Jacob Black

"He was my best friend. I would always love him, and it would never, ever be enough."

Jacob Black is a fictional character in the books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. He is described as a Native American of the Quileute tribe. In Twilight he is fifteen, and in New Moon and Eclipse he is sixteen. When he reaches the age of sixteen, he undergoes the transformation that enables him to phase into a werewolf. He imprints on a baby named Renesmee Cullen, the daughter of Edward and Bella Cullen. Like his pack brother, Quil Ateara, his love for Renesmee will not be sexual or romantic until she comes of age.

Early Life
Jacob was born to Billy and Sarah Black. Sarah died in a car crash when he was very young. Jacob remembers Bella from when they were younger, though she does not remember him.

Twilight
He has a small but very important role in this book. After Bella Swan flirts with him (as a way to get information), he introduces the idea of Edward Cullen being a vampire by telling her Quileute legends. According to Stephenie Meyer via her official website, Jacob was originally just a device to tell Bella about the "Cold Ones." However, both she and her editor liked Jacob so much that they decided to give him a larger role in the sequels to Twilight.

New Moon
Bella becomes very good friends with Jacob, the son of her father's good friend Billy, after Edward leaves Forks. He helps her become somewhat happy and normal again, though she still misses Edward. New Moon reveals that Jacob is one of an ancient line of Quileute werewolves/shape shifters. They have forever been the mortal enemy of any vampire, even the Cullen family. At first Jacob thinks all this is legend, and he is frightened and disturbed by the influence a young man on the reservation, Sam Uley, has on some of the Quileute youth. But when Jacob makes the change himself in response to a new vampire threat, he learns that Sam (the leader of the pack) went through his own werewolf hardships, including a rather bloody incident with his girlfriend (now fiancée) Emily Young. As werewolves are short-tempered, highly violent, and likely to explode into wolf form when provoked to anger, Jacob agrees that he should stay away from Bella. He patrols the forest with his pack, searching for the vampires in the area who are killing local hikers. Jacob and the pack save Bella from the vampire Laurent (from Twilight), who is trying to kill her. Before the over-sized wolves chase him off, Laurent tells Bella that Victoria, James's mate (also from Twilight), is trying to kill her as revenge towards Edward, who killed her mate.

Later on, Harry Clearwater dies of a heart attack. During a conversation in which Jacob almost kisses Bella, Bella's phone rings. When Jacob answers the phone, the speaker, whom he believes to be Carlisle Cullen asks where Charlie was. In reality, it was Edward pretending to be Carlisle. Jacob tells Edward that Charlie was "at the funeral" meaning Harry's funeral. Thinking that Bella has died, Edward goes to see the Volturi and Bella and Alice rush to stop him. Jacob is hurt and disgusted by Bella's choice, Edward's return, and Bella's willingness to go back to him and become a vampire. After leaving Bella's motorcycle in her driveway, Jacob reminds Edward of their treaty, which prevents the Cullen family from biting a human. This means that if a member of the Cullen family turned Bella into a vampire, the treaty would be broken and the werewolves could start a war. Jacob is upset by the whole conversation, though Bella manages to calm him down before she and Edward leave. However, when Bella turns to look at Jacob one last time, she sees he is suffering in heart-wrenching emotional pain.

Eclipse
The third installment of the series begins with Jacob still trying to keep a safe distance away from Bella. She desperately tries to get a hold of him to talk, but he continues to ignore her attempts. He decides to write her a note instead. He is not comfortable with the idea of Bella walking around a vampire. The thought of it causes him to almost lose control with anger.

The book starts with Bella reading the note from Jacob. He has a hard time expressing himself in the note, as she reads through many unfinished sentences that end up being crossed out. The last comment in the note is not crossed out, and shows he is still angry with their situation.

Later on in the series, his affection towards Bella grows stronger. He's enraged by the fact that she will become a vampire after graduation, which is only a few weeks away. Bella feels bad that she's spending all her time with Edward and so she sneaks off to visit Jacob occasionally. Jacob invites Bella to come with him to a Quileute council meeting, and she accepts. Jacob and Bella spend the night together and listen to tribe legends, believed to be real by the Quileute. On one of the later visits, Jacob tells Bella he loves her, and kisses her, thinking that Bella loves him back. Bella, outraged that he would kiss her after he knows that she loves Edward, punches him in the jaw and breaks her hand. Jacob brings Bella home and is told by Edward that if he ever kisses Bella again, he'll break Jacob's jaw. But Edward also claims that he would allow it to happen if Bella wanted to kiss him. A while later there is a graduation party held at the Cullens' house that Jacob decides to go to, giving Bella a charm bracelet with a carving of a werewolf on it as a graduation present. While he's there he learns that Victoria has amassed a newborn vampire army to attack Bella. Jacob eagerly agrees on learning how to fight these vampires and to fight along with the Cullens to protect Bella. Their original plan was to have the werewolf, Seth Clearwater, watch over Bella in a remote mountain place while the Cullens and the rest of the werewolf pack fought off the vampires. Bella, however, wanted Edward with her when she stayed in the mountains, and asked Edward. Edward agreed as long as Jacob would carry her to the place in the mountains so that her scent would be lost. They followed through with the plan, and Jacob carried Bella to the mountain hideaway. While waiting for the battle to be over, Edward, Bella, and Jacob set up camp. A blizzard blows through the camp, and Bella begins to freeze. Jacob comes in the tent and stays in Bella's sleeping bag to warm her up with his abnormal body heat, much to Edward's horror.

Later on, Bella wakes up and Jacob leaves the tent. Bella and Edward then start discussing their marriage plans, and Jacob overhears their conversation, and runs away because of he's so upset that they're getting married. Upon Bella's request, Edward brings Jacob back and leaves them alone to talk. After some talk, Jacob says that he's going to go and kill himself because Bella doesn't love him. Bella then begs and pleads with him not to. Bella says that she'll kiss him if he won't commit suicide. Jacob agrees and they kiss (although he wasn't going to really go through with killing himself - it was a trick he used on her). Bella then realizes that she loves Jacob, but her love for Edward overpowers everything else. Jacob, thinking he had won Bella over, then leaves to finish the battle, and gets injured in the battle trying to save a fellow werewolf, Leah Clearwater, who was trying to show off...Jacob, shattered all the bones in the right side of his body while being tortured by two hiding newborns. Carlisle patches him up and a worried Bella visits him. They talk and Bella says that she has chosen Edward. While heartbroken over her choice, Jacob doesn't show it, and reluctantly agrees to stop trying to take Bella from Edward. Jacob reminds Bella that he will always be there for her whenever she needs him.

The epilogue is written from Jacob's point of view for the first time in the series. Jacob is sitting on the end of the cliff thinking about how difficult it will be when Bella is turned into a vampire. Leah comes and tells him to get over Bella, and Jacob angrily tells her to leave him alone before he goes home. At home he finds that Edward has sent Jacob a wedding invitation to Bella and Edward's wedding. With it a note was enclosed from Edward saying that Jacob did not have to come to the wedding, and Edward thanks Jacob for "everything". Unable to endure his broken heart any longer, Jacob runs away in wolf form, leaving "Jacob Black" behind him.

Breaking Dawn
In Breaking Dawn, Jacob is mentioned to be trying to live the rest of his life as a wolf so he doesn't have to deal with the pain he is in. Jacob is first seen at Bella's wedding, where he becomes violent towards Bella and Edward when he finds out about their plans to make love while Bella is still human and has to be restrained by Seth and Sam. Then after Bella returns from her and Edward's honeymoon, he believed Bella was turned and demands the pack attack the Cullens. Sam refuses to do so, and Jacob goes on a solo attack mission. He finds out that she is pregnant and sees that Bella has purple and blue bruises on her stomach from were the baby has kicked. He talks with Edward, who doesn't want the baby because it is killing Bella. He is asked to have a child with Bella, though Bella refuses. Edward eventually learns to love the unborn baby, leaving Jacob feeling betrayed. He returns to Sam and tells him about Bella's pregnancy. The pack plan on killing Bella and the baby because they see the unborn baby as a threat. Jacob still loves Bella, however, and revolts against Sam's authority as Alpha. He starts his own pack of which he is Alpha, which Leah (who later becomes Beta) and Seth Clearwater join. After Bella gives birth to a girl she names Renesmee, Bella appears to die after Edward bites her to turn her into a vampire. Jacob goes to kill Renesmee, but imprints on her when he sees her. He nicknames Renesmee Nessie because her real name is too much of a mouthful. Bella is extremely irritated with the nickname and the fact that it catches on, though she and Edward call her Nessie by the end of the book. He is extremely close to her, goes hunting with her, and for Christmas he braids her a bracelet that is the Quileute version of a promise ring. Jacob has a strong desire to protect her and to keep her happy and safe. It is likely that his feelings will eventually bud into romantic interests when she is old enough. It is hard for him to be separated from her, so he visits every day and almost never leaves the Cullen house. However, he states that once Renesmee's growing slows down, he will go back to school. Sam's pack stops trying to attack the Cullens, since there is a law that states that one cannot kill the object of another wolf's imprinting, due to the damage it would cause to the wolf in question. Bella was planning to have Jacob run away with Renesmee to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and possibly from there to Isle Esme, if the Volturi had decided to attack. She had forged passports made for the two of them, with Jacob as Jacob Wolfe, and Renesmee as Vanessa Wolfe. She picked Jacob and not herself or any of the Cullens because neither can go out into sunlight, it would be painful if Jacob and Renesmee were separated, and Jacob would be able to keep her safe much more effectively than anyone else, since he has a strong desire to protect her because of the imprint. Jacob and Renesmee did not have to run away, so Bella keeps the passports for the future. By the end of the story, Jacob also seems to finally be on good terms with Edward, since Edward refers to him as his 'son'. Paul, another werewolf, imprints on Jacob's sister, Rachel.

Physical appearance
Jacob is 6'7" tall, with a toned and muscular body . Bella describes him as having dark-tone russet skin. In New Moon, upon discovering his werewolf powers and joining the Quileute pack, he crops his long black hair short. Later he grows it out to chin length in Eclipse because he 'thinks' Bella likes it better that way. He tends to wear only cut-off style jeans, saying that when turning from human to a werewolf and back he doesn't like to have to carry a lot of clothes since they are ruined during transformation. In Breaking Dawn he cuts his hair short again and it seems that he has grown even taller. It is noted by Bella that he would surely hit his head upon the beams of her new cottage. As a wolf, Jake has russet brown fur, dark eyes that show intelligence, and is very swift. He is also the second fastest and the second largest in the pack, but later grows to be the largest and also the fastest.

Personality and traits
Jacob's personality shifts throughout the books as he matures. In Twilight, he seems shy and sheepish around Bella, easily succumbing to her flirtations and worrying about how the Quileute legends will affect her perception of him. However, in New Moon Jacob becomes sullen and temperamental. This is because he is experiencing the change of shape-shifting. In Eclipse, he becomes a lot more confident that Bella is really for him - so much so that he makes her realize that she does love him after all. In Breaking Dawn, his personality changes yet again, because he feels like Bella is going to die. He is ready to kill her baby daughter, Renesmee, until he sees her and experiences imprinting.

Werewolf traits

 * Regeneration - Body heals at an abnormal rate, faster than any human body can.


 * Phasing - Can morph in and out of "wolf" form. With practice and skill, one can morph faster and with more efficiency. While less experienced, young werewolves will frequently phase when losing their tempers. There is still a risk when a werewolf ages and becomes more and more experienced, it happens much less frequently.


 * Telepathy - Only works within pack, when in wolf form. They can speak with each other telepathically and hear each other's thoughts. Though this is more than useful while hunting and tracking, there is no privacy left in the pack because of this ability. It can be described as both a gift and a burden. Their thoughts are open even when they tried to hide them.


 * Physically enhanced - Has "super-strength" in both wolf and human form. In wolf form, they are also exceptionally fast. Before phasing, the human form will build up their muscles naturally and will be ready for the first time they phase.


 * Delayed aging - They cannot start aging until a solid period of time without phasing goes by. It is unknown the exact length of time, only it would be very difficult because of what causes phasing and the fact that the current pack are so frequently needed in the present time of the books.


 * Constant temperature - Werewolves have a constant body temperature of about 108 degrees to withstand severe cold.


 * Imprinting - Werewolves can imprint on a certain person they see once they begin phasing. However, not every werewolf imprints. Jacob describes imprinting as being stronger than true love.



Family relationships
Jacob's father is Billy Black, his mother is Sarah, and he has two sisters, Rachel and Rebecca. Billy and Jacob seem to be fairly close as they have lived alone for a fairly long time. On the other hand, Rachel, Rebecca, and Jacob are not as close as the twins live out of town and they rarely see their brother. Jacob's mother was said to have died of a car crash, with him saying, "Her coffin was nailed shut," in Breaking Dawn.

Bella Swan
"I’d forgotten how much I really liked Jacob Black."

Jacob claims in Twilight that he had a crush on Bella, but didn't act on it since she was already with Edward. During New Moon, he spent more time with Bella, and his crush turned into love. He is romantically attracted to her, although she only sees him as her best friend. As stated In Breaking Dawn, he has many times imagined Bella nude. His feelings for her put him at odds with her boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Jacob tells (or rather, shows) Bella how he feels in Eclipse by forcibly kissing her, to which she reacts by punching him in the jaw, only to end up with a broken hand (due to the fact that she is human and he is a 'werewolf'). Jacob does everything he can think of to try to steal Bella from Edward, but she rejects him. Heartbroken, Jacob runs away from home and tries to live as a wolf to escape the pain he feels.

Despite Bella's rejection of him, Jacob still feels love for her, and abandoned his former pack to protect her. But he still feels constant pain because he failed to win Bella over. When Jacob imprints on Bella's daughter, however, he is stripped of his romantic feelings for Bella and just loves Bella as his best friend.

Renesmee Cullen
In Breaking Dawn, Jacob imprints on Renesmee Cullen, Bella and Edward Cullen's daughter. While Renesmee is a child, he will feel only the need the protect and help her, but as she grows up, Jacob will feel attracted towards her as part of the imprinting. It is implied that Renesmee will 'accept' Jacob as her mate, since she loves him very much. Bella isn't very happy about this at first, but then comes to accept it later on.

Etymology
Jacob means "supplanter." This could refer to the way Jacob took Edward's place in New Moon, and tried to replace him completely throughout the saga.

Movie portrayal
The role of Jacob was played by actor Taylor Lautner in the Twilight film. In January 2009, it was announced that Lautner would reprise his role as Jacob in the sequel, New Moon.

Appearances

 * Twilight
 * Twilight (film)
 * New Moon
 * New Moon (film)
 * Eclipse
 * Breaking Dawn