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toggle_fow 's review for:
Peter Pan
by J.M. Barrie
This book is FULLY uncanny valley.
When you step back and try to look at it with a brain that has never heard any Peter Pan mythos before, it's easy to see why it became a classic. There's so much pure imagination here. And there are several gems of childhood encapsulated, like the scene at the beginning where John and Wendy are playing house, or the part where John and Michael will only agree to become pirates if they can also "remain respectful subjects of the king."
Then, you have everything else. Some of this, while uncanny, makes it more compelling -- like the widespread slaughter that seems to go on in Neverland as a matter of course, and Tinker Bell's overt swearing and attempts at murder. This is a book for children, right? Then there's the one-sided romance between Peter and Wendy, while we are still completely unaware of how old at least Wendy is (since Peter is seemingly immortal).
Then there's the fey, amoral nature of Peter himself:
Overall, the impression is deeply eerie. All of this combines to make the experience of reading extremely weird but also like... spellbinding? You have to keep reading if only to find out WHAT the hell is going on.
And finally, you have the racism, which... wow.
The natives are literally called the "Picanniny Tribe," which I guess was supposed to be a joke? There's some talk about their "savage" natures, average caricature stuff, and then there's an exchange after Peter saves Tiger Lily which, UH. The natives speak in broken English, the horrible cringy nature of which I cannot accurately describe to you and don't choose to reproduce here. And after they ally themselves with the Lost Boys, they call Peter Pan "the Great White Father."
Yeah. This does not make anything more compelling. It's more like a slap in the face to an unsuspecting reader, and it doesn't help that nearly the entire tribe is massacred shortly after.
When you step back and try to look at it with a brain that has never heard any Peter Pan mythos before, it's easy to see why it became a classic. There's so much pure imagination here. And there are several gems of childhood encapsulated, like the scene at the beginning where John and Wendy are playing house, or the part where John and Michael will only agree to become pirates if they can also "remain respectful subjects of the king."
Then, you have everything else. Some of this, while uncanny, makes it more compelling -- like the widespread slaughter that seems to go on in Neverland as a matter of course, and Tinker Bell's overt swearing and attempts at murder. This is a book for children, right? Then there's the one-sided romance between Peter and Wendy, while we are still completely unaware of how old at least Wendy is (since Peter is seemingly immortal).
Then there's the fey, amoral nature of Peter himself:
• Forgets who people are if they're not immediately before him. At the end of the book, he has even forgotten Tinker Bell.
• Genuinely believes anything he says is true, even to the point of "make believing" things like dinner and other people.
• Does great exploits, but "...it was his cleverness that interested him and not the saving of human life." Sociopath, or average child? Opinions are divided.
• It's implied that he kills or otherwise disposes of Lost Boys as they seem to be growing up.
Overall, the impression is deeply eerie. All of this combines to make the experience of reading extremely weird but also like... spellbinding? You have to keep reading if only to find out WHAT the hell is going on.
And finally, you have the racism, which... wow.
The natives are literally called the "Picanniny Tribe," which I guess was supposed to be a joke? There's some talk about their "savage" natures, average caricature stuff, and then there's an exchange after Peter saves Tiger Lily which, UH. The natives speak in broken English, the horrible cringy nature of which I cannot accurately describe to you and don't choose to reproduce here. And after they ally themselves with the Lost Boys, they call Peter Pan "the Great White Father."
Yeah. This does not make anything more compelling. It's more like a slap in the face to an unsuspecting reader, and it doesn't help that nearly the entire tribe is massacred shortly after.