Jack Pumpkinhead

Jack Pumpkinhead
Oz character
Cover of Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz (1929) by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Art by John R. Neill
First appearance	The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
Created by	L. Frank Baum
Information
Species	Animated Homunculus
Gender	Male
Occupation	Pumpkin farmer
Title	Adviser to Ozma of Oz
Family	Tippetarius (father) Mombi (vivifier)
Nationality	Gillikin

Jack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Land of Oz and appears in several of the classic children's series of Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum.

Jack first appeared as a main character in the second Oz book by Baum The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904). Jack's incredibly tall and skinny figure is made from tree limbs and jointed with wooden pegs. He has a large carved jack-o'-lantern for a head which is where he gets his name (unlike most jack-o'-lanterns, the seeds and other pumpkin guts were not removed so it substitutes for his brain).

Jack was made by a little boy named Tip to scare his guardian, an old witch named Mombi. From Mombi's chest he took some old clothes for Jack; purple trousers, a red shirt, a pink vest with white polka dots, and stockings, to which he added a pair of his shoes. When Mombi saw Jack, she almost smashed him to pieces. Instead, she decided to test her new Powder of Life on him. The powder worked and Jack came to life.

Jack is not known for his intelligence which seems to depend on the quality and number of the seeds in his pumpkin-head at that time. However he manages to come up with random bits of wisdom and common sense often. For example, after bringing Jack to life, Mombi has the following exchange with him:

:"What do you know?"

:"Well, that is hard to tell," replied Jack. "For although I feel that I know a tremendous lot, I am not yet aware how much there is in the world to find out about. It will take me a little time to discover whether I am very wise or very foolish."

Although Jack Pumpkinhead would not get tired from walking, his joints would still wear out. To remedy this, Tip created the Sawhorse to serve as Jack's mode of transportation.

In the fifth Oz book The Road to Oz (1909), Jack has settled in a large pumpkin-shaped house near the Tin Woodman's castle in Winkie Country. Jack spends much of his time growing pumpkins to replace his old heads, which eventually spoil and need to be replaced. Princess Ozma, who created Jack and is recognized as his mother, carves new heads for Jack when necessary. The old heads are buried in a graveyard on his property. In the sixth Oz book The Emerald City of Oz (1910), it is revealed that Jack designed a five storey, jewel-encrusted, corn-shaped mansion for the Scarecrow to live in.