Jack Dawson

### Likes:

Rose and his friends, art, drawing, helping others, smoking, dancing, children, being a free-spirited, traveling, flying, playing poker, spitting like a man, fishing, horseback riding, sketching, being treated as an equal, fairness, justice

### Dislikes:

Rudeness, arrogance, violence, selfishness, prejudice, judgment, cruelness, aggressiveness, discrimination, sexism, racism, upsetting people, being mistreated for being poor, narcissism, Cal Hockley, Rose being mistreated or controlled, being helpless, injustice, unfairness, oppression, caviar, classes

## Production Information

### Portrayal:

Leonardo DiCaprio

**Jack Dawson** is a very talented but impoverished artist, who is destined to sail on Titanic after he won two tickets for himself and his friend Fabrizio in a poker game just five minutes before the ship’s departure.  Social-status wouldn’t prevent the starving artist from meeting aristocratic, rebellious socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater and embarking on a passionate love affair.

At the beginning of the film, Jack luckily won a ticket to board the Titanic in a game of poker. Jack shows us that even people of poor status can have luck. He even saved a suicidal Rose from jumping to her death. When Rose mocked Jack for patronizing her, Jack immediately tells her, "That's not what I was thinking. What I was thinking was... what could have *happened* to this girl so much she thought she had no way out?" This came to show that Jack was not a dumb man at all. He knew there was something wrong that must make a rich girl like her wanting to commit suicide. This destroys the perception and image of poor, uneducated men. Then, when he was invited to dine with the first-class after saving Rose, he was not scared to bring up his poor upbringing and family background at all. He bluntly tells them he was Chippewa Falls. He does this while smiling. He taught us to be proud of who you are and don't be scared of the perception from others. Jack also show he has talent as well. When Rose opened his portfolio of French women, we can see that Jack was artistically talented in drawing. He even captured nude Rose in a beautiful sketch.

Jack did more than just brought romance to a suicidal rich girl's life. Jack was able to see that Rose was an unhappy rich girl confined by the norms of society. He was also able to see that Rose, although engaged, was not in love with her fiancé at all. He was the light in Rose's dark and gloomy world. He was the key to Rose's self-actualization and metamorphosis. Jack allowed Rose to transform into a strong woman she was. Because of Jack, Rose was able to blur the social differences between third-class and high-class and defies against her own mother and her own fiancé. In the end, he helped Rose find happiness and told her to live on happily. Before dying, Jack tells her to survive and never give up no matter what. Rose promises and lived on to be 100-years-old. She married and even became a grandmother.

Even though Jack died in the film, his existence still lived on in Rose's memories. In fact, Jack was immortalized in her memories. Rose never told anyone about him, not even to her husband, Mr. Calvert. In fact, she was still in love with Jack and she never let go of Jack at all. Their love was still there, even till the very end of the film. As Rose dies in her sleep, a younger form of her reunites with Jack at the Grand Staircase of the Titanic, where they are surrounded by those who perished during the Titanic's sinking.

Jack loves people (and is good with them): he does his best to help them, even when it screws up his own life. Jack and Rose meet when he finds her trying to get up the nerve to throw herself off the back of the boat. You can see him carefully reading Rose and trying to find the right way to coax her back over the side -- and he eventually succeeds by telling her how cold the water is and how painful her death (and his attempt to rescue her) would be. Unfortunately, Jack’s reward for helping Rose is the threat of arrest, when he is mistaken for trying to attack her. This is the kind of thing that happens to Jack over and over -- he can’t win for trying. Sure, he pursues Rose because he’s totally in love with her, but he also really wants to help her -- and his refusal to leave her alone gets him in trouble time and time again. Cal doesn’t really appreciate Jack’s attentions to his fiancée, of course, and -- very long story short -- he and his valet end up: chasing Jack (with Rose) around the boat, trying to get him away from her, framing Jack for a crime he didn’t commit, getting Jack arrested for said crime, *and* when all else fails, trying to shoot Jack. And then, of course, there’s the fact that Jack eventually dies trying to save Rose. Although he finds his lover a piece of debris (a door) to float on, he stays in the water... which means he freezes to death.

That all said, you get the sense that Jack believes he’s gotten a lifetime’s worth of fulfillment from meeting and loving Rose, if only briefly, so that adds some comfort at the end of the film. And, of course, he takes a suicidal, snobby woman and convinces her to turn her life around, which is a pretty amazing feature. It’s hard not to feel good about that.

## **Physical Appearance**

Jack is a handsome young man. He has some pretty amazing eyes -- a nice hazel color, and seem to grab your attention as soon as you see him. His hair is cut short, just to the length of his ears, and is parted on the side, making most of his hair swoop to one side. It's a dirty blonde, kind of like burnt hay. He's got a broad jaw, and lowered dark eyebrows, making him look like he's always in deep thought.

## **Personality and Traits**

Jack is a man of the world. He travels extensively, working his way over to America on “tramp steamers and such,” and staying in out of the place dives in Paris to study his art. He has no fear of doing new things or having new experiences and agrees to go to dinner in first-class just for the fun of it. He is delighted with physical beauty and the people around him, using every opportunity to sketch and immortalize them in his sketchbook. When Rose wants to *talk* about doing exciting things, Jack tells her they *will do* those things. He sizes people up immediately, with no illusions about them. Jack is quick-thinking, improvising using his environment in the disaster (breaking down doors, fighting people off, getting Rose to the highest point of the ship, using a piece of wall paneling to save her life). He also has good usage, aided by a wing pragmatism -- his insights into people are perceptive -- “There’s no boat, is there?” “They have you *trapped*, Rose, and you’re gonna die if you don’t break free... that fire that I love about you is going to burn out.” He knew Cal framed him for theft without any proof. He knew Rose didn’t belong in the situation she was in, despite barely knowing her. Jack’s final speech to Rose is about how she needs to look toward the future with optimism -- “Go on, and make lots of babies, and watch them grow,” -- but he admits he doesn’t think about more than he has in this moment, most of the time.

He is a free spirit, who knows his own mind and who balks at the idea of Rose being forced or coerced into doing something she does *not* want to do. He persistently and bluntly asks her if she loves Cal, with the implication if not, why would be with him, much less she marry him? Even though he has a warm, dynamic personality, Jack doesn’t need everyone at the dinner table to like him -- so long as Rose approves. He forms a bond with her that only strengthens the more time they spend with one another. He trusts her to “know” him through this bond after only a short time together. His bluntness comes in handy once in awhile; he is also fast to come up with logical solutions that make sense (“Oh, real slick, Cal -- Rose, he put in my pocket!”). He is not interested in talking about things only, but also *doing* them. Jack minces no words with Rose in prompting her to let go of social constraints and be true to herself. He tells people off. He issues orders. He acts on his feelings, punching people in the face, climbing into the back of an automobile with Rose. He can detach for a higher good, such as when he pretends there’s another boat and he can get off on it, to get Rose to safety.

Jack is always chasing after a new experience or dream, with an optimistic approach to the world and the people in it. He doesn’t mind winging it, all the time -- he travels the world loving every minute of it, because he “never knows who I’m going to meet” or what experiences he is going to have. He’s comfortable being without a permanent home, working his way from place to place, and gambling with his future in pursuit of the next exiting thing, all out of a desire to avoid being bored or not having fun. When he meets Rose, his distress at her continual compromises causes him to push her to be more free and open, to follow her dreams in an open-minded way. His protectiveness comes out under stress when keeping Rose safe and escaping the ship and makes him generally assertive (he breaks down doors, tells people off, and stands up for himself and others). He doesn’t care what others think of him, but becomes more rigid and demanding when things go wrong (moving to righteous anger in stressful situations, such as suddenly caring about “the truth” when Cal frames him for stealing the necklace).

## **Skills and Abilities**

* **Artistic:** Jack was a skilled artist, able to draw pictures of various women with promise detail; one of which included Rose; despite his relatively poor background. He essentially made a living off of it. Jack also had skill at poker, able to win Fabrizio and himself tickets on to Titanic.
* **Skilled Swimmer:** He was also a strong swimmer, able to assist Rose to a door frame despite the temperature, and didn't need the assistance of a lifebelt to stay afloat. He was also a good liar, able to convince Rose he would survive the sinking, though believed he wasn't as good as Cal.
* **Skilled Hand-To-Hand Combatant:** Jack was also skilled in hand-to-hand combat, successfully overpowering Lovejoy during their fight in the dining hall (deleted scene). He even knocked out a man while both were under water with just a few punches. He wasn't always as confident in his fighting capabilities, wincing when threatened by Sven in the beginning.
* **Expert Thief:** Despite not stealing the Heart of the Ocean, Jack was a good theif, able to steal a coat from a fellow inmate. He was also stealthy, managing to avoid detection from Cal and Ruth when trying to speak to Rose.
* **The Charmer:** Jack was also a skilled speaker and a likable young man, despite his financial situation, able to win over a group of first-class passengers with a speech about "making everyday count", and was also very persuasive, successfully convincing Rose to not commit suicide.