Peter Pan and the World of Childhood - Essay Example

of the English Literature ic and Modern) of the Concerned 30 December ‘Let them doze among their playthings yet a while! For who knows what a rough wayfaring existence lies before them in the future?’ (Stevenson, 1879) There is no denying the fact that when it comes to the world of childhood; Peter Pan qualifies to be labelled as a marvellous piece of fiction. Peter Pan in a way gives voice to the most cherished fantasies of childhood. Hitherto, the landscapes associated with childhood in other works of literature appeared to be pristine and well developed. However, JM Barrie while drafting Peter Pan went a step further by contriving a fictional island that is replete with an assortment of denizens that though to an adult may appear to be fantastical and farfetched are sufficient enough to marvel the imagination of a child. In that context the highlight of Peter Pan is that it contrives an idea of childhood that is never ending and the geographical locale associated with it, not only gives way to a scenario that may make and adult envy the immense possibilities available to the childhood imagination, but also highlights the feelings of constraint incumbent on the adult world, the inevitable result of the industrial revolution. This need for escape from the adult constraints and limitations constitute the crux of Peter Pan. This nostalgia for the bygone days of childhood is indeed the focus of Peter Pan. This immense conflict between the industrialized and organized Western civilization and nature is expressed and represented as a generational conflict in the body of fiction called Peter Pan. This conflict is allowed to be sustained and thrive by allocating a faraway world to the children in the shape of an island inhabited by fantastical denizens. This nostalgia for childhood in Peter Pan is allowed to be shaped and expressed by using simplistic fairytale characters and people. Fist and foremost, the secluded and faraway island of Neverland in Peter Pan in a way is symbolic of the fragile, fresh and colourful world of childhood. In this secret island, the scope for accomplishing unheard of tasks in a matter of seconds portrays the innocent world of childhood in which there hardly exists a difference between the make believe and the real. In fact this adult nostalgia for childhood and the urge to escape back to the childhood world of peace and innocence gets amply discernible if one takes into consideration the views of the adult readers. In that sense the sometimes absurd and mostly fairy tale world of Peter Pan in a way appears to pierce through the hard skin of the prevalent adult notions, to bring to fore the lurking innocence hiding in the inner recesses of the human heart. What comes out as being really ironic is that the problems faced by Peter Pan and other children at the Neverland do sometimes appear to be akin to the problems faced by the adult people, though the children in this work of fiction do try to tackle these problems in their own unique and peculiar innocent and imaginative manner. The highlight of the art of Barrie is that while contriving this fictional portrayal of the adult sense of nostalgia, he successfully manages to retain the authenticity of the adult while imparting a meaning and context to the make believe Neverland of Peter Pan and children. He does so by making the make believe world of children practically inaccessible for the adults and creating a space and ambience out of which children manage to contrive a world of their own, a world that expresses their predominant concerns and problems. For instance in Peter Pan, Peter is the only child who never grows out of his childhood yet at the same time Barrie manages to sustain this notion of an everlasting state of childhood by presenting Peter as a fairy tale character. Thus this technique though allows the adult notions to be sustained in this imaginary world of children, while never threatening the tender concerns and problems of the childhood world. Ultimately Barrie creates an idea of childhood that is way apart from the rigours of the adult world and yet has the vibrancy and power to attract the attention of the adult readers. That is why Peter is presented as a boy who differs from other boys in the story that he could not differentiate between the make believe world and the real world while the other boys could easily differentiate between the make believe and the real. This in a way turns out to be real problematic for the other boys on the Neverland when they have to assure Peter about many things by resorting to make believe ploys. Though Peter Pan floats on a world composed of air and mist, the character of Peter Pan emerges as being more substantial than the air on which he could float like a bird. No wonder the character, Peter Pan created by Barrie, decades ago has still managed to thrive as a romanticized icon of childhood and innocence even in today’s technologically savvy and logically pragmatic contemporary world. Whether the readers contrive the character through the eyes of the actual author or the graphic details resorted to by Disney, Peter Pan always manages to emerge out as the true essence of a childhood that is ever fresh, pristine and unending. In a way Barrie tends to be a little cruel while pencilling this idea of childhood, by creating notions about the adult world that is contaminated with aging and demise, and halloing the indispensable imperative of giving in to the adulthood notions of worldliness, by divesting oneself from the feather like lightness, care freeness of the childhood world of Peter Pan. To some readers it may also seem that Barrie is in a way trying to convey that the adult world should be protected from the childhood at a very early stage so as to give way to a super highlighted nostalgia for childhood by depicting childlike innocence to be an ideal that thrives in some faraway, fantastical island. The very opening statement of this work of fiction tends to create a mood and atmosphere that rises childhood to a pedestal where it seems to be ideal yet unapproachable. Barrie also tends to push forth the premise that it is not preferable and suitable for the childhood situation to graduate to adulthood, as it will deny to them the opportunity to experience the multifarious joys of childhood. Hence in a way the character of Peter Pan lingers on the penultimate step of childhood, going beyond which one begins to experience the matter of factness, a panache for reality and an inability to fanaticize, which is so characteristic of adulthood. Hence, in a way the narrator of Peter Pan brings to for the tragic fate of those individuals, who have to grow up, will grow up and live and work in a grown up world. Though, this approach in a way lends an upper hand to the adult world, which is capable of operating in the stark world of reality and do not have to escape to some imaginary far away island to fulfil its dreams. In that context it will be really meaningful and worthwhile to analyze this urge for nostalgia inherent in Peter Pan, in a more direct and textual sense. For instance, the Darling household is presented in the very first chapter with a generous sprinkling of adulthood concerns marked by a hardcore matter of fact manner, with no concern for the priorities of the heart. When Wendy comes to the Darling household, the overall adult concern was ‘”whether they would be able to keep her, as she was another mouth to feed (Barrie 2012).” This concern may appear totally relevant to an adult, but, how could one explain this concern to a child that by its very situation is prone to the yearnings of the heart and could commit to the audacity of believing that one could steal one’s living through the beaks of the birds. Hence, to create an acceptance for the make believe yet interesting world of Peter Pan, Barrie, right at the very start of the narrative confronts the reader with the harshness and practicality of the work a day, adult world. Yet, the interesting thing about Barrie’s approach is that though in the very first chapter he tries to draw a picture of the adult concerns and preferences, he manages to dissect these concerns from a juvenile and immature vantage point, thereby bringing in a sense of relevance that is unique and at the same time pleasantly unsettling. This adult sense of nostalgia for childhood amply oozes out as the narrator mentions that, “At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood, she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies (Barrie 2012).” Hence, to put it simply, by saying so Barrie tries to bring out the Peter Pan hiding in the memories of many adult people, and thereby introduces to them a possibility where imagination and creativity could thrive. Actually, it may seem ironic, but it is the characters of Mr. And Mrs. Darling, who though being adults and given to the choices and preferences of the adult world, in a very unconscious and matter of fact manner tend to evince a marked predilection for escaping into a child like world of innocence, which though being naive is so worthy of love and affection. In the second chapter when Wendy hugs Nana, Mr. Darling gets almost furious and unintentionally shows an urge to be worthy of an infantile like affection and love as he says, “”Coddle her! Nobody coddles me. Oh dear no! I am only the breadwinner, why should I be coddled, why, why, why!” (Barrie 2012).” One can clearly see that these very words of Mr. Darling are seeped with a sense of nostalgia for the childhood world of tender emotions, where one may be naive and helpless, but still could deserve affection, without doing anything special to deserve it. Perhaps, while doing so Barrie manages to unravel the deep seated wish that is the panacea for many ills rampant in the matter of fact adult world that are unconditional love and affection. A world where individuals are worth something irrespective of their net worth, a world where one attracts concern, approval and affection, by the dint of one’s mere existence. While creating a space for this childhood world of love and affection, Barrie also tends to refute the adult world loaded with mutual expectations and selfishness, by portraying Peter to be the inhabitant of a state of mind that is so antithetical to adult expectations and concerns. In fact it actually gets imperative for Barrie to place Peter in the fantastical world of Neverland, perhaps because without doing so, the adult readers would have never allowed him to make a veritable mockery of the adult ambitions and aspirations. Peter explains to Wendy how he managed to achieve his state of perpetual innocence as he says, “”It was because I heard father and mother”, he explained in a low voice, “talking about what I was to be when I become a man.” (Barrie 2012).” Thereby, in an innocent way Barrie tends to acknowledge that the world of Peter inhabited with fairies, Indians, pirates, mermaids and beasts is not welcoming of ambition and the commensurate harshness and selfishness. Hence, to put it in a few words, the nostalgic approach of Barrie towards childhood is a double edged sword. While on the one side it acknowledges that a state of perpetual naivety and innocence can only exist in a fanciful and make believe world, yet, at the same time it unravels the deep seated adult yearning for an unconditional love, acceptance and approval. The readers may not be able to achieve it in reality, yet for a couple of hours they could get themselves immersed in this state of existence while reading Barrie’s creation. Read More