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2018.11.

Peter Pan

J. M. Barrie

J.M. Barrie by Herbert Rose Barraud, 1892

J M Barrie by Sir William Nicholson 1903

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (/ˈbæri/; 9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote a number of successful novels and plays. There he met the Llewelyn Davies boys, who inspired him to write about a baby boy who has magical adventures in Kensington Gardens (included in The Little White Bird), then to write Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, a "fairy play" about an ageless boy and an ordinary girl named Wendy who have adventures in the fantasy setting of Neverland.

Although he continued to write successfully, Peter Pan overshadowed his other work, and is credited with popularising the name Wendy. Barrie unofficially adopted the Davies boys following the deaths of their parents. Barrie was made a baronet by George V on 14 June 1913, and a member of the Order of Merit in the 1922 New Year Honours. Before his death, he gave the rights to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, which continues to benefit from them.

Barrie died of pneumonia at a nursing home in the West End of London on 19 June 1937.[39] He was buried at Kirriemuir next to his parents and two of his siblings. His birthplace at 4 Brechin Road is maintained as a museum by the National Trust for Scotland.

Publications

1.     1904 - Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (play): Peter brings Wendy and her brothers to Neverland, where he has a showdown with his nemesis, Captain Hook. This play was adapted as a novel by Barrie. Variations and adaptations have been produced in various media.

2.     1906 - Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens: an origin story where the infant Peter flies away from his home, takes up residence in Kensington Gardens and makes friends with the fairies. It is a "book-within-a-book" that was first published in Barrie's The Little White Bird in 1902.

3.     1908 - When Wendy Grew Up – An Afterthought

4.     1911 - Peter and Wendy (novel), later published as Peter Pan and Wendy, adapted as a novel from the play, it also incorporates events of Barrie's sequel play, An Afterthought.

Peter Pan’s Physical appearance

Barrie never described Peter's appearance in detail, even in his novel, leaving it to the imagination of the reader and the interpretation of anyone adapting the character. In the play, Peter's outfit is made of autumn leaves and cobwebs. His name and playing the flute or pipes suggest the mythological character Pan. Barrie mentions in Peter and Wendy that Peter Pan still had all his "first teeth". He describes him as a beautiful boy with a beautiful smile, "clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that flow from trees".

Age

J.M. Barrie created his character based on his older brother, David, who died in an ice-skating accident the day before his 14th birthday. His mother and brother thought of him as forever a boy. The "boy who wouldn't grow up" character has been described as a variety of ages.

Cultural allusions

The character's name comes from two sources: Peter Llewelyn Davies, one of the five Llewelyn Davies boys who inspired the story, and Pan, a minor deity of Greek mythology who plays pipes to nymphs and is part human and part goat. This is referenced in Barrie's works (particularly Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens) where Peter Pan plays pipes to the fairies and rides a goat. The god Pan represents Nature or Man's natural state in contrast to Civilisation and the effects of upbringing on human behaviour. Peter Pan is a free spirit, being too young to be burdened with the effects of education or to have an adult appreciation of moral responsibility. As a 'betwixt-and-between', who can fly and speak the language of fairies and birds, Peter is part animal and part human. According to psychologist Rosalind Ridley, by comparing Peter's behaviour to adults and to other animals, Barrie raises many post-Darwinian questions about the origins of human nature and behaviour. As 'the boy who wouldn't grow up', Peter exhibits many aspects of the stages of cognitive development seen in children and can be regarded as Barrie's memory of himself as a child, being both charmingly childlike and childishly solipsistic.

1.     Discuss the character of Peter Pan. What do you like about him? What are his weaknesses? Why does he inspire such devotion in the other characters? Was his decision to stay in the Neverland a good one?

2.     Where did Peter Pan come from? How did he end up in Neverland?

3.     Why does Peter Pan always forget?

4.     Why do events in Neverland only take place in the evening or in darkness?

▶ darkness, dreaming, and play

5.     In the book, Peter Pan, the narrator describes Neverland as “a map of a person’s mind.” He says each person’s “Neverland varies a good deal.” What does your Neverland look like?

6.     How does Wendy feel about growing older? What do you think is meant by "growing up" in this story? How do you feel about growing older?

7.     What is a world without audlts to you?

8.     How did Wendy feel about being the Lost Boys mother?

9.     Where do Tinker Bell's loyalties lie? What is her relationship to the children? Is she a good character or bad?

10.  Why is Captain Hook the head of the band of pirates? Does he make a good leader?

11.  Why does Captain Hook so dislike Peter Pan? Do you feel any sympathy for Captain Hook?

12.  What decision does Wendy make about Jane going to Never Land? Is it the right decision? Why?

13.  In most productions, Captain Hook and Mr. Darling are played by the same actor. What are their similarities and differences within the story?

14.  When describing Wendy’s mother, it talks about a kiss Wendy will never get. What does the author mean by this? (p.5)

▶ It’s a foreshadow of the interchange that Wendy and Peter will have about a thimble and a kiss.

15.  When Peter Pan was written, children often played make-believe with pirates and Indians. If J.M. Barrie were writing Peter Pan today, what sorts of make-believe characters and adventures would the story contain?

16.  Why do children act out different identities when they play? What purposes does it serve to act out roles?