Book 1 of the 'Classic Texts': Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

This week we get the opportunity to read  'Classic Texts' and I read Peter Pan from J.M. Barrie.

I have read Peter Pan when I was 7 years old and I have seen the movie when I was about 9 years old, so I knew what the story was about but I had forgotten the details that make the story so special.
In class we talked about aspects that make a novel a good novel for children, one of those aspects was that the story should have an intriguing character. Peter Pan is a boy who is very intriguing, he is a bit cocky and careless but about one thing he does care about and that growing up. That is the one thing he fears. After we talked about this in class and having read the book I realized that Peter stands for eternal youth with his island Neverland and the 'Lost Boys' who spend most of their time living adventures. Peter Pan intriguings children because he is against adults ( which most of the children are) and of course because he can fly! Neverland on its own is an imaginary place, individual to each child, that is what makes the Island so special.
One thing I did notice while reading this book is that there are no parents involved in the book, only the parents of Wendy, John and Michael Darling but they were hardly present during the story. The idea of growing up scares Peter, but I think that the overall lesson that can be learned from the book (after having read it almost 10 years later) is that growing up does not mean that you have to lose your energy or excitement.
What interests me the most is that after reading it again it becomes clear that the book has many thoughts and ideas about adults and children's views that are hidden between the lines. One line expresses what Peter's role is throughout the book and that is his answer when Wendy asked him if he wanted to stay and live with them in London as well and that is: “I’m going to stay in Neverland where I never have to grow up.” Peter is stubborn and does not want to lose his youthfulness , I must say I have experienced the same when I was younger. Afraid of what might come when you are an 'adult', so in some sort of way I believe that every child can identify itself with Peter. Except of course for the fact that he can use magic :)
There is one event in the book which I did not understand and that is the fact that the 'Lost Boys' went to live with the Darlings in London. I thought that they were part of Peter Pan, Neverland and his fight against growing up. Of course it was obvious that the 'Lost Boys' needed a mother/home since they had asked Wendy if she wanted to be their mother the first minute of their arrival in Neverland. I was happy of course for this happy ending but I still thought the idea of the 'Lost Boys' staying at Neverland with Peter Pan was a good ending as well, but maybe I believe that now I myself have grown up.

Wordcount: 527
Extra sources besides class discussions, the reader and notes made during the PowerPoint:
Barrie, M. J. (2006) 'Peter Pan In and Out of Time' , Edited by: White,D and Tarr, C. The Scarecrow Press Oxford.