Study notes: Peter Pan
Wendy Darling and her brothers fly to Neverland with a boy who refuses to grow up. There are lost boys, a lagoon, and Captain Hook, who is afraid of a crocodile that already swallowed a clock. Barrie is funny about parents and sharp about Peter, who forgets people as easily as he makes them follow him. Growing up is not treated as a pure loss or a pure win. The nursery stays important even while the island is louder.
Themes
Childhood ends, and stories try to bargain with that. Courage and showing off are not the same. Mothers are not a joke, even when the book teases them.
People to follow
Peter Pan, Wendy, John, Michael, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, and the Lost Boys.
Talk about
- What does Peter lose by refusing to grow?
- Is Wendy a guest or a leader?
- Why is the crocodile both funny and frightening?
Public-domain text.