Jack is the leader of the Manhattan newsboys, and is considered to be the best Manhattan newsie of his generation. He was sent to the Refuge, an abusive jail for children, for stealing food and clothes when he was younger, as he's an orphan and has no family. He escaped the Refuge and since then, has been on the run from Warden Snyder and the cops, which is why he hides in Medda's theater quite often. He's tough, smart, quick thinking, protective, sweet, insecure, a dreamer, and charismatic.