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Nicky's Reviews > Peter Pan
Peter Pan
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** spoiler alert **
I can't believe I've never actually read Peter Pan until now. I'd seen the Disney version, but this is both more charming and more sinister than that. There are lots of sweet little details, like mothers tidying up their children's thoughts, and the kiss on the corner of Mrs Darling's mouth.
But Peter is a monstrous sort of figure when you get past the romance of Neverland. He's a wild boy, selfish and cocky. Instead of being a kind of example of innocent childhood, he almost brings to mind the boys from Lord of the Flies. Near the end, it says that he nearly stabs Wendy's baby! And he steals other children.
Of course, the moral of the story is that children need mothers. It's just charming enough to get away with the moralising.
But Peter is a monstrous sort of figure when you get past the romance of Neverland. He's a wild boy, selfish and cocky. Instead of being a kind of example of innocent childhood, he almost brings to mind the boys from Lord of the Flies. Near the end, it says that he nearly stabs Wendy's baby! And he steals other children.
Of course, the moral of the story is that children need mothers. It's just charming enough to get away with the moralising.
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January 2, 2009
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January 13, 2009
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Dan
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Jan 13, 2009 11:59AM
Sold! I'm a big fan of unsanitized versions of familiar stories and this sounds like it fits the bill nicely.
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Dan -- Yeah, it really isn't Disney. Peter's not really romanticised at all, he just seems horribly cocky and wild. There are some quite charming fairy-taleish bits, as I said, but it's interesting to see Peter being quite horrible.Abigail -- Do! I enjoyed it.
The characters have certainly been cleaned up for current versions. My seven year old believes the movie version and thinks the book has a number of things wrong! The original characterization of Peter is fascinating to watch. Maybe I will just have to read the book without my daughter.
You nailed it down, Nikki. That indeed is the moral of the story that you and only you (here in Goodreads; for I read most reviews) was able to point out to me. Thanks.
Hey I was just wondering this audio book version is it a woman that reads it? I have been after an audio book of peter pan that I used to read when I was a little girl and I can't seem to find the audio book. I am hoping this is the audio book!
The version I read was not an audiobook.
Oh - I came here from a link from an audiobook on Peter Pan on the "theaudiobookstore" site... and I thought it was reviewing the audio book - not the actual book lol. Still, this is a great book to read! I have loved this book since I was a little girl and it is still one of the most enchanting, dark, brilliant tales out there.
"There are lots of sweet little details, like mothers tidying up their children's thoughts, and the kiss on the corner of Mrs Darling's mouth." - I really loved these details too!
Peter Pan is pretty much a classic psycopath
But otherwise I love the book
I love Peter pan
What I meant to say is I love Peter Pan's books
I like the book but it should've been a little more interesting
They should have been a little more interesting because it was a little boRing
I really liked the scene where he was holding the knife over Jane--and before you freak out, here's why. Not because of the content, necessarily, but because the whole point of that epilogue was that he showed typical childlike behavior. He was never going to kill Jane--he was just a little broken-hearted boy who didn't know how to react to this great tragedy, so he acted out, but overall, he displayed the behavior that all children seem to possess, which is the desire to please their mother and/or father. And there's no way Peter could ever view Wendy as anything except his mother. It also spoke volumes about how much she still trusted Peter, so much so that she didn't try to stop him from hurting Jane, even after years and years and years of not seeing him. Overall, I adored this book, and nearly everything about Peter. And he was selfish and arrogant, but he WAS also a hero. He saved Tiger Lily, and Wendy, on more than one occasion, and he helped out the Neverbird by giving her an improved nest. But I think that we all know that Wendy was the real hero of the story.
Well, the book does say children are heartless. Children are always selfish, I don't know why everyone thinks they're not. We have to teach them to stop being so. Peter is the ultimate child, but he's also quite a gentleman, and likes to play fair. That's why he keeps repressing his impulses like stabbing Jane. I must say he will always be one of my favourite characters, the cockiness in him is simply adorable.
I agree. It does remind me-just a tiny bit-of Lord of the Flies.
