndTheBeanstalk", a WesternAnimation/{{Puppetoons}} stop-motion short in which a more innocent African-American boy named Jasper plays the Jack role.
74	* "WesternAnimation/TheHouseThatJackBuilt1967" is a mashup that combines this story with the nursery rhyme "The House That Jack Built".
75	* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerrysGiantAdventure'' is a modernized take on the story, though the original is also mentioned. It has Jack as the son of the deceased owner of a fairy-tale-themed theme park that's fallen on hard times, accompanied by the titular cat and mouse who are the remaining animals in the park's petting zoo. The beanstalk takes the three to a land inhabited by actual fairy tale characters, and the Giant is a CardCarryingVillain terrorizing them. Also, the farmer who sold Jack the magic beans is actually an inhabitant of this land, having purposefully come for the boy because he's prophesized to defeat the Giant, and the goose that lays golden eggs belongs to the farmer and got stolen by the Giant.

Context Literature / JackAndTheBeanstalk