Peter Pan: The dangers of fantasy and the blurred line of reality:
Samantha McClain
7th 8th
Advanced language arts and history
Hall
Theme literary analysis of the book
It's the thin line between reality and fantasy. It's the thin line between sanity and madness. It's the crazy things that make us think, laugh and cry. But, when is that line crossed and the dangers of fantasy become a fearsome reality. It's the thin line between reality and fantasy. It's the thin line between sanity and madness. It's the crazy things that make us think, laugh and scream in the dark. In J.M Barrie's iconic story of 'Peter Pan' published in '1911' and written over and over again into a play and adapted many times like in the disney version, the iconic movie with Robin Williams, and live action 2003 the story that sarted it all the fantasy of Neverland become the reality of the Darling children who fly off into the night with Peter Pan the boy who wouldn't grow up to the island of Neverland. The childish dreams that the Darling children had before arrival are cracked at the very real dangers of the fantasy land. As time moves on the dangers of Neverland compared to the dream become very real putting the Darling children in danger over and over again. Using literary devices such as description, dialogues, and action to show the dangers of if you let that line between reality and fantasy be crossed. Barrie uses these to to get the theme the dangers of fantasy across to the readers. The danger of fantasy is that fantasy stirs up artificial emotions. You can become terrified, or angry, or amorous over situations that don't exist in real life but soon you can see which is which. The best way to explain it think of a chronic lair at some point they end up believing their own lies. They say the lie so much that they begin to start twisting their own mind and memories to make it real. They same happens with the thin line between reality and fantasy is broken the lines between what is made-up and the truth are twisted and the fantasy becomes reality because you convince yourself that is the truth. The danger is that you'll never pull yourself out of the dream you once had. Never to wake up from the dream you once had. Forever lost inside your mind and it's Neverland.
"Of course the Neverlands vary a good deal. John's, for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it at which John was shooting, while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it. John lived in a boat turned upside down on the sands, Michael in a wigwam, Wendy in a house of leaves deftly sewn together. John had no friends, Michael had friends at night, Wendy had a pet wolf forsaken by its parents, but on the whole the Neverlands have a family resemblance."1 How effortless it seems that you can oversight about life to be one way and have it turn out to be entirely as the Darling children find out. Barrie uses descriptions such as the quote over in the very beginning of the story to portray Neverland to be a wonderful place full of enjoyment and fun adventures where you can spend the day having the time your life. However, as someone unknown once said "Be careful what you wish for." because that stimulation and adventure seemed great fun at the time to the Darling children but that is because they thought of Neverland like we do because of their dream. I figured Neverland it like the whitewashed disney version and found out that as nice as a fantasy may seem be wary or you may forget the danger. When they arrive they themselves state this is not their Neverlands. And, the dangers here were quite and extremely frighteningly so real. "In the old days at home the Neverland had always begun to look a little dark and threatening by bedtime. Then unexplored patches arose in it and spread, black shadows moved about in them, the roar of the beasts of prey was quite different now, and above all, you lost the certainty that you would win. You were quite glad that the night-lights were on. You even liked Nana to say that this was just the mantelpiece over here, and that the Neverland was all make-believe. Of course the Neverland had been make-believe in those days, but it was real now."2 These contrasting descriptions of Neverland showcase the theme of the story showing how easily the Darlings were lulled in a false sense of safety of their own doing. Then, the quote shows how very real the danger they are in is and how being lulled by fantasy can lure you into a dangerous situation since now they are trapped.
"His courage was almost appalling. "Would you like an adventure now," he said casually to John, "or would you like to have your tea first?" Wendy said "tea first" quickly, and Michael pressed her hand in gratitude, but the braver John hesitated. "What kind of adventure?" he asked cautiously. "There's a pirate asleep in the pampas just beneath us," Peter told him. "If you like, we'll go down and kill him."3 Almost immediately after the last quote Barrie uses dialogue to express that the Darlings are "not in kansas anymore" and that the island and it's danger is now very real to them and they could very well die. This quote shows how terrified they are now of Neverland because of the impending doom they could now very easily have and they now can't wake up in the morning like before. In the Neverland they knew laided inside a dream and had only harmless adventures that couldn't harm them. Now, the the true Neverland is not as harmless and every adventure has risk shows off the danger of adventure. The fact that John "asked cautiously" about the kind of adventure they were about go one show that the seems to prove that Neverland is more than they thought it was and neither was the journey. When on their way to Neverland if they fell asleep flying they would drop like a stone a piece that exercise this point is this quote "There he goes again!" he would cry gleefully, as Michael suddenly dropped like a stone. "Save him, save him!" cried Wendy, looking with horror at the cruel sea far below."4 When they first set off they trusted Peter blindly and the Darlings believed it would be a unnoticeable trip and they would be in Neverland in no time at all. However, they oversight having to cross oceans and they human need to eat and rest due to the fantasy of escaping to the dream Neverland and because of that they put themselves in a dangerous situation with only Peter as their lifeline and he found it jolly to watch the fall and catch them at the last second. Leaving the Darlings hoping they would get to Neverland before Peter grew bored of saving them. These dialogues prove the theme the dangers of reality true due to the showing the Darlings delusions of Neverland blocked them from thinking ahead and clear about the repercussions putting them in danger and risking their lives for a false illusion.
"The children often spent long summer days on this lagoon, swimming or floating most of the time, playing the mermaid games in the water, and so forth. You must not think from this that the mermaids were on friendly terms with them: on the contrary, it was among Wendy's lasting regrets that all the time she was on the island she never had a civil word from one of them. When she stole softly to the edge of the lagoon she might see them by the score, especially on Marooners' Rock, where they loved to bask."5 Barrie uses charter actions to how the danger in Neverland. First, he shows how much The Lost Boys, Peter, and Wendy loved the lagoon and laided there for quite sometime each day then as the chapter progresses Barrie uses actions to slowly change that into something darker. The child-like image Neverland painted in the beginning and the actions slowly show a darker and more dangerous side such as in this quote "It was not, she knew, that night had come, but something as dark as night had come. No, worse than that. It had not come, but it had sent that shiver through the sea to say that it was coming. What was it?" 6 which signals danger and this one ""Pirates!" he cried. The others came closer to him. A strange smile was playing about his face, and Wendy saw it and shuddered. While that smile was on his face no one dared address him; all they could do was to stand ready to obey. The order came sharp and incisive. "Dive!" There was a gleam of legs, and instantly the lagoon seemed deserted. Marooners' Rock stood alone in the forbidding waters as if it were itself marooned. The boat drew nearer. It was the pirate dinghy, with three figures in her, Smee and Starkey, and the third a captive, no other than Tiger Lily. Her hands and ankles were tied, and she knew what was to be her fate. She was to be left on the rock to perish, an end to one of her race more terrible than death by fire or torture, for is it not written in the book of the tribe that there is no path through water to the happy hunting-ground? Yet her face was impassive; she was the daughter of a chief, she must die as a chief's daughter, it is enough. They had caught her boarding the pirate ship with a knife in her mouth. No watch was kept on the ship, it being Hook's boast that the wind of his name guarded the ship for a mile around. Now her fate would help to guard it also. One more wail would go the round in that wind by night. In the gloom that they brought with them the two pirates did not see the rock till they crashed into it. "Luff, you lubber," cried an Irish voice that was Smee's; "here's the rock. Now, then, what we have to do is to hoist the redskin on to it and leave her here to drown." 7 Which shows how easily a few actions can change things in Neverland. All it took was a matter of minutes for the anger to set in because Wendy decided to stay and now all their lives are in danger along with Tiger Lily's.
In the iconic book 'Peter Pan' that spark a franchise and the author J.M Barrie use several literary devices to portray the theme of the danger of reality across. Showing the danger of letting the line blurred and the very real danger you can get yourself in even the the most false of reality. Barrie use literary device such as descriptions, dialogues, and actions. Barrie the crazy things that make us think, laugh and cry and when is that line crossed and the dangers of fantasy become a fearsome reality twisting their peoples mind and memories to make their fantasy real. Ignoring precautionary measures that could save their life. Barrie paints a vivid picture of three children who our time and time again thrown into life risking situations due to them letting their minds rule over logic and their dreams rule over their own common sense. Beware of what you wish for for it may just come true yet.