![]() ![]() Barrie befriended Davies, a widow, during her battle with cancer which would soon take her life. He was later inspired by his friendship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her boys. Barrie wanted to provide her some comfort surrounding the loss of David. The death of his older brother, David, at a young age and the subsequent grief experienced by his mother, contributed to Peter Pan’s creation. Barrie created the Peter Pan stories to help others cope with death. Infinite youth is his defining characteristic and he abhors all things grown-up.” ![]() “For children who have died, it’s said he accompanies them to their destination so that they will not be frightened. He remains the unaging youth who visits future generations of children, taking them with him from time to time on new perils. Peter continues his freewheeling adventures, “ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know,” separated from the life his former playmates have now chosen. The lost boys are immediately adopted, choosing a life of love and family, trading in Neverland’s endless possibilities for a life that includes growing up, and ultimately dying. The children defeat Hook, who is eventually devoured by the croc. The croc projects a constant ticking sound from previously swallowing a clock, no doubt symbolic of the way in which time is after each of us. The story also includes appearances from a massive crocodile who has developed a particular taste for Captain Hook, a one-handed pirate. He recovers his shadow, and with the help of magical dust, taken from his fairy companion, Tinkerbell, Peter lures the children onto an adventure in Neverland among oafish pirates, vindictive mermaids, and ruffian lost boys. Wendy discovers him during his attempt to collect his shadow which had separated from his body the night before. He encounters the Darling children, Wendy, John, and Michael, while lingering outside their nursery window, listening to Wendy’s stories. For children who have died, it’s said he accompanies them to their destination so that they will not be frightened. Peter, the boy “clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that flow from trees,” is a brash, carefree rogue who leads a band of lost boys occupying an island on a distant star called Neverland, “first star to the right, and straight on til morning.” He is known for his flying abilities, and sword-fighting savvy against arch-nemesis, Captain Hook. Barrie’s starchild has spawned two award-winning Broadway musicals and been immortalized in countless books. He has been featured in at least 8 major motion pictures, most notably the 1953 Disney animated classic voiced by Bobby Driscoll, the 2003 live-action versionstarring Jeremy Sumpter, and most recently, the 2015 experimental origins story, Pan, played by Levi Miller. Peter Pan has become one of the most recognizable fictional characters since he first took center stage in the December 1904 London premiere play of Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. “To die would be an awfully big adventure” crows Peter Pan, the cocky paragon of eternal youthfulness and fairy tale flights. ![]()
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