The Adventures of Peter Pan

Peter Pan is the timeless classic everyone has grown up to. It has been passed down from generation to generation but it all started with one man, J. M. Barrie. Barrie made sure that this story would be appropriate for all ages. Some of the language might be a bit difficult for the youngest range but the context helps to figure out a funny word or two. It appeals to the older range because of the layers it conceals. Behind each game they play is a message. Hidden under each smile Wendy gives to Peter is her hidden kiss. However, this story relates mostly to teenagers as they are going through the stage of growing up. The Disney movies about Peter Pan have tried hard to incorporate everything from the book, but they didn't get every meaning or all the symbolism. For example, Mrs. Darling and Wendy Darling both have a hidden kiss. This kiss is hidden under the right hand corner of their mouths and only their true love can find it. Because Mr. Darling can't find Mrs. Darling's kiss, perhaps Barrie is trying to say that although she loves Mr. Darling dearly, he isn't her true love. Barrie fills his book with the perfect amount of detail. Children don't get bored because there is too much and adults don't need any more. At one point in the story, Barrie writes about the adventures at the lagoon. "If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colors suspended in the darkness; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape, and the colors become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire." It is work like this that captures the reader and makes them never put the book down. The action and the drama are another reason such a wide age range is attached to this story. The lost boys go on countless raids and enticing adventures that children can only dream about. The love story between Peter and Wendy thickens throughout the entire book and we don't know till the end whether the Darlings will return home to England or stay in Neverland forever. Barrie does an incredible job with the characters. John and Michael are as adorable as ever, Captain Hook as evil, Tinkerbell as envious, Peter as cocky and Wendy as in love. Though the title expresses that the story is about Peter Pan, one of Barrie's hidden messages was that it was really Wendy's story. Peter Pan can meet many more pirates and have many more adventures but Wendy only had that one time with him. She could only be his mother, or possibly his only love, once in her life. She was supposed to go back to Neverland every spring to do Peter's spring cleaning but he forgot almost every year. Barrie might have been trying to show how forgetful little boys are. He also might have been trying to show Peter's denial that Wendy might grow up. If Peter didn't go back then Wendy might not grow up. If he didn't go back he wouldn't be reminded that he lost the love of his life. Barrie did a phenomenal job with this story. His ideas make you wonder why growing up is necessary and why none of us have ever been able to see Tink's glow, outside of our dreams. This book is suitable for all ages: the only thing that could make it even better were if we could be in the story ourselves.