| abstract | - Jack is an archetypal Cornish and English hero and stock character appearing in legends, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes, generally portrayed as a young adult. Unlike moralizing fairy heroes, Jack is often portrayed as lazy or foolish, but through the use of cleverness and tricks he usually emerges triumphant. In this way he may resemble a trickster. Some of the most famous include "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Jack the Giant Killer", and "Little Jack Horner". While these heroes are not necessarily congruous, their concepts are related and in some instances interchangeable. The notion of "Jack" is closely related and sometimes identical to the English hero John. He also corresponds with the German Hans (or Hänsel) and the Russian Iván. The character Matrim Cauthon, one of the three main protagonists of the Wheel of Time franchise, is an archetypal Jack character, with several allusions associating him with the name Jack throughout the series.
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