Empire Boys: Adventures in a Man's World - Essay Example

TMA O3 The overall representations of perpetual boyhood were a huge fascination the late Victorians. This was partly influenced by images which sought to naturalize a new spirit of imperialist’s aggression as well as the new power preserving policies. This paper will try to trace the emergence of the well thought fantasy using a series of narratives and a poem in regard to the relationship of the boy and adventure. This is represented by pirates and other figures representing mid-Victorian literature which was utilized in articulating the moral authenticity of colonialism. Additionally, masculinity is also portrayed and it did not need any reference to , universal laws, transcendent but the moral flexibility ethic of aggressive play, one which was bound together by the boyishness of the characters, as well as, piracy in order to satisfy adventure. J.W. Barrie’s Peter Pan bears similarity to Stevenson’s preceding works of Pirate Story and Treasure Island, thus prompting the assertion that it is an endorsement of boyhood imperialist adventure, characteristic of the Victorian era. In Treasure Island¸ Stevenson gives his individual configuration, which was motivated by the social context of his life and personal experiences. Just like the numerous contemporary literatures for children. In this narrative, Stevenson holds the realm for the erosion of British fathers’ responsible for portraying imperativeness in their children’s lives. Stevenson depicts a sharp juxtaposition in treasure-hunting pirates, as well as, gentlemen offers by some of the most scornful critiques of the sort of men who had created by colonialism, greed, and capitalism. By critically evaluating these factors, ha asks out of honest self criticism about the English character. Further, he contemplates of the diverse ways n which Englishmen deal with international and domestic challenges. The novel captures not only the mind of an adult but also provides a huge comparison of issues that affected the people at that time. Towards the end of the narrative, Stevenson’s observation of British Victorian gentleman materialize as partly childish and partly pirate. However, these two outcomes are attached and committed to the different roles they play in the family. Therefore, Treasure Island offered all aspects that boys are supposed to enjoy. For instance, the danger of travelling is one aspect that every boy in the world is drawn to. All that boosted by the fact that the novel was full of adventurous notions gives the boy an ultimate entertainment caption. This was also fostered by the guns and constant fights in the narrative. However, Stevenson’s symbolizes the weak biological father as a model of failing masculinity which crumbles when faced with adversity and threat. This is depicted by Jim’s father who is unable to assert to the issues brought about by the pirate. However, his son Jim is able to deal with such issues and this make him a hero which symbolizes the rise of new generation and its capability to come up with alternative solutions to outdated issues. This gives the boy child the courage to face issues as the take place but at the same time think of better ways to solve them without necessarily using the usually ways. In short, a child seems manlier compared to the entire town of grown men (Stevenson, 1993, p.37). This shows that if the pirates represented dangers faced by a kingdom, then the price England should have paid for dealing with domestic issues and concerning outsiders was hurting the kingdom. It is not easy to define the importance of a father in their child’s life. However, in this case Stevenson (Stevenson, 1993, pp.57-64), attempts to clearly show how it should be. It is possible that a person’s father might not be as perfect, but if he supports his child’s aspirations like education, providing, financial security, teaching them honor, as well as, life, then that is a good father who can be best described as a gentleman. By interacting with his son, Silver strives to show his commitment towards Jim’s future. He also gives a share of the treasure to Jim showing that one does not need to be a gentleman and neglect the fact that on is a father. The commitment showed is not contradicting to the late- Victorian men’s wishes for the kingdom’s promise of danger and adventure. The other script that Stevenson has written is Pirate Story. This is a poem that also depicts the adventure and travel. The poem is extremely descriptive especially in the fast stanza where Stevenson describes the winds and waves in the sea. This shows that the travelling is marred by dangerous winds yet remains adventurous. The description of cattle charging with a roar is evidence enough showing that there was danger and in the shores where they docked. The poem I short but its descriptive nature of thrill and adventures is well depicted. Stevenson, not only creates a mood that a boy can relate to but also evokes Victorian imperialist adventure (Stevenson, 2007, p.11). Compared Treasure Island it is hard to determine the actions that took place but the combination of danger and adventure is well described by the winds, waves, escape, roar and the fact that Africa is mentioned. This is because, Africa is associated with lions and jungles full of adventure. Peter Pan’s story has not only captured the hearts of kids, but also those of adults. This is a narrative of a boy who never desired to grow up. The kid wanted to experience adventure adventures, fighting pirates, as well as, live a life free of responsibility. It is important to consider several aspects of literature when analyzing Barrie’s tale. First and foremost, there is need to comprehend the time period of the narratives. Peter Pan is fairy tale written in the 19th century. The narrative offers a break from Victorian London to a magical world. This is portrayed by Peter attempts to get away from his convectional life and goes to live with fairies in Kensington Park as toddler. There are specific portrayals of ideal masculinity, femininity, and ideal foreigners, Barrie (1911, pp. 223-230), imperial bias is established upon a framework of supremacy. This is specifically shown by Peter Pan, Wendy, as well as Indians which is a huge contribution to ideologies of gender and race which was the main issue in Britain in the 20th century. Additionally, the Commonwealth also strived to shape kid’s line of thinking. Generally, the readers’ perception on Peter is that he is protector, as well as, the provider of the Lost Boys. This is why he is depicted as a strong leader when he fights pirates as he was saving Wendy a distress damsel. The depiction of Peter as a father figure is also shown. Having pirates in the narrative and fighting is a classic way of portraying adventure in the novel. Peter is also a gentleman because he builds a house for clearly validating him as the alpha male compared to all those around him. In Stevensons novel Treasure Island, one of the principal characters, Long John Silver, referred to Barbecue by the rest of the pirates, brags about how the vicious Flint feared him (Stevenson, 1993, p.58). Barrie (1911, p.121) makes use of this quote in his novel Peter Pan, where a character Captain Hook, prides himself for having sparked fear in Barbecue, who was feared by Flint. This shows that both novels uphold the notion of fear being a way of controlling others. It is irrefutable that imperialists also saw fear as a way of ensuring that colony subjects embraced their leadership ideologies. The novels, as well as, Stevenson’s poem Pirate Story also incorporate pirates in the course of developing their plots. This makes the literary works a classic example of Victorian imperialist adventure, where pirates were associated with treasure hunts and occasionally seen to pose a threat to societal peace. For this reason, the Peter Pan story can be viewed as an endorsement of the form of imperialist adventure inspired by Stevenson in the Pirate Story and Treasure Island. In Treasure Island, the pirates turn on each and only the loyal ones reap rewards in the long run, in Pirate Story the buccaneers are simply out in search for an adventure, while in Peter Pan, the protagonist wins a battle over pirates and protects his ‘family’, comprising of Wendy and the sons. These works seem to romanticize the plundering of land or property, as an adventure. This is what the imperialists did, in acquisition of colonies and in attempting to protect the acquired resources from reclamation. Therefore, the literary works appear to be moral justification for imperialism. In addition to indirectly referencing Treasure Island, Peter Pan also has several similarities to the former, in regard to themes portrayed. For instance, both novels show the transition of characters from childhood to adulthood. Treasure Island closely follows the development of Jim Hawkins, the protagonist, to a grown-up, while Peter Pan shows maturation of Wendy Darling, the novel’s female protagonist. The books showcase the child characters in their innocent stage, still relying on their parents and adult guardians for guidance. Peter Pan endorses the idea initially conveyed in Treasure Island, that children inevitably seek adventure in their effort to grow up and make a life of their own. This is evident when the main characters in both books travel away from their guardians in search of wild and exciting escapades. While Wendy and other kids fly to Neverland in Peter Pan, Jim Hawkins joins some sailors aboard the Hispaniola and sails off to an island in search of wealth, in Treasure Island. On arrival at their respective destinations, the two youthful characters experience conflict between reality and their prior dreams. Consequently, their innocence recedes and they undergo the crucial transition from youth to maturity. The two novels appear to reinforce the idea that quest and exploration, which were the bases for imperialist adventure during the Victorian era, were crucial elements in attaining maturity and ultimate joy in life. Stevenson’s poem Pirate Story also bolsters the notion that adventure is vital in achieving a joyous life. This is evident from the free exploratory mood depicted by the pirates as they ponder on where to travel, now that they are afloat (Stevenson, 2007, p.11). In imperial Britain, the Caucasian male was portrayed as being superior over others. In Treasure Island, this is evident from the ability of the White sailors to sail over rough seas and venture into an island in search of treasure. This sense of supremacy also comes across in Peter Pan, with the male protagonist, Peter being presented as a person with attributes deemed valuable in establishing and defending an empire. Peter depicts characteristics such as wit, stubbornness and endurance. These features were also evident in principal characters in Treasure Island, such as Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins and Ben Gunn, who all got treasure in the long run, while others died or were abandoned on the island. Peter Pan therefore reinforced the implicit Victorian principles of Britain’s imperialism, with Peter’s triumph over the Indians further bolstering the patriarchy ideals seen earlier in Treasure Island. There is also implication in the Pirate Story that, the characters are Caucasian, as they seek to explore areas ‘abroad’ mentioning Africa and Babylon. The fact that Treasure Island and Peter Pan, among other Victorian literary works were read throughout the British Empire bolstered the significance of these imperialist ideologies among the dominant Caucasian class. Treasure Island also portrayed an ambivalent outlook of kids and innocence. Even though Jim Hawkins, the novel’s narrator, does not provide an explicit account of childhood and its affiliated innocence, his description of these aspects provides insight into them. For example, he states how inferior and helpless he feels when in presence of the ship’s crew, since he is assigned the duty of watching over Long John Silver (Stevenson, 1993, p.66). While Hawkins sees himself as a young boy among men, Long John Silver provides a simple yet nostalgic view of youth, stating that it is pleasant to be a child and have few worries in life (63). In Peter Pan, Barrie explores the perception of childhood innocence. He writes about everyone as a kid, where we all go on about life with little concern about issues, worry solely about ourselves and later return for special attention when we find it necessary (Barrie, 1911, p.100). Peter Pan, therefore, reinforces the idea of childhood and youthful innocence as addressed in Treasure Island. The same innocence is portrayed in Stevenson’s poem, where the characters go on without any worry and their significant concern is how to escape cattle in the meadow. This innocence is associated with youthfulness and although Hawkins loses his in Treasure Island¸ Peter resorts not to in Peter Pan. This is the ultimate reinforcement of Victorian imperialist idea of adventure, where individuals were encouraged to embrace perpetual youth or boyhood as explored further in the subsequent paragraph. Perpetual youth is considered one of the persistent adventure fantasies in novels like Treasure Island and Peter Pan. In Treasure Island, Long John Silver nostalgically recalls his days as a youthful person, with a sense of jealousy for the young Jim Hawkins. In Peter Pan, all the children including Wendy darling embrace maturity and adulthood. This is evident where Wendy tells her daughter "I am a grown up, dearest, when people grow up they are no longer gay and innocent and heartless, it is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly" (Barrie, 1911, p.226). However, Peter decides to hold onto his childhood and the joy as well as innocence it wields. The desire to hold onto to youth in Peter Pan reinforced imperialist imagination shown in Treasure Island. By the end of the Victorian era, British boyhood came under immense scrutiny, as much as the empire’s mission to continue growing through acquisition of new colonies. For example, boys were progressively shown to be clever and courageous, as in Treasure Island and Peter Pan, but also cruel or "mirthful and innocent and heartless" (Barrie, 1911, p.226). Further, the inclusion of pirates and boys together in literary works seemed to naturalize buccaneers’ behavior as a way of expressing the nature of boyhood. In conclusion, children’s literature and particularly adventure or fairy tales have always been utilized to shape the young individuals through schooling them about societal standards, individual expectations and cultural norms. This explains why popular narratives like Treasure Island and Peter Pan, as well as poems like Pirate Story mirror the era during which they were written, and continue to mould society even today. Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Pirate Story, and Barrie’s Peter Pan, redefined the perception of adventure and youth in popular perception. Based on stereotypes assigned to boys, sons, fathers, explorers and rebels, the Peter Pan story perpetuates the idea that the male child is destined to be a societal patriarch, who protects his household and upholds youthful dynamism. Bibliography Barrie, J. 1911. Peter Pan, the Story of Peter and Wendy. New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap, pp. 200-250. Bristow, J. 1991. Empire Boys: Adventures in a Mans World. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Unwin Hyman, pp. 130-143. Stevenson, R. 1993. Treasure Island. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, pp. 50-90. Stevenson, R. 2007. A Childs Garden of Verses. New York, NY: Sterling, p. 11. Read More