Peter Pan Through a Child's Eyes

Today in class we were talking a lot about what this novel was saying about what it means to be a child and what it means to be an adult. When Shawn (Sean?) said that Peter Pan is a child, an ideal child, that boys want to be like, it made me think about the differences in the way children and adults view this novel. Perhaps, in order to fully understand and appreciate this novel, the view of a child is needed.

I think it is interesting to note that for the first showing of the play of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie invited children from an orphanage to come view the play. He spread their seats out in the theatre so that they were mixed in with adults. The movie, Finding Neverland depicts this scene, and it becomes clear that the adults were only able to laugh at Nana when they saw the play through the children's eyes. Having the children there helps to remind the adults what it is like to be a child and also helps them to know how a child sees things. Here is a link to a (rather long) clip from the movie that shows this scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR_nJAHVq-U&feature=related

After hearing Shawn and Mary's commentary on the novel, I feel like the same might be true for the novel as the play. A child's perspective is needed because an adult will not be able to fully understand the story of Peter Pan without the help of a child. If just an adult were looking at this text, he might see Peter as a brat or a troublemaker, whereas a child would see him as a heroic adventurer who is everything they wish they could be. Adults have to rely on the innocence and imagination of children to understand this story. Barrie could be using this technique to make adults realize that there are some parts of childhood that they should not let go of.