Peter Pan
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Hate it!
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Katie
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Mar 15, 2012 05:31PM
Why did you hate it?
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I hate Wendy, I like Peter Pan. And I'm glad when Tinker Bell bit the dust. And Captain Hook, though he's supposed to be scary, I still find very funny.
I used to hate curried baked beans - but now I can eat them. I do not think I can really hate a children's book - dislike - but I think it is more a case of preferences. I prefer other children's books like Treasure Island and Oliver Twist. Though actually I have always been fond of Peter Pan - I liked Tinker Bell very much.
I don't know why, but I started to sympathize with Captain Hook. I also found it surprising, and I later looked into it, that Peter talks of actually killing like it's a good and normal thing, something that would not be allowed in today's child literature. I couldn't see from Pans perspective. He thinks like a child, without any moral backing or life experience. I don't remember a time when I was that free of influence.
Everything is a game to Peter Pan, so his talking about killing is like any other child talking about killing in a game.
This is one of my favourite books
the writing in the book is hard to understand because its so old.
oh gosh!! ewwwww peter pan!! it was my summer reading!!! i had to take NOTES on it!!!!!!!! lol!! wow, i finished on the last day fallin asleep whever i tried reading it!!!
I was surprised how different this was from the Disney movie. Peter Pan was written as an arrogant, pretentious, self important brat. And Tinkerbell was well described as a creature with emotions that were much to big to be contained in such a small body. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it.Side note: I thought the 2003 movie was an excellent adaptation.
yup! tink was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awkward!
Appy *Almost Summer!!!* wrote: "yup! tink was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awkward!"really awkward indeed! especially with Peter beating up the kids on the island!
I enjoyed this book. Although it was far from what i expected. Seeing the disney version first i was expecting a simple childrens book, a quick read. I was very suprised however at how Peter Pan was so cocky and i found him annoying and not at all charming as wendy saw. i also was suprised by the way the children looked upon killing as though life was a game they were determined to win. So i found this book suprising but still it kept going it wasnt boring; it had my attneition the entire time.
It is an extremely Victorian piece, dark, sinister and quite barbaric at times, but it is also an extraordinary story.I don't recommend anyone open this book expecting a lighthearted fluffy read or you will be very disappointed.
I first read the book as part of a childhood challenge (to read one book from every decade since 1900). It was far from what I was expecting but I carried on reading and I am glad that I did. I was too young to fully appreciate the work but I still enjoyed it even though it did disturb me slightly (I have the vaguest of recollections about shrunken heads?).
I will have to re-read Peter Pan as an adult at some point to see what I make of it now
Peter Pan is an embodiment of Freedom. He's free from rules, following only the ones he makes up for himself and changing even those when he wishes. He's free from burdens of memory and even the constraints of gravity.Certainly, it should come as no surprise that he sees the killing of pirates as no problem.
Wendy's a saucy little minx. You can tell when she gets a little older she is gonna be cruel; gonna break some hearts...
I loved this book. Much darker than the Disney version.
You should try reading Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dam and then compare it to Disney's version!! That is a dark novel.Peter Pan is a great book in my opinion!
hmm, sounds interesting. Thanks Marcelo
Very few people read Victor Hugo unabridged...kudos if you can tackle it
Sounds like a challenge. If its a page turner, it won't matter.I'll see if I can't finds a used copy.
Well what he is famous for, is--let's take 'Les Mis' for example--you will be a quarter of the way into the story and suddenly find yourself in an encyclopediac description of the history of the Parisian sewer system. It has stumped many a reader. In our own era, Umberto Eco indulges in the same practice. Good luck, my applause to you if you hang in there.
Pan wrote: "Sounds like a challenge. If its a page turner, it won't matter.I'll see if I can't finds a used copy."
Pan, you can get the ebook for free on Amazon. Hugo's work is public domain now. You can read them all for free or for 1 dollar at the most. If you do not own a kindle reader you can install the kindle app on a tablet/smarphone and read it there.
Hugo's work is just amazing!!! I'm a fan.
Feliks wrote: "Well what he is famous for, is--let's take 'Les Mis' for example--you will be a quarter of the way into the story and suddenly find yourself in an encyclopediac description of the history of the Pa..."Felix, I agree with you. He tends to side track from the main story line, a lot. But it adds to the construction of the environment of the times in the readers mind.
I've read Les Miserables, Hunchback of Notre Dam, Toilers of the Sea, Last day of a condemned man. All amazin work. I'm a huge fan.
In the Hunchback he excuses himself to get off the main story and does a wonderful comparison of architecture and literature that is just fantastic to read!
In Les Miserables he does takes a long time describing Paris' sewer system just because they are going to run away through it. I have to be honest and say that I did skip the 100 pages chapter in the paperback version of the book. 100 pages on Paris' sewer system is really too much.
But still I would recommend everyone to read his work.
I wish people would list reasons for hating a book before posting a forum about it. Honestly it would make the discussion much more interesting and intelligent.
I did manage to find a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dam. After reading a chapter I can see what you mean. He describes everything. almost like a travel planner. Giving facts about everything. I can't wait until I get to the good parts.
Heh heh. Trust Feliks D, I won't steer you wrong:P
Pan wrote: "I did manage to find a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dam. After reading a chapter I can see what you mean. He describes everything. almost like a travel planner. Giving facts about everything. I c..."Let us know what you think after you finish the book!
Will do, although It might take me a bit.
Pan wrote: "Will do, although It might take me a bit."Pan, I understand! Hugo's books are huge. Just post here and I'll see it! Thanks! And enjoy!
I think the funniest thing was that stage productions of the play always cast svelte, pixie-figured females...Julie Andrews, Sandy Duncan, etc
I liked it, but I do agree with what everyone else was saying about how Peter Pan talked so casually about killing people. I read this as a teen (I saw it super cheap at an old bookstore and couldn't resist), but if I'd read it as a kid, it would've scared the crap out of me (OK, OK, I admit I was a really sensitive child. But there was one scene where the Indians or Pirates were just carrying people's heads around, that would've given me a nightmare for sure).I do like the world of Neverland, though, Barrie had a wonderful imagination. And Tinkerbell has always been my favorite character.
I do beleive in fairies....I do, I DO !
I know you're entitled to your own opinion but come on ! the book was amazing ! Because of that book, when people ask for my address I tell them "I live in the second star on the right then straight on 'til morning!" Give it another try brah :)
To me it's one of those books where it is probably very good, but the vocabulary is hard to understand since the book was written so long ago.
I've noticed that a lot of comments are comparing the Disney movie version to the book. If the Disney movie is your frame of reference, then you are going to find this book much darker and may not enjoy it as much. Disney is known for romantizing fairy tales(Sleeping Beauty etc). Give it another try. I love Peter Pan! It is one of my favorite books
The little I know about the author's life suggests that this book is very sinister indeed.
Eddie wrote: "The little I know about the author's life suggests that this book is very sinister indeed."Eddie, please tell us why...
Perhaps you mean that he preferred the company of small boys to that of adults? I don't think there was anything too bad about that. I think he genuinely believed that people stopped being interesting when they passed the age of 12.
You hated it?! This is one of my favourite books! It's amazing!
I think when you're older, you will appreciate the book a lot more. Peter is a boy who refuses to grow up. Everything to Peter is a game, make-belive, NOT REAL. Nothing to him is serious which drives us girls batty. The book shows how boys really don't ever grow up and us girls are constantly trying to change that. Wendy tried. Fully believing that she would get to be a mother to the Lost Boys, and Peter would be their Father. When she confronted Peter about this one night he was put off then replied "you know this is all make believe right??" How hurt Wendy was to realize that Peter took none of this seriously.
Tink was a better character in the book. She's a fairie- and if you know anything about fairies it's that you don't make them mad. They can be mean little creatures and here again her character plays into girls jealousy over boys. Peter was her boy before he met Wendy. Tink wanted nothing to do with the relationship and hence tried to break it apart.
Wendy wants to grow up- she wants to become a mother, so when she does and has her own it made me tear up a little to see the legacy of Peter Pan move on to her own child. Wendy loved Peter but Peter didn't love her back- not in that way at least. She had to move on- as painful as that was for her. But she gets to see him when her little girl is of make-believing age.
You can't base a classic book like Peter Pan to some cheap production of it from a Disney Movie. The book is dark, and some ways mean, but you have to keep reminding yourself that everything that happens in Neverland is all make-believe. Disney needed to be cheerful and happy to cater to the audience.
Re-reading Peter Pan when you're older, is like revisiting your childhood! Every child dreams of a Neverland and not growing up. Pirates with buried treasure and fairies with pixie dust that enables you to fly, of course! Unless that child has no imagination at all!
Favorite story growing up and will always be. This book brings up so many things. Like the Victorian view of children and how once you were grown you were tainted. That's why dying young and innocent was esteemed. You weren't corrupted. The Victorian era was ripe with very interesting things. Also, the Victorian views of Mother's in general. Also, some people believe that Peter is a psychopomp and that children are actually dead and that Neverland is a last resting place. There are lots of stories of dead children across the ages and they're all psychological and interesting.
thanks for posting Faith. I've never thought about it that way.
Pan wrote: "thanks for posting Faith. I've never thought about it that way."I actually got into a really cool discussion on a forum about it. A lot of the people on the board are professors at various colleges or have spent decades studying religious and cultural things inside of books. Here's the link if anyone is interested.
http://bit.ly/14xstOC
I don't know if that's true - but he certainly enjoyed the company of young boys, and said once that nothing important happened to a person after the age of twelve.
To say that you hate a classic children's book with no reasons or explanation, seems to me to be the words of very young immature person! It does seem a bit extreme.
I I found this book so far-fetched and away from reality that although I tried to read it as a child I gave up and have always hated it for this reason. Believe me there are so few books I have ever given up on.
I find it odd that so many people on here say that they loved the Disney version of this story but were surprised that Peter Pan was such a selfish, cocky brat in the book. Peter Pan was a selfish, cocky brat in the Disney movie too! Even as a child watching that film, I always disliked that character. He was sexist and treated Wendy like crap. Tinker Bell tries to kill Wendy, the mermaids try to kill Wendy and Peter really isn't very concerned at all. Peter Pan isn't supposed to be a likable character. He's supposed to be a warning. A cautionary of what happens if one doesn't grow up.
I enjoyed this book more as an adult than I ever did when I was a kid.
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