Theme Of Growing Up In Peter Pan Free Essay Example, 750 words

Theme of Growing up in Peter Pan Introduction There are many reproductions of the novel d Peter Pan that was produced in 1904 by J. M. Barrie. By the year 1960, there were several movies depicting the same story and making available many versions of the original story. Notably, Peter Pan is one of the leading pieces enjoyed by children worldwide. The style used by Barrie in his original piece which was a novel served to create a unique romance that describes childhood. The available reproduction of this story in different media, for example, movies and musicals have served to depict the romance described by Barrie himself in his effort to build a fantasy of childhood. The main character name Peter Pan after whom the original novel was named is one of the critical aspects that all artists have relied to convey the main theme of their work. In the 1960 musical that retells the same story as depicted by Barrie in the original novel, it is evident that the fear surrounding growing up is brought out well using Peter Pan. This paper will describe this outstanding theme as brought out in the Peter Pan performance. We will write a custom essay sample on Theme Of Growing Up In Peter Pan or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Different scenes in Peter Pan are used to bring out this theme. Peter Pan is a character through which the audience of this performance gets to understand the struggles of making the choice on whether to grow up or not. In many instances, Peter Pan who is at the age of 12 a specific age in which he should be transitioning into adulthood does not seem ready to take up the challenges and responsibilities that define adulthood. He exhibits a preference of sticking to childhood fun and adventure. Therefore, throughout the story line, he indulges in actives that define childhood despite the different prompts that seem to awaken him to adopt adulthood. On one of the evident instances, he embarks on a venture to Neverland in the company of Wendy and her two brothers. Neverland is a place whereby children have the opportunity to indulge in play without shouldering other responsibilities as they are far away from their families. Peter Pan heads the group of boys called the â€Å"Lost boys† and seems to be the master of fun and adventure. Evident ly, he refuses to accept that his age requires him to leave some childhood aspects and soldier on to adulthood (Blackford 44). From the story line, it is evident that Wendy has an attraction towards Peter and makes efforts to make it materialize into a romantic relationship. Despite her efforts, especially by trying to kiss Peter, a move that depicted a readiness to accept womanhood peter prefers to remain a child. This is the case because he resisted the kiss, a move that indicated he was both unprepared and unwilling to shoulder the responsibility of the commitment expected in a romantic relationship. In this case, Peter Pan preferred to avoid such romance and remain a child as he had always been. Instead of being sexually excited, as a boy willing to accept adulthood would be, the moves by Wendy only created a measure of tension in Peter Pan (60). To him, she was only supposed to remain a friend. Moreover, he expected her to exhibit the attitudes of a child a factor that became evident when he expected her to imitate the behavioral code of a mother when they played father and mother in Neverland. Fathe r and mother is a common game among children and not early teens. The zeal with which Peter played this game only indicated his resistance to grow up (102). In a different scene, Peter Pan is seen indulging serious play with his shadow and exhibiting an imagination that shadows have tangibility. The fantasy associated with shadows is a feature common in little children. However, Peter Pan has the obsession of playing with shadows at the age of 12 a factor that shows he has over reached childhood. Although it is time for him to abandon such fantasies, he does not show any interest in leaving behind such games and believes concerning shadows. This places emphasis on, his resistance to grow up (140). Evaluation In general, all the actors and scenes created by Peter Pan serve to augment each other in depicting the resistance shown by Peter Pan towards growing up. This changes the movie to on the aspect of growing up as it is viewed by many people. The different activities that Peter Pan indulges in serve to promote the main theme of the performance. In the musical produced in 1960, there is emphasis placed on such scenes depicting peter’s obsession with the fun and adventure of childhood. Work Cited Blackford, Holly V. Out of This World: Why Literature Matters to Girls. New York: Teachers College Press, 2004. Print.