What is Peter Pan?
"All children grow up. Except one." These opening words describe author J.M. Barrie's soaring character Peter Pan. Peter takes the Darling children flying away to Neverland on the greatest adventure of their lives. Peter and the Darling children (Wendy, John and Peter) are whisked away into the very depths of childhood and shake their dirks at the thought of growing up.
In the book, Peter lives his life in all the splendors of youth. He does not trouble himself with "grown up" things. In Neverland, the rules are "to stay a little boy and always have fun". Grown-ups in this culture are fraudulent pirates and the Lost Boys kill them happily. The most opprobrious pirate of them all is the dreaded Captain James Hook. His cobalt eyes deceive his idiosyncrasy and shed red poisonous tears that Captain Hook cannot successfully make anyone love him. Peter has only happiness and cockiness (which Hook despises most of all his characteristics), Hook lives on rules and has not one happy thought. When Captain Hook almost defeats Peter, and says Peter will die alone like him, Wendy reminds him that Peter will never be alone "as long as children and heartless" because they will always know the adventures of Peter and love him for them.
In perspective, we have all had Peter Pan share part of our lives at one time or another. Whenever you were little and had your little adventures and we didn't want to grow up, because then we would be old. You had your own dreams about this magical world where your parents couldn't tell you what you could or could not do. You could eat with your mouth open, go swimming with mermaids and sleep on the floor without a pillow. That is what makes up Peter Pan. After all, you are an innocent child and thoughts of caring for people other than yourself were definitely out of the question. Not because you didn't love them, but because you didn't know how to show it yet.
So how to put Peter Pan into words? It is the very essence of our childhood fantasies. But once we grow up, they become little more than "dust in the bottom of our toy box". They were enjoyable as a child, but you just put them away once you have realized that growing up is an "awfully big adventure" as well.
"All children grow up. Except one." These opening words describe author J.M. Barrie's soaring character Peter Pan. Peter takes the Darling children flying away to Neverland on the greatest adventure of their lives. Peter and the Darling children (Wendy, John and Peter) are whisked away into the very depths of childhood and shake their dirks at the thought of growing up.
In the book, Peter lives his life in all the splendors of youth. He does not trouble himself with "grown up" things. In Neverland, the rules are "to stay a little boy and always have fun". Grown-ups in this culture are fraudulent pirates and the Lost Boys kill them happily. The most opprobrious pirate of them all is the dreaded Captain James Hook. His cobalt eyes deceive his idiosyncrasy and shed red poisonous tears that Captain Hook cannot successfully make anyone love him. Peter has only happiness and cockiness (which Hook despises most of all his characteristics), Hook lives on rules and has not one happy thought. When Captain Hook almost defeats Peter, and says Peter will die alone like him, Wendy reminds him that Peter will never be alone "as long as children and heartless" because they will always know the adventures of Peter and love him for them.
In perspective, we have all had Peter Pan share part of our lives at one time or another. Whenever you were little and had your little adventures and we didn't want to grow up, because then we would be old. You had your own dreams about this magical world where your parents couldn't tell you what you could or could not do. You could eat with your mouth open, go swimming with mermaids and sleep on the floor without a pillow. That is what makes up Peter Pan. After all, you are an innocent child and thoughts of caring for people other than yourself were definitely out of the question. Not because you didn't love them, but because you didn't know how to show it yet.
So how to put Peter Pan into words? It is the very essence of our childhood fantasies. But once we grow up, they become little more than "dust in the bottom of our toy box". They were enjoyable as a child, but you just put them away once you have realized that growing up is an "awfully big adventure" as well.