What makes Jake a good character?
No matter whether you’re a Jake stan or not, you’ve probably always wanted to know why the Jake Mckenzie ship is so big. Well, it’s not that other LIs are not written as well as he is, it’s that he is just written very well. So how did PB develop this character, and why does he appeal to us? Let’s take a look. (This is a bonus chapter I promised as a continuation of my Jake’s Relationship Development analysis series, feel free to check that out if you wish.)
1. He has weaknesses. Good main characters should be flawed, and as the story progresses, the character must go on a journey to correct his weaknesses. Jake has two types of weaknesses: psychological (hurts himself) and moral (hurts others).
Psychological weakness: Jake has an overwhelming guilt and pain for Mike’s (believed) death that was caused by someone’s betrayal of Jake. He has vowed to never let anyone else into his life - to prevent them getting hurt by his enemies (like Mike) and to protect himself from betrayal again. He doesn’t want anyone to know the real him - the sad and broken man that believes himself to be worth little.
Moral weakness: Jake’s main moral weakness is that he pushes everyone away. So he uses his cocky, sarcastic, and even slightly rude personality to keep his distance from others. Aside from that, there’s also his stubbornness (initially unwilling to cooperate with Sean) and his (initially) selfish attitude that came from an experience in which he learnt that he can’t save everyone.
2. Jake has a goal. Jake fights for something. And we pay attention to him because we want to know if he gets what he wants. And that goal is to escape from those who are hunting him - Lundgren and his pack. But also emotional escape, from the pain that is haunting him, by being as far away from others as possible.
3. Why does Jake want the goal? Physically, it’s because Jake doesn’t want to live the rest of his life in fear of his life. Emotionally, it’s to overcome the emotional pain of losing Mike by never losing anyone again.
4. Jake needs something that he hasn’t realized yet. And that is an end to his running (physical) and loneliness (emotional). He needs to be with those that he loves (Mike and his family) and/or fall in love with someone bigger than him (MC) that he doesn’t need to push away in fear of. But to do this, he has to stop the threat to his life and thus the lives of his loved ones. At the beginning of the series, Jake believes that he doesn’t need anyone at all. It’s a one man battle he must face alone.
(Jake realizes what he needs)
5. Jake has two ghosts, a source of all his weaknesses, and if it is not obvious enough, it is not only his war with the Arachnids, but also the past that haunts and tortures him. The moment Mike died as a result of his betrayal, Jake’s life fell apart. And thus the guilt and trauma that resulted from this became the “ghost” of his past. Interestingly he is not aware of another aspect of that “ghost” - and that is his refusal to open up emotionally, causing his loneliness.
6. Characterisation: Jake is cocky, sarcastic, rebellious and humours. With a touch of good old Southern charm, crazy intelligence, and strong survival instincts, he is insanely attractive especially in situations in which these skills come in handy. However, he has a ‘true character’: Which is the protective, loving, loyal and at times compassionate man we have come to know and love. And is different to the man he likes to pretend to be - for the sake of others, of course. Combined with a thirst for adventure, his love of living in the moment, and a refusal to be ordinary, Jake is special from the moment we meet him.
7. Change: Towards the end of the series, he starts to become a ‘changed person’: Technically, we’re not really here yet (writing in the mid of Book 3). But so far he has revealed his murky secrets to the group, in the face of judgement, and may or not have found someone to love romantically. We have reason to believe that someday, Jake’s going to crush the big demon, and no matter if he has a wife/husband or not he’s going to be able to go back to his loved ones again. For example, at the end of Book 2, when the escape helicopter becomes trapped in a time loop, Jake turns himself in to the Anarchids:
Jake’s change throughout the series is one of the most poignant plot points in the books. In this scene, he realizes that he most confront all his aforementioned “ghosts” in order to achieve his “goal” and reach his “needs”. Thus, he stops running from the Anarchids, finally confronting the past that left him broken in pieces.
7. Throughout the series, we are fascinated by Jake. We are constantly given hints about who Jake really is and what secrets might he hold. We develop a strong curiosity towards Jake…a desire to know. Then we are illuminated, we are given what we asked for, and there’s a sense of fulfilment and pleasure to that.
Thanks for reading this long and totally random post that I decided to make on a whim after reading this interesting article. I might continue with this post with a follow up about Jake’s character arc, but if I release it, it would be at the end of Book 3. I promised to write this for those who enjoyed my Jake analysis posts, so if you’re reading again I hope you enjoyed it! If anyone has anything to say, do me a favor and drop a comment, I’d love to start a discussion!
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