Captain Jack Sparrow Character Analysis

The Disney movie franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Anansi Myths both have trickster figures. These tricksters, Jack Sparrow and Anansi, parallel each other in their abilities to use deception and wit to outsmart others for their own ambitions. However, whereas Jack Sparrow avoids violent confrontation, Anansi is willing to kill. In Pirate's of the Caribbean, the treacherous pirate of the seven seas, Captain Jack Sparrow, is a disdainful trickster with questionable ethics and who focuses solely on his own self-interest. He continuously uses his own cleverness and expertise in mediation as oppose to violence in the pursuit to achieve his own intent,. In the Anansi myths, a West African prose, the trickster Anansi shares a similar …show more content…
Anansi is primarily depicted as a spider, but can often take the shape of a man; the god uses cunning and cruel behavior to gain an advantage over other creatures. The appearance of trickster in their myths symbolizes the defiance of conventional behavior by maneuvering outside the framework of social boundaries through deceitful tactics. Both trickster in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Anansi myths use their exceptional verbal abilities and eloquence to dissemble and connive. Jack Sparrow and Anansi outmaneuver individuals through deceptive dialogue and actions. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack attempted to sneak into a cave filled with enemies, but he was quickly surrounded and his life was endangered. However, Jack was able to persuade the enemy captain, Barbossa, by saying " Dauntless. There you'll be, with two lovely ships on your hands, and what to do? Of course you'll decide you deserve the bigger one, and who's to argue"? Captain Sparrow's sharp wit allowed him to purposefully make it appear as …show more content…
Captain Sparrow and Anansi share a similar lack of apathy for the well-being of others. There are several occasions where Sparrow endangers his crew and others around him for his own benefit. In the Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack finds himself stranded on a remote island for the second time with William Turner's love interest, Elizabeth Swann, while Turner was captured by enemy pirates who put Turner's life was in danger. Elizabeth attempts to sway Jack to escape the island, but he refuses saying "To what point and purpose young missy? The Black Pearl is gone. Young Turner will be dead long before you can reach him.... Welcome to the Caribbean love. " Sparrow's lack of concern to get off the island to save a man who had once freed him from jail and befriended him illustrates his unsympathetic attitude towards others outside of his own self-interest. With the loss of his beloved ship, Jack felt no moral obligation to help Turner, because it did not benefit him. Anansi shares the same indifference as Sparrow towards the welfare of others. In Anansi's Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles as Big as Themselves, Anansi's was punished by the king for his killing his jester by having to carry the coffin on his back for all of time. However, Anansi is able to trick an ant into carry the burden by saying to the