In reading the three myths, it is clear that the most prominent characteristic of the "wild man" is his independence. Each tale depicts a creature who lives humbly on his own, fully self-reliant. There would be no story, had it not been for the self-righteous human invading the life of the wild man. The human men feel threatened because the wild man lives outside of a context they can understand. The wild man has no religion or laws. However, the wild man is labeled barbaric by other men only because of their specific social and moral norm. The men impose their rules on the wild man. In the case of the Cyclops, Odysseus and his men feel that it is their right to come upon a stranger because of their Gods. Polyphemus, however, does not live by the rules of Gods and this makes the men feel threatened. They feel that they are justified in taking food and shelter from Polyphemus. This is true in the case of Jack and the Giant. Like Polyphemus, the Giant had his own treasures. However, Jack, noticing that the Giant was different, felt that it was acceptable to steal from him not once, but thrice.

When reading the stories, one must consider why and from what perspective they are told. The stories are always beneficial for the nemesis of the wild man. Polyphemus was blinded, the Giant was killed and Enkidu was made to shed his wild man characteristics. The narration of fairy-tales is one-sided and simple; the moral of the story clearly laid out in the end. In the aforementioned cases, the ending is that the "civilized" man will always prevail, and is far superior to that of the wild man.