I suddenly, and quite strangely, have found myself conflicted about Peter Pan. I thought I knew the story, believed I was familiar with it. My Mother has used the term "Peter Pan Syndrome" to describe nearly every young member of our family at one time or another. It means you never want to grow up, just like the boy in Walt Disney’s animation. Peter wants to play in Never Land forever and avoid responsibility while careening through the air amid pirates and redskins and a strange yet hopeful band of "Lost Boys." It was all so much fun, and I could never figure out why Wendy and her brothers decided to return home. Obviously, it was because of their parents, but still their sudden longing for the nursery never really rang true for me. Of course, they had to go home because that was what happy endings were all about. Yet Peter was still out there not growing up anyway, so the fun was still to be had. Never Land was not going away so they could leave it behind--leave it for Peter while they went home.
I recently read Peter Pan as research for this article, telling myself that I could not properly salute Mr. Barrie's, the author of the original Peter Pan, one hundred year-old classic without refreshing myself on the specifics. I was not expecting to find any surprises, just maybe a few more details. I really thought I must have read it at least once when I was little; after all, hasn't everyone read Peter Pan? A few pages into the story, perhaps when the Darlings are discussing whether or not they can afford to keep newborn Wendy, or maybe later when Tinker Bell first refers to Peter as "you silly ass," I realized that I had no clue what the real Peter Pan was all about.
America has changed the views of many things over its rich history. This is no objection here. Peter Pan was first published in Britain during the early stages of the 1900’s. There are big differences now in the American version of Peter Pan. In the early years everybody oversees depicted Peter Pan a girl. When brought to America, and some people being the sexiest pigs they are, it changed the perspective from female to male. We associate Peter with a boys name, and Wendy with a girl. The book was first titled Peter Pan, but when it made its way over to America it changed from that to Peter Pan: The Boy Who Never Grows Up.
...and mayhem. The boys from Peter Pan exhibit the same traits. They are all young and wild. The carnival in The Lost Boys is equivalent to the Neverland in Peter Pan. It has all the things that children want, admire, and adore.
...e of literary works. Foster dedicates an entire chapter of his book to how novels have common plots and themes to fairy tales. The fairy tale Peter Pan entails a young boy with magical powers, refusing to grow up. Collins at a younger age coincides with the fairy tale character Peter Pan.
Corliss, Richard. “Peter Pan Grows Up, but Can He Still Fly?” Time Magazine. 19 May, 1997. 75-82.
After a four week survey of a multitude of children’s book authors and illustrators, and learning to analyze their works and the methods used to make them effective literary pieces for children, it is certainly appropriate to apply these new skills to evaluate a single author’s works. Specifically, this paper focuses on the life and works of Ezra Jack Keats, a writer and illustrator of books for children who single handedly expanded the point of view of the genre to include the experiences of multicultural children with his Caldecott Award winning book “Snowy Day.” The creation of Peter as a character is ground breaking in and of itself, but after reading the text the reader is driven to wonder why “Peter” was created. Was he a vehicle for political commentary as some might suggest or was he simply another “childhood” that had; until that time, been ignored? If so, what inspired him to move in this direction?
In J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, the loss of innocence is a theme that is discussed from the first chapter. “Two is the beginning of the end” (Barrie 2) creates this underlying theme of loss of innocence right from the start. Peter is a kid who ran away from his family so he would not have to grow up and he takes the notion of staying a kid seriously. The loss of innocence comes to light when Wendy, John, Michael, and the Lost Boys leave Neverland and grow up. “We too have been [to Neverland]; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more” (Barrie 12). The loss of innocence and growing up prohibits people from going back to Neverland; a place that they once ran away to in an attempt to not have to grow up.
Mr. Darling, Mrs. Darling, Wendy, and Peter Pan all embody the conventional gender stereotypes and roles of the Victorian era. Paternal and maternal qualities are demonstrated through Wendy and Peter, resulting in the understanding that growing up is inevitable. Like Mrs. Darling, motherhood and acting as a caretaker is attractive to Wendy, while Peter personifies male superiority comparable to Wendy’s father.
Peter Pan has appeared in many adaptations, sequels, and prequels. Peter Pan first appeared in a section of The Little White Bird, a 1902 novel that was originally written for adults. In 1904, Peter Pan was turned into a play and since the play was so successful Barrie’s publishers, extracted chapters 13–18 of The Little White Bird and republished them in 1906 under a different title. This story was adapted and changed into a novel, was published in 1911 as Peter and Wendy, later the name changed to Peter Pan and Wendy, and then changed to Peter Pan, as we know it today. The tale that we are familiar with was even expanded more. In 1953 Walt D...
Both of these stories served as mile markers in the history of children's literature, and marked turning points in our Society. For the first time, children were allowed to think freely, and learn. They independently formed their own thoughts on life, God, and many of the other highly regulated aspects of their society. Until this time most of the children were taught to think as their parents or feel the wrath of vengeful and often cruel God.
In the famous story that we all were read as children, Mary Poppins, the author P.L. Travers depicts a story of an astonishing nanny who arrives at the Banks household to look after the four children, Michael, Jane, and the twins. Jane and Michael live pretty boring lives before Mary Poppins, the nanny, arrives. These two children are very critical thinkers, and it is apparent that they receive these traits from their parents, so because of this Poppins challenges their beliefs when she arrives. Through many adventures and the character of Poppins, Jane and Michael come to learn that there is not always an answer for all of their questions. To their displeasing, the nanny tells them that they have to use their imagination to come up with answers
In Peter and Wendy, written by J. M. Barrie, the characters exhibit specific qualities which are stereotypical of their genders. The characters fall into traditional concepts of masculinity and femininity: Peter is cocky, stubborn, charismatic and enigmatic to the women in his life, and Wendy Darling, a young girl whose father wants to remove her from the nursery she shares with her brothers. The two characters embody and perpetuate gender stereotypes, and mirror the stereotypes embodied by the adult characters in the story, Mr. and Mrs. Darling.
Peter Pan never wanted to grow up, for he always wanted to be a boy and have fun. On the other hand, the general argument made by author, Anne Sexton, in her poem, “The Fury of Overshoes,” is that childhood is most appreciated when a person must be independent. A university student finds that he can relate to the speaker. The high school student, still a child himself, will feel the same as the speaker in her youth. A college student and a high school student reading this poem would conclude this poem with different feelings.
It’s no brain teaser that classic fairy tales are dark, grim and violent. They are filled with situations that leave your mind blown or saying to yourself “That’s insane!” Children have a hard time distinguishing the line between the real world and make believe. In the fairy tale “Ashputtle”, the stepmother orders her daughter to cut of her own toes so the gold slipper would fit and she would become queen. This is where the line can become very fuzzy for some children. A few children might comprehend this as an example of problem solving. “Oh, my shoe does not fit anymore. I’m going to cut off my big toe because I love my limited edition light up shoes and I don’t want new ones.” I can see why Disney did not put that into the movie, I would not want to be the cause of children around...
Within the story of Harry Potter there are many concepts to be noted. This book is interesting and very different from any other book. These many concepts will tell you about some of these strange things that goes on.
“The Princess and the Pea” is such a story that illustrates certain elements that make it so – a simple but magical (in the literary sense) plot, quick but identifiable characters, a tone suitable for both children and adult, and layered themes. His stories have since opened up doors for children’s stories, the physically and culturally boundless possibility of tales, as well as spurred a worldwide interest in the concept of re-telling. With new books, movies, and theater performances coming out each year based on his tales, in addition to technology allowing information to be even more widespread, it is unlikely that Anderson will loose his influence amongst kids and adults alike any time
‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, written by J.K. Rowling, is an excellent example of a modern novel that uses medieval influences extensively. Many of the novel’s characters are based on medieval ideas and superstitions. The settings in the book resemble old medieval towns as well as castles. The book is also full of medieval imagery such as knights in armour, carriages etc. Whilst there is no time travel involved in the novel, the medieval period is used to such an effect that the reader is encouraged to ignore the fact that the book is set in the present.