You can’t win is a story about man name Jack Black who’s life started on a troubled path creating uncertainty of a positive future but evolved to a life of stability. The story began with Jack Black announcing his profession as librarian, which symbolically indicated stability and prosperity.Though his life now showed promise, the path he took was heading toward an opposite direction. The life journey of the character took a very similar path to that of Lazaro in The life of Lazarillo De Tormes. One could almost say Jack and Lazaro are one the same.
The similarities started with the type of relationship both characters had with their parents. Jack Black, at a very young age, lost his mother by death. He was really too young to process the permanency of death yet he still felt the emotional pain. It was not until he was much older he was able to appreciate her value. The character Lazaro also lost his mother at a very young age. While he did not lose her to death like in Jack’s case, he lost her nonetheless when she gave him away to a master. . The outcome of both cases were tracgic to both young boys and resulted in them not having the ability to interact with their mothers again. Their relationships with their respective fathers were also troublesome.
In Jack black’s case, his father viewed him as more of a burden then a son, as the character stated, “I was a problem, undoubtedly, and he was trying to decide what to do with me. A ten-year-old boy without a mother is a fit problem for any father’s mind,”(17) . Jack’s father never took the time to bond his son and the death of Jack’s mother seemed to create a permanent wedge between them. Eventually, Jack’s father enrolled him into catholic boarding school. To the father’s character saw the school – over hundred miles away, as a place to rid himself of his son rather a place to educate him. . Jack’s father emotional disconnect continued until he died. In Lazaro’s case, his father was a provider. However, to make ends meet, he resorted to stealing to provide food for his family which led to his demised. Though noble, Lazaro father actions led to him being on his own at a very young age. Again, we see parallels with both characters, Jack’s father sending him off to a boarding school yielded the same outcome as Lazaro of being on their own at a very young age. The lack of parental protection, teaching and guidance are contributing factors that led them down a path of criminal activities.
The birth of Jack Black criminal mindset started when he met Thomas in boarding school. The Thomas character was a coachman and a veteran of the Civil war. Thomas experience in the war left him very angry and disillusioned. To the point where his heroes were outlaws like Jesse and Frank James, and Bob Younger. The Jack Black character and Thomas character became good friends, as both indirectly was fascinated with the outlaw lifestyle. Jack’s needs for survival eventually lead him down the criminal path. In parallel, Lazaro used criminal activities for the same reason, as a survival tool. Both characters benefited from their dark lifestyles by developing the skills needed to navigate life’s trials and tribulations.
Jack, like Lazaro, was homeless. During that time both were led by elders who thought them the tricks of the criminal trade. Jack’s teacher was an elder a bum and Lazaro’s a master. In both cases, they were thought how to lie and pretend to be a damsel in distress, preying on the sympathy of others.
To conclude, Jack Black, despite his difficult start in life , was able to reach a point respectability with his job as a librarian. His job showed he was stable and on his way to prosperity. . The same can be said of Lazaro with Job as an advertiser.
Questions:
Does poor people have the ability to change they outcome of their lives?
Is criminal activities synonymous with only poor and disenfranchise people?
