Comparing what I have read in these first few chapters of Peter Pan, I can tell that many aspects of the tale are going to be different from the adaptations that we all know of this beloved story. While the story still includes fantastic details that we all know, Barrie also chooses to include realistic details of the Darling family. I am anxious to see how this story will progress and how similar it will be to the other versions of the tale.
So far, I am slightly confused with Barrie’s writing style and it is going to take some time for me to begin to easily interpreting him. For example, the “Nana” for the children is supposed to be the character that takes care of the Darling children, which I did not realize was actually a dog in the second chapter. Also, I cannot tell what is supposed to be reality and fantasy. For one second, Mrs. Darling is having a dream about Peter Pan in Neverland and in the next second, she is back in reality and trapping Peter’s shadow in the window. I hope that the distinction between the two settings will be easier to differentiate between later in the book.
Peter Pan by Barrie definetly sounds like a confusing read with the difficulty of understanding fantasy versus reality! Pondering this, I wonder if Barrie intended for it to be this way for the reader? Do you think that Barrie may be hinting at something about how thin the line between fantasy and reality can be? Because from when I watched the movie of Peter Pan, it seemed the skill all the children in Neverland had was the ability to use their imagination. This seemed like an important requirement to visit Neverland, and maybe that’s why there were barely any adults there. Maybe by showing Mrs. Darling trying to use her imagination to dream about Peter Pan in Neverland, Barrie is trying to show the reader that we can still imagine as when we are older. As we age we tend to be more stressed, thus maybe Barrie is communicating the message that we should try to use our imagination more and relax. Therefore, maybe Barrie’s ultimate message throughout the book is to describe to the reader how strong the power of imagination truly is. 🙂