rumandpirates

Captaincy
Sparrow has an unwavering desire to captain the Black Pearl and only the Black Pearl, and the majority of his actions in the first film are simply the means to this end. His desire is demonstrated in his willingness to barter for it — he offers his subordination and 25% of his pirates’ earnings to Captain Barbossa should Sparrow be given back his command, although it could have been only a ploy to convince Barbossa he was on his side. As Sparrow explains to Elizabeth, "what a ship is — what the Black Pearl really is — is freedom." He objects to being referred to by only his name without his 'rank'. In Dead Man's Chest, it's established that Jack literally sold his soul for the Pearl and is rightly its Captain. Still, when they're forced to abandon ship, Sparrow tells Gibbs, "She's only a ship, mate.", although it was more to convince the crew to save themselves; he lingered afterward and didn't seem intent on leaving his beloved ship, this may be due to the fact that he knew that the Kraken was seeking him, not the boat, so Elizabeth took it upon herself to make sure the Kraken got what it was after.

Demeanor
Sparrow's most obvious characteristic is a slightly drunken stagger, accompanied by awkwardly flailing hand gestures that make him look unfocused (or possibly slightly ataxic). It may also be a side effect of spending a lot of time on the deck of a ship, as he seems fairly sure-footed onboard a ship. The noted stagger could result from the heat stroke he was rumored to have suffered while marooned, though he actually spent part of that time cavorting with the rum runners who helped him escape. Sparrow's gestures are also believed to be a ploy to help keep his enemies off-guard. His perpetual drunkenness could also lead to his tendency to slur his speech. Jack possesses a distinctive tattoo on his right forearm of a sparrow flying in front of a setting sun over the ocean. This is apparently a well-known identifying mark for the infamous pirate as Commodore Norrington seemed to recognize it immediately. He also had the letter "P" (for pirate) branded on his right wrist by the East India Trading Company. Whilst playing with a P brand, Cutler Beckett mentions in the second film that he and Sparrow had "marked" one another at some point; while the film establishes Beckett's "mark" as the "P" brand, exactly how Jack marked Beckett was not revealed.

Jack's effects
Jack carries a number of items on his person at all times (including his pistol, sword, coat, and most importantly, his tricorne (his hat), collectively known as "his effects"), most notably his compass. Received in a barter with the voodoo doctress Tia Dalma (as established in Dead Man's Chest), Jack's compass points towards whatever the person holding it wants most, instead of the usual behavior of pointing North. Generally, it points to a treasure or valuable item, but it can also point to people, and works for anyone who picks it up and even while untouched on the ground.

Jack's compass appears to fail him at the start of the second film; however, it works later for Elizabeth because she is focused on saving Will. Jack convinces her that the only way to do that is by finding the Dead Man's Chest. Later, when the compass is held by Elizabeth, it points towards Jack, leading her to complain that the compass is broken. She sits down in the sand and, when Jack looks at the compass on the ground, it points towards Elizabeth; he says, "You're sitting on it", and motions for her to move off the spot.

After the single-shot pistol that he intended to use to kill Barbossa, Jack's hat seems to be his most beloved object. When it is in his possession he is never seen without it, and he always makes specific mention of it when discussing "his effects". In a comedic turn of events, Jack loses his tricorne during the beginning of the second film and his command to leave it behind surprises the crew to such an extent that they are struck motionless; the hat is eaten by the Kraken soon afterwards. Jack spends the length of the film searching for an adequate replacement, at one point stopping a pub fight to try on many of the fighters' tricornes. He eventually regains it towards the end of the movie when it is spat out by the Kraken prior to his ingestion.

Traits
Unusual for a pirate, Sparrow is known for his altruistic nature; he often puts himself in harm's way to save other people, most notably Will and Elizabeth. The first film's script suggests Jack's kindness is part of the reason why his crew mutinied; when Jack offers a nonviolent way to find a piece of the cursed Aztec gold on the Navy ship Interceptor, Barbossa claims, "Now, y'see Jack, that's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easier to search when they're dead." Sparrow is presented as an honorable (if self-centered) man who believes in the "Pirate's Code". He also believes that there is such a thing as a "good" pirate, which was his evaluation of "Bootstrap" Bill Turner.

Jack believes himself to be a ladies' man, explaining that he has, "an intuitive sense of the female creature"; however, he is seemingly unable to commit to a long-term relationship. Jack is presented as adept at sweeping ladies off their feet, but his conquests seem to have a sour memory of him—former flames tend to slap him or anyone looking for him.

Sparrow's most commonly-used words and phrases include "savvy?" (which means, "do you understand me?") and "bugger" (when a situation is not playing out as planned). He makes several references to waiting "for the opportune moment" (to take control of a given situation). Sparrow's most quoted line: "Why is the rum gone?"

Jack apparently suffers from extremely bad breath. He caused Norrington to take a step back when he got a little close, and made Governor Swann gag at the end of the first film. (On the DVD commentary, Gore Verbinski quoted his breath resembling, "The inside of a donkey's ass.") When Jack attempted to approach Elizabeth romantically during Dead Man's Chest, she noted various things that made them different people, one of them being "personal hygiene."

According to the audio commentary featuring the scriptwriters on the DVD for the first Pirates film, Sparrow is the least talented swordsman in comparison to Turner, Barbossa and Norrington, relying on his wits more than his swordplay to get himself out of tough situations.

Johnny Depp has stated that pirates were like "the rock stars of their day." This is because the stories and legends surrounding rock stars are usually bigger than the stars themselves. In a scene deleted from the first movie, Elizabeth asks Jack on the island if there is any truth to the "other" stories about him after discovering his real escape from the island the first time. Sparrow, seemingly insulted at the insinuation, first replies "Truth?", and then reveals several scars on his body. This includes the "P" (for pirate) on his right wrist given to him by the East India Trading Company, a massive scar along his left forearm for which there is no known origin, and two musket shot wounds on the right side of his chest. Elizabeth is visibly shaken; Jack coldly and sarcastically concludes, "No truth at all."

Sparrow often uses "eunuch" as an insult, including questioning Will Turner during their duel if Turner is a eunuch, given his penchant for long hours of practice with swords. In the second film, while addressing the natives in an attempt to mimic their language, he says, "Eunuchy snip-snip."

Jack Sparrow was once employed by the East India Trading Company. He helmed the Wicked Wench, an EITC merchant vessel, performing odd jobs for Lord Cutler Beckett. However, when Sparrow refused to transport slaves, Beckett sanctioned the torching (and sinking) of the Wicked Wench, and branded Jack Sparrow a pirate. Jack came to embrace his outlaw status, becoming a successful pirate with no desire to return to life under the command of others. Later, Jack petitioned Davy Jones to raise his ship from the ocean floor. He rechristened her as The Black Pearl.

About a decade prior to the beginning of the film, while searching for the legendary cache of Aztec gold, Jack's crew mutinies and maroons him on an island with only a pistol containing a single shot (allowing him the option of suicide over death by starvation). After three days, Sparrow is able to barter with a group of rum runners (who store their wares on the island) for passage. Now he seeks revenge against the leader of the mutiny — his former First Mate, Hector Barbossa. Sparrow keeps the pistol and the single shot for the purpose of killing Barbossa.

Arriving in Port Royal approximately ten years later, Jack is arrested for piracy after saving Elizabeth Swann, the governor's daughter from drowing. While imprisoned, Sparrow is visited by Will Turner, who seeks Jack's help to find the Elizabeth, who has been kidnapped by pirates. Jack realizes that Will is the son of "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, Jack's former shipmate. Bootstrap was the lone holdout in the mutiny against Jack, an action that landed him on the bottom of the ocean strapped to a cannon. Sparrow, familiar with the legend of a "heathen curse" that has since stricken the Black Pearl's crew, knows that Turner's child is needed to help break the curse. The blood of those who took the Aztec gold from the chest must be given with the returned coins. Will is the only living source of Bootstrap's blood. Jack sees Will as a means to get back command of his ship. Though he fiercely disapproves of piracy, Turner agrees to help Sparrow escape jail and commandeer the Royal Navy ship, Interceptor. They go to Tortuga to recruit a crew and then sail to Isla de Muerta to find the Pearl and rescue Elizabeth Swann — the woman Will loves. Elizabeth was kidnapped from Port Royal by Barbossa after she identified herself as "Elizabeth Turner." Barbossa believes she is Bootstrap's long-lost child, who is needed to break the curse.

Jack and his crew are chased by the Black Pearl. After an intense sea battle, the Interceptor is sunk, and the crew is taken prisoner aboard the Pearl. Jack and Elizabeth are marooned on the same island that Jack was stranded on before. To Jack's dismay, Elizabeth uses the long-abandoned rum stockpile to start a signal fire, which is spotted by the Royal Navy. They are rescued by Commodore James Norrington, and to save Will, Elizabeth persuades him to attack Isla de Muerta. On the island, Jack sneaks into the cave and prevents Will from being sacrificed by informing Barbossa that the Navy is waiting outside to ambush them. Barbossa sends the crew to fight them. But Sparrow turns on Barbossa, and they engage in a sword fight. Barbossa believes he has mortally wounded his opponent; Sparrow instead stumbles into the moonlight, revealing that he has cursed himself by sneaking a coin from the chest. Jack and Will lift the curse just after Jack shoots Barbossa with the same shot he has carried for ten years, leaving Barbossa dead. The rest of the crew, now mortal, are defeated. After the battle, Jack is arrested and brought back to Port Royal for execution. But with help from Will and Elizabeth, he escapes by "accidentally" falling off the rampart into the sea. The Black Pearl is waitng and hauls him aboard. Jack finally takes his rightful place as captain of the Black Pearl.

Jack obtained the Pearl from Davy Jones himself, 13 years earlier, and now has to repay his debt to Jones for the ship or be enslaved to work on The Flying Dutchman, the famous ship of the dead and dying, for 100 years. Will Turner, meantime, is searching for Jack's compass, having been told by Lord Cutler Beckett that he must find it or watch Elizabeth die. Turner finds Sparrow on Pelegosto, whose inhabitants have taken him as their chief and treat him as a god (recalling the line from the first film, "...and then they made me their chief"), which also means he must be eaten for his spirit to be released. Sparrow makes a break for freedom shortly before he can be cooked alive, barely making it to the Black Pearl before the natives can catch him. Sparrow once again begins to brag that his adversaries would remember the day he was almost caught, but a shipside wave cuts him off. Following this incident, the remaining crew sets off to Tia Dalma, a Jamaican priestess whom Jack suggestedly had an affair with(..."I thought I knew you") . Here, we glimps Captain Barbossa's black boot, to which the monkey heads towards, suggesting that it was Tia Dalma who cared for Barbossa after he was shot.

Jack later comes face to face with Davy Jones and promises to bring Jones one hundred souls in exchange for his own. Jack then races to find the Chest of Davy Jones and is confronted by both Norrington and Turner, each hoping to claim the Chest (Turner, for example, wants to free his father from servitude aboard Jones' ship). Jack manages to escape the battle, seemingly with the Chest's contents (the heart of Davy Jones) but the Dutchman surfaces to claim Jack's soul and his ship before they are able get far enough away from the island. Davy Jones attacks the "Pearl" with cannons until Jack's ship is out of his reach. This prompts Davy Jones to summon the Kraken to reclaim the ship. Jack escapes while the Pearl's crew members fight valiantly for their lives, then returns to make the shot that saves the remainder of the crew. Mr. Gibbs informs those aboard that they merely angered the Kraken and they must abandon ship.

As the crew prepares to escape, Elizabeth kisses Jack while leading him to the Pearl's mast, and then shackles him there. When she explains that the Kraken is after only Jack and that she is not sorry for what she has done, Jack simply responds, "Pirate," indicating that while he is not pleased with the outcome, he would have done the same in her position. Elizabeth gets into the boat, and Will asks harshly (after having seen the kiss), "Where's Jack?", she replies that he stayed behind to give them a better chance at survival. Sparrow, meantime, manages to get free from the handcuffs only to find himself confronting the enraged Kraken. Sparrow picks up his lost hat and says "'Ello, beastie," and lunges into the mouth of the beast. In the meantime, Davy Jones discovers that the chest no longer contains his heart. Enraged, Jones blames Jack for what had happened to it and shouts "Damn you, Jack Sparrow!" The heart, however, is now in the possession of Norrington, who delivers it to Lord Beckett, hoping to regain the stature he'd lost when he tried to chase Sparrow and his crew through a hurricane sometime after the first movie, losing most of his crew and, subsequently, his rank.

Piczo