FF Thursday October 6

[Sarah Taubner] Yesterday in class we discussed different perspectives and ideas surrounding the tale Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. We began with talking about the stereotypes that are portrayed concerning both the Pirates and Red Skins and how the hierarchy in Neverland is organized. The Pirates use typical pirate language like “Ay, Ay!” and “Arg” and to act rather unintelligent. They are also sneaky and break rules of traditional warfare in Neverland. It was brought up that this could be a representation of the English settlers in the New World or Pirates are just Lost Boys who couldn’t help but physically grow up. Within the hierarchy, the pirates are beneath both the Red Skins and the Lost Boys. The Red Skins are found in the middle of the totem pole but though they are considered to be beneath the Lost Boys, they do respect the Red Skins for their show of honor and fairness. They are presented as the adults or guardians of order in Neverland. However, the Red Skins do still come off as dense which is shown when Peter rescues Tiger Lily and speaks ridiculously slow to her and after when the entire tribe worships Peter as the Great White Father. Even though Barrie never lived in America his stereotypical representations of the Red Skins show a very racist point of view. The Lost Boys are at the top of the hierarchy and in some ways seem to act like good pirates which would make sense if the Pirates in the story are actually old Lost Boys. This would mean that they both develop from the same mold. If this is true, then it was inferred that Hook and Peter have more in common than what could have been originally expected. Both leaders are dictators in their own realms, Peter ruling using admiration and Hook using fear. We began to deviate from the question and started discussing broader aspects of the relationships between the three groups. Between the Lost Boys and the Red Skins, the relationship and conflict seems to be a game with Peter sometimes switching sides or the Red Skins pretending to be Lost Boys. It was pointed out that, between the Lost Boys and the Pirates the conflict seems to be much more real and defined as hero (Lost Boys) versus villain (Pirates). Although, in the beginning of the story, and the reader is told how the three groups were running around in a giant circle, going the same pace, chasing each other, shows that they are all really quite similar. Meg and Sydney led the rest of discussion during class with their questions. The first of these were what was the significance of the kiss in Peter Pan. It was thought that Mrs. Darling’s kiss was the part of her that was still holding onto her childhood. Also, Peter not understanding what a kiss was shows that he is too much of a child to even begin to comprehend it. Comparing the childhoods of Wendy and Peter Pan we thought that Peter’s family scared him away by speaking of his future so much which may have forced him to grow up quicker than he wanted to. Because he has been removed from family love for so long he doesn’t comprehend it and is scared of true emotional attachment. This kind of outlooks makes Peter a rather pitiable or empathetic character because he can’t let go of his fantasy world and has been on his own most of his life which has bred his most negative characteristic; his selfish attitude.

Another emotion Peter can’t understand is jealousy and infatuation. He likes the attention he gets from Wendy, Tinker Bell and Tiger Lily but doesn’t understand a relationship with a female other than as a mother. Also, one can see that jealously spurs the story and many adventures. If it wasn’t for Wendy’s coming, the Lost Boys may have never left. Wendy pretends to be a mother which reminds the boys of love which makes them wish to return home. Even though it didn’t seem fair to Wendy to go to a fantasy world to take care of the children she reveled in it because in a way she was playing “house” and preparing for the next part of her life. As the story progresses the Lost Boys begin to think that Wendy is there real mother and even her two younger brothers forget that at one time they had real parents. This could be attributed to childhood forgetfulness. Of the two parents, Mr. and Mrs. Darling, only one seems to be portrayed in Neverland; Mr. Darling as Captain Hook. George Darling seems to act like a Lost Boy back home when he locks himself in a kennel as self-punishment. Hook seems to be an extreme George.

The final question of class asked what Neverland represented to the children and how did it affect them. It was an escape from reality that let them all live their dreams. Wendy does change and grows up by being a mother for so long in Neverland and Peter starts to become a little more like Hook.