Colonel Jack presents us with yet another of Defoe's picaresque protagonists, in a narrative structure which harks back to the tradition of spiritual autobiography (used by the author in so many of his fictional works), where the individual struggles to survive in a hostile world. In the established manner of the 'picaro', or rogue, figure popularised in earlier Spanish prose romances, and popular as the basis for fiction in Defoe's day, the hero initially ekes out a living on the margins of society, living by his wits. Various adventures take him to the Virginia colony and the continent, encompassing criminal activity and war service along the way, before he finally attains a state of personal security at the end of his life. <

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Published 20 June 2002

Citation: Sim, Stuart. "The History and Remarkable Life of the Truly Honourable Colonel Jacque, Commonly Called Colonel Jack". The Literary Encyclopedia. 20 June 2002.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=613, accessed 9 February 2010.]