Red Dead Redemption 2: 10 Mind-Blowing Secrets & Theories You Need To Know
5. Jack Is Writing Red Dead
This one is taking a meta approach to what may be nothing more than an Easter egg, but it’s still a fun theory that warrants discussion.
In GTA, we see a book called Red Dead Redemption written by one J. Marston, and it’s safe to assume the author is Jack, not John. Throughout the game, there are several references to books, which can seem like knowing nods if we take it as fact that what we’re playing through is just Jack’s retelling.
Jack asks you to get him a book and is frequently shown reading, while Trelawny mentions to Arthur that he’ll end up in a book one day. Also, John mocks Jack, asking if he’ll get rich ‘writing silly stories’.
The game clearly wants you to play as honourably as you can, which makes sense considering how Jack clearly admires Arthur and would paint him this way. There’s the rather obvious fact the game is told in Chapters, too.
As for why it references New York when in GTA’s universe it’s called Liberty City, it may be that Jack simply invented the name New York for his parody, and it just happened to be the name we use for it too.