Peter Pan (fictional character)
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Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright, J. M. Barrie (1860–1937), as well as the title of a stage play and novel based on the character. A mischievous little boy who refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as leader of his gang, the Lost Boys. Peter can be seen as a boy between the ages of 10-15.
J.M. Barrie wrote three works featuring Peter Pan: The book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (a compilation of chapters that first appeared in The Little White Bird [1904]) The stage play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (first performed Dec 27, 1904 with incidental music by John Crook); (first published version of play, 1928) The novel Peter Pan and Wendy (1911), sometimes retitled Peter Pan, a novel for children based on the play. Several sequels, adaptations, and spinoffs have emerged since then, all with slightly modified storylines.
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[edit] Peter Pan in official media
J.M. Barrie wrote three works featuring Pan. In 2004, Great Ormond Street Hospital, which owns the copyright in some jurisdictions, commissioned an official sequel, which was written by Geraldine McCaughrean and entitled Peter Pan in Scarlet.
[edit] Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
In the novel Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Peter is a seven-day-old infant who, like "all" infants, used to be part bird. Peter has complete faith in his flying abilites, so, upon hearing a discussion of his adult life, he is able to escape out of the window of his London home and return to the Kensington Gardens. Upon returning to the Gardens, Peter is shocked to learn from the crow Solomon Caw that he is not still a bird, but more like a human - Solomon says he is crossed between them as a "Betwixt-and-Between". Unfortunately, Peter now knows he cannot fly, so he is stranded in the Kensington Gardens. At first, Peter can only get around on foot, but he commissions the building of a child-sized thrush's nest that he can use as a boat which he uses to navigate the Gardens by way of the Serpentine River.
Although he terrified the fairies when he first arrived, Peter quickly gains favor with them. He amuses them with his human ways, and agrees to play the panpipes at the fairy dances. Eventually, Queen Mab grants him the wish of his heart. He decides to return home to his mother. The fairies reluctantly help him to fly home, where his mother is asleep in his old bedroom.
Peter feels rather guilty for leaving his mother, but this is mostly due to the fact that he believes she misses him terribly. He considers returning to live with her, but decides to go back to the Gardens to say his last good-byes. Unfortunately, Peter stays too long in the Gardens; when he uses his second wish to go home permanently, he is devastated to learn that, in his absence, his mother has given birth to another boy she can love. Peter returns, heartbroken, to the Kensington Gardens.
Peter later meets a little girl named Maimie Mannering who is lost in the Gardens. He and Maimie become fast friends, and little Peter asks her to marry him. Maimie nearly stays with him, but realizes that her mother must be missing her dreadfully. So she leaves Peter to return home. Maimie does not forget Peter, however; when she is older she makes presents and letters for him, and she even gives him an imaginary goat which he rides around every night.
Throughout the novel, Peter misunderstands simple things like children's games. He does not know what a pram is, mistaking it for an animal and he becomes extremely attached to a boy's lost kite. It is only when Maimie tells him that he knows he plays all his games wrong. When Peter is not playing, he likes to make graves for the children who get lost at night, burying them with little headstones in the Gardens.
[edit] Peter Pan: Stageplay and Novel
Peter Pan and Wendy sees the return of a slightly older Peter Pan; in this novel Peter makes night-time calls on the city of London, listening in on Mrs. Mary Darling's bedtime stories by the open window. One night, Mrs. Darling finds leaves from Peter's tunic on the bedroom floor. The next night, Peter shows up at the Darling house. He terrifies Mrs. Darling and is nearly captured by the nurse-dog Nana. Peter escapes, but he ends up leaving his shadow in the nursery.
Peter soon returns to reclaim his shadow. When he is not able to attach it, Wendy Darling kindly agrees to sew it on. Peter is not romantically fond of Wendy, but he learns that she knows lots of bedtime stories, and he tries to lure her to Neverland to be mother to his band of Lost Boys. He agrees to take her brothers, Michael and John, teaches them all to fly, and brings them all to his island.
Once on the island, Peter welcomes Wendy to his underground home, and she immediately assumes the role of mother figure. Peter takes the Darlings on several adventures, the first truly dangerous one occurring at Mermaids' Lagoon. At Mermaids' Lagoon, Peter and the Lost Boys save the princess Tiger Lily and become involved in a battle with the pirates, including the evil Captain Hook. Peter is wounded when Hook claws him. He believes he will die, stranded on a rock that is sinking in water, but he views death as "an awfully big adventure". Luckily, a bird allows him to use her nest as a boat (a reference to the thrush's nest, see above), and Peter sails home.
Because he has saved Tiger Lily, the Indians are devoted to him, guarding his home from the next imminent pirate attack. Meanwhile, Wendy begins to fall in love with Peter. Peter is confused and disturbed by this turn of events; when he voices his concern, he hurts Wendy's feelings, and she decides to take John and Michael and return to England. Unfortunately, and unbeknownest to Peter, Wendy and the boys are captured by Captain Hook. Captain Hook also tries to poisons Peter's medicine while the boy is asleep. When Peter awakes, he learns from the fairy Tinker Bell that Wendy has been kidnapped - in an effort to please Wendy, he goes to drink his medicine. Tink does not have time to warn him of the poison, and instead drinks it herself, causing her near death. Peter invokes the sympathy of children who might be dreaming of him, and Tinker Bell is saved.
Peter heads to the ship. On the way, he encounters the ticking crocodile; Peter decides to copy the tick, so any animals will recognize it and leave him unharmed. He does not realize that his is still ticking as he boards the ship, where Hook cowers, mistaking him for the crocodile. While the pirates are searching for the croc, Peter sneaks into the cabin to steal the keys and free the Lost Boys. When the pirates investigate a noise in the cabin, Peter kills them. When he finally reveals himself, he and Hook fall to in the climactic battle, which Peter easily wins. He kicks Hook into the jaws of the waiting crocodile. Then Peter takes control of the ship, and sails the seas back to London.
Before Wendy and her brothers arrive at their house, Peter flies ahead, to try and bar the window so Wendy will think her mother has forgotten her. But when he learns of Mrs. Darling's distress, he bitterly leaves the door unlocked and flies away. Peter returns briefly, and he meets Mrs. Darling, who has agreed to adopt the Lost Boys. She offers to adopt Peter as well, but Peter refuses, afraid they will "catch him and make him a man". It is hinted that Mary Darling knew Peter when she was a girl, because she is left slightly changed when Peter leaves.
Peter promises to return for Wendy every spring, but he remembers only twice - Peter is usually very forgetful, however; after the passing of only one year, he has already forgotten Captain Hook and Tinker Bell. He returns for Wendy years later, but Wendy is now grown, with a daughter of her own. When Peter learns that Wendy has betrayed him by growing up, he is angry and heartbroken. But Wendy's daughter Jane agrees to come to Neverland as Peter's new mother. By the end of the novel, even Jane has grown up, and Peter takes her daughter Margaret to Neverland. Barrie says this cycle will go on forever as long as children are "cheerful and innocent".
The stageplay version is very similar to the novel, with the exclusion and addition of some minor scenes. A major difference is the stageplay's ending, where Peter's return for Wendy is given. Wendy has grown a bit older, and, like all adults, it is becoming harder for her to see Peter. Her flying is rickety, and she has to use a broomstick. Peter and Jane's meeting is completely left out, but was still created in play format; this mini-play was called "An Afterthought", and was performed only once. In the stageplay version, Peter is more mysterious - he cannot be touched, and indeed is not touched, by anyone throughout the performance.
[edit] Peter Pan in Scarlet
In Peter Pan in Scarlet, Peter has been dreaming of the Darlings a lot lately, and to his consternation they were much too big. When they and their dog finally return to Neverland, claiming to be dreaming of him too, he is indifferent. He does not even notice that Nibs is absent, nor that Michael is dead. He is concerned only with having the best adventure in the world. When the Neverwood catches on fire, Peter and company escape the island by way of the Jolly Roger, renamed the Jolly Peter. While on board, Captain Pan discovers the late Hook's second-best coat. In the pocket, he finds a treasure map of Neverland. Finally noticing the beginnings of an adventure, he immediately plans to head to the mountain of Neverpeak to claim Captain Hook's treasure. Peter makes a fatal mistake in allowing an adult, the circusmaster Ravello, to join his crew as butler. Ravello seems very urgent when asking Peter to wear the red coat; he is sure the boy will catch cold without it.
But along the journey, Peter grows more and more irritable. He develops a harsh cough, and it seems that whenever he wears the coat he is grouchiest - he banishes the fairy Fireflyer for depleting the food supply, and when he learns Slightly is growing older, he banishes him as well - to the awful Nowhereland, home of all the Long Lost Boys Peter has banished in times past. The band of Explorers is shocked when Peter's speaking becomes littered with sailor terms, and especially when he replaces his customary crow with the word "AVAST"!
The hike up Neverpeak is particularly arduous; Ravello offers to detach the children's shadows, so they won't get tangled on the way up. When the band finally reaches the summit of Neverpeak, Peter is impatient to get at the treasure, because he has a feeling that he wants whatever is inside so much. He digs through ice with his bare hands, flaying them raw, only to get at the treasure Peter has grown to want all along - Eton treasures. Wendy asks why Peter wants them so; he barely hears her as he admires a silver trophy, when he again catches his reflection. He looks exactly like a young version of Captain Hook, complete with long black hair and Eton tie. Peter is horrified that he is not himself, when Ravello suddenly reveals himself - he is none other than James Hook, who has survived the crocodile.
Hook is still extremely resentful of Peter, and reveals that he seved as his valet so he could train him; he wanted Peter to have his own exact feelings, which were passed on to the boy through the old pirate coat. Hook explains that since he is grown he can no longer wish, and he knows Peter is the only one who could wish strong enough for the treasures Hook has wanted all his life. So he cut off Peter's shadow so the boy could not fly, combed the imagination out of his hair, and choked him with the white Eton tie. Peter refuses to believe he has become Hook, even though he knows he has been wishing Hook's wishes and even dreaming Hook's dreams.
The band is shocked, and Peter is horrified. Hook nearly steals the boy's childhood by asking him what he wants to be when he grows up, when Slightly suddenly appears. Slightly, who has been dogging the band's trail all along, warns Peter not to answer, because if you answer, you have betrayed childhood and "Looked Ahead" to adulthood. Peter feebly banishes Hook to Nowhereland, but to no avail. The league is stuck on the mountain in a blizzard, with no fire and no way to get down. Then the other outcast appears - Fireflyer, who, to impress the newly revived Tinker Bell, plunges into the brush and starts a fire, surviving the process.
But Peter, who has cast off the hated coat, has become cold and ill in his flimsy tunic. He falls to the ground in a coughing fit, and is soon taken up dead. Tootles insists they need a doctor, so Curly Looks Ahead, growing up and becoming a doctor. He makes an incision over Peter's chest, and draws out a long dusty strand. It is soon learned the Ravello and Hook's coat have not been the cause of Peter's demise, but a strand of common London fog brought in on the children's clothes.
Warmed by the fire and gladdened by Peter's newfound health, the band finds spirit enough to descend the mountain. But the danger is not yet over - Peter is accosted by the banished Long Lost Boys at the foot of the mountain, where he, John, and Wendy are thrown in the quicksand to sink. Luckily, they manage to pull themselves out, but during the interval, Ravello has arrived, with his returned circus animals. The animals are about to devour Peter and the Explorers, when a band of warring fairies descend and smother the animals. Hook is enraged, and vows to fight the weaponless Peter, but Peter is again saved, this time by the dog the children brought along. Hook is attacked by the Newfoundland, and is at the verge of death, when Wendy says all he needs to heal is a bit of sleep. She gives him a goodnight kiss, and tucks the dying man under his tattered red coat.
The children manage to escape without harm, and even find a way home with help from Mr. Smee, but Peter remains on the island. He cannot fly anywhere, because his shadow has not yet grown back. Wendy's good-bye words to Peter are, "I think your mother only shut the window to keep out the FOG!"
[edit] Abilities
[edit] Flight
This is Peter Pan's most notable magical ability. He first flew when he was seven days old. He is the only character able to fly without Pixie Dust.
[edit] Fencing
Peter is an amazing swordsman, he has skill to rival even Captain Hook, who is said to be the bosun of Blackbeard. He also claims to have killed Barbecue with his sword.
[edit] Mimicry
Peter Pan has displayed skill in mimicry by copying the voice of Hook, and the tick tock of the Crocodile, perfectly.
[edit] The Power of Imagination
In Peter Pan in Scarlet, there are various mentionings of Peter's ability to Imagine things into existence, such as food. He also creates various windows/doors to place people in Nowhereland. He even creates an Imaginary sword to draw the Imaginary windows/doors. There are also many parts in the novel Peter Pan where J.M. Barrie writes that make-believe is real in Neverland. He was able to transform the Wendy House into a train. The train eventually wrecks and Peter gets angry.
[edit] Special Senses
Peter is known to be able to see in the dark of night. This is shown when he is able to scan the ground of Neverland while flying high in the air. He is also able to hear the Pirates approaching the Mermaid Lagoon while they are still a distance away.
[edit] Other Magical Abilities
Peter Pan is said to be able to do almost anything by J.M.Barrie in the chapter "the Mermaid Lagoon" in the novel Peter Pan and Wendy. He also is said to be able to feel danger when it's near. He is the only known person on the island who is able to speak the Fairy language of Bells, this is because of having lived with them for so long. In Peter Pan in Scarlet, it says that when Curly's puppy licks Peter, it licks off a lot of Fairy Dust, leading you to conclude that Peter Pan also can generate Fairy Dust.
[edit] Peter Pan in Disney media
Peter Pan's most famous appearance in Disney media is in the 1953 film Peter Pan. Peter's role in this story resemble's closely that in the novel, although his fighting habits are much less violent. In recent years however, Disney has published many more adventures revolving around Peter Pan.
[edit] Peter and the Starcatchers
The story begins on the ragged ship "The Never Land". A young orphan boy, Peter, and four of his friends have been sent from St. Norbert's Home for Wayward Boys to board the ship, and soon find out they are going to serve as slaves to ruthless King Zarboff III of Rundoon. Living in terrible conditions, Peter and his friends plot for a way to escape. However, while on the ship, Peter (who is actually Peter Pan and the novel's hero) meets a young girl named Molly Aster. Cocky Peter is thrown off his guard by the spirited Molly - he also develops an affection for her, drawn to her by her striking green eyes. Peter encounters Molly several times while wandering the ship, and finds her somewhat mysterious.
Soon, strange things begin happening on The Never Land. While foraging for food, Peter has discovered an old, battered chest on board, and finds that both Molly and the crewmen Slank and Alf know things about it that he does not. Peter soon confronts Molly, and learns that she is an apprentice to a group of strange people - Starcatchers. Molly explains that the job of Starcatchers is to gather the magical "starstuff" that falls from shooting stars and protect it from people called "Others" who will misuse the magic. Molly attributes the magic of starstuff to the cause of much of the violence that goes on in the earth. She tells Peter that people like Attila the Hun became evil dictators because they were greedy over starstuff, and she says that fairies, mermaids, and centaurs were all originally animals mutated by starstuff's magical powers. She also says that the genius of artists like Leonardo da Vinci was due to starstuff. Molly explains that starstuff has wonderful healing powers as well. Peter doesn't believe her at first, but Molly goes on to prove starstuff's power by showing Peter that she has the ability to fly. She says he must help her protect the starstuff on board.
When "The Never Land" is attacked by the pirate Black Stache during a massive thunderstorm, the decrepit ship wrecks on the rocks surrounding a small island. The few survivors - including Molly, Peter, and the orphans, are separated, but they individually take shelter on the island. The sailor Alf helps to guide the orphans, but they are soon captured by the Mollusk Tribe native to the island, and nearly fed to the crocodile, Mr. Grin. Soon Molly and Peter realize that the trunk of starstuff has disappeared, and together they embark on a search for it. At the same time, the seaman Slank, who is actually an "Other", is trying to get control of the starstuff, and even Black Stache has caught wind of its magic powers. Molly and Peter try to find the magic trunk, but break away when they have an argument. Many adventures ensue while the two are apart - Peter is nearly fed to the Crocodile, Molly is captured by Slank and Stache, Peter is repeatedly wounded but saved by mermaids. After a climactic battle with the villains, Peter cuts off Stache's left hand, which is eaten by Mr. Grin. Slank and his cohort Little Richard are defeated as well, but during the battle, Peter accidentally wounds the tribe leader, Fighting Prawn. Luckily, Peter has a small amount of remaining starstuff, which he uses to heal the Indian chief.
Thanks to Molly and Peter's efforts, the trunk of starstuff is saved, returned to the Starcatchers and Molly's surviving father. Peter however, in his surviving exposure to the starstuff, has gained the permanent ability to fly. It is also uncertain as to whether or not he will ever age. Peter learns he will be an outcast, and even though Molly will return to London, he decides to stay on the island, so he can be the person he really is and not "a freakshow". The orphan boys decide to remain with him, and Leonard Aster creates a fairy, which they name Tinker Bell, to protect Peter. Peter is soon taught by the natives how to build a house, and he learns to survive on the island, which he names "Neverland" after the ship that wrecked on its rocks.
[edit] Importance
Peter is the most important creature in Neverland. He has an effect on the whole island when he is there. Barrie states that the island wakes up when he returns from his trip to London. There is no explanation of why Peter has such power over the island. He also has some power over those who live in the island. That's demonstrated by the fact that everyone gets into action when he arrives on the island. He also was able to create the law that no one was to harm the Never bird that fell into the water and now rides in her nest.
[edit] The Rule
The rule for all that choose to follow Peter is that they must leave Hook to him if they come across him in open fight.
[edit] The Riddle
Peter Pan's existence is purposely shrouded with mystery. He has nightmares that may answer what J.M.Barrie calls "the Riddle of His Existence". We know that he was once a regular baby which decided he didn't want to grow up, then went on to live with the Fairies in Kensington Gardens and Neverland, only to come back years later and find his own window shut on him. When Captain Hook asks "what art thou?" in the novel Peter Pan, he replies by saying "I am Youth, I am Joy" meaning, maybe, that Peter Pan is the Spirit of Youth. That prospect is also seen in the movie Disney's Peter Pan when the narrator introduces Mrs. Darling, stating that she saw Pan as the Spirit of Youth. It is also said that when Mrs. Darling was a child, she heard that Peter Pan would go with dead children halfway, so they wouldn't be scared. Peter and the Starcatchers portrays Peter Pan as an ordinary boy who grew up in an orphanage.
[edit] Enemies
[edit] Captain Hook
Captain Hook is Peter Pan's most well known nemesis. He is Captain of the Jolly Roger and judges his men with an iron claw. He has a real name that is not given to the reader because Barrie states that it would shock you to learn the true identity of Hook. He hates Pan for cutting off his hand and throwing it to the Crocodile. He claims he would've forgiven Peter by now if he wasn't so cocky. That is the quality that Hook cannot forgive him for.
[edit] Starkey
Starkey doesn't do much against Peter in the novel Peter Pan and Wendy. But in Peter Pan in Scarlet, he leads the young Redskins into the sea to gain the onions he left on board the Jolly Roger. They capture the League of Pan, but leave Peter alone. He swears to make Starkey pay, but doesn't do a thing. He and his League escape when Mr. Ravello and his animals attack Starkey and his Redskins.
[edit] Lord Ombra
In Peter and the Shadow Thieves, a shadow creature named Lord Ombra is the main villain of Peter. He has amazing powers of control. He is able to use his powers by control over shadows. He is called the Shadow Master. He is named after umbra, or the dark part of a shadow.
[edit] Slank
Another villain created in the Peter and the Starcatchers Trilogy is Slank. He is a member of the Others and tries to keep the chest of starstuff in his hands. He has to fight the Mermaids, and Peter to get it. He ends up getting it taken by Peter, who delivers it to the Starcatchers.
[edit] Appearance
In J.M. Barrie's works, the author never completely describes Peter's appearance. This is most likely so it will be left to the imagination. However, Peter Llewelyn-Davies, who Pan was based off, had pale skin and red hair. Barrie does explain that Peter is a beautiful boy, "clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that flow from trees". He has a beautiful smile, and all of his baby teeth. He must have fairly short fingernails, because in the stageplay Wendy tells Peter to "stop biting your nails". Also in the play, Peter's outfit is slightly altered; his clothes are made of autumn leaves and cobwebs. The youngest that Barrie's Peter has ever been is seven days, and because he has all his baby teeth, he is still (presumably) very young in Peter Pan and Wendy.
In Peter Pan in Scarlet, Geraldine McCaughrean furthers the description of Peter's looks - she mentions his blue eyes, and says his hair is light (or at least any color lighter than black). In this novel, Neverland has moved on to autumn, so Peter wears a tunic of jay feathers and maple leaves, rather than his summertime garb.
In the Neverland stories written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter has carrot-orange hair and bright blue eyes. He is twelve years old in this book.
In film adaptations, Peter Pan is often portrayed as being aged between ten and thirteen. In most illustrations, Peter has red or auburn hair, and sometimes light brown. His eyes are often brown or green.
[edit] Personality
Peter has a nonchalant attitude that makes him say things such as "I forget 'em after I kill 'em". He is also known to be very cocky when it comes to putting himself in danger. He is also very brave. It is said by Barrie that when he thought he was going to die on Marooner's Rock, he felt scared, yet he felt only one shudder run through him when any other person would've felt scared up until death. He even goes on to show his bravery by smiling and saying "To die will be an awfully big adventure". In some variations of the story and even some spin-offs, Peter can also be quite nasty and selfish.
