Custom Essay: Captai Peter Pan
Welcome to Neverland, an imaginative place where anything is possible. J. M. Barrie introduces Neverland and its inhabitants, the Lost Boys, who never grow up in his novel Peter Pan. Their leader, the titular character, refuses to grow up, and spends his time on countless adventures. While often selfish, Peter shows strong decorum during his battles. One antagonist he battles is Captain James Hook; he got the name “Hook” after Peter inadvertently cutoff his hand, and James replaced it with a hook. Although often seen as a brash pirate, Hook is described as a refined person who strongly values rightness. In Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie portrays Peter as a spontaneous and cocky boy, yet a boy who is overcome by a blind devotion to the principles of fairness when facing impediments, or as Captain Hook calls it, “good form.” Barrie shows how
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Captain Hook admires Peter’s good form and that Hook cannot intuitively have good form because he is an adult, although scholar Heather Springer points out that during Hook’s final moments he exercises good form to display it as a lifestyle. Barrie provides Hook’s backstory to contradict the pirate stereotype and demonstrate his civilized upbringing and strive for good form. Hook is never characterized as a typical pirate: although the narrator initially describes him as “cadaverous and blackavized,” and that “instead of a right hand he had the iron hook,” the narrator makes sure to note that “his eyes were the blue of the forget-me-not,” and “he was never more sinister than when he was most polite.” Barrie juxtaposes Hook’s sinister elements with his politeness to show that he is not uncivilized. In fact, towards the novel’s close, Barrie writes that “Hook was not his true name… he had been at a famous public school; and its traditions still clung to him like garments… He still adhered in his walk to the school’s distinguished slouch. But above all he retained the passion for good form” (129). Hook attended an elite school, later mentioned to be Eton College, and therefore has consistently practiced its mannerisms, such as not slouching, which lead to having good form. Towards the novel’s end, Hook has a flashback to his time at Eton, where he struggles with the paradox of good form. Hook says that: “Most disquieting reflection of all, was it not bad form to think about good form?” (130). Hook has become so accustomed to good form that he cannot think of it without considering that it could be bad form. This enrages him, as this paradox is “a claw within him sharper than the iron one” (130). This illogical conundrum reflects that Hook is a parody of the adult world, as he is too obsessed with the contradictions of proper behavior. Although this parody is rather vague, since the novel does not dwell on it for much time, it augments the assertion that Hook represents the adult world from the perspective of a child. While Hook aspires to be good by relying on his dedication towards good form, he cannot escape his adult self, and unlike a child, he cannot be instinctively good without thinking about its inconsistencies. Peter Pan, though, as a child, is able to be impulsively fair, despite his arrogance.
The novel initially paints Peter as a pain: his friend Wendy ingeniously sews Peter’s shadow to his foot, to which Peter responds “oh, the cleverness of me!” (24). After Wendy points out the falsehood of his claim, the narrator states, “‘You did a little,’ Peter said carelessly, and continued to dance” (24). Peter’s hauteur continues throughout the novel, except when he is battling. During battles, there is no time for error or arrogance, causing Peter’s intuitively just personality to radiate. Peter’s encounter with Hook at The Mermaid’s Lagoon demonstrates this: Barrie mentions that, “Quick as thought he snatched a knife from Hook’s belt and was about to drive it home, when he saw that he was higher up on the rock than his foe. It would not have been fighting fair. He gave the pirate a hand to help him up” (87). With no time to think, Peter grabs a knife but immediately levels the turf, therefore contradicting his otherwise selfish personality. While Peter may have an arrogant persona, it quickly disappears in the presence of
action. Something not present at all throughout the novel’s long timeline is evidence of Peter’s maturation, which is a direct result of his fairness. During Peter’s battle at The Mermaid’s Lagoon, Hook bites Peter, and even though Peter is stunned at the apparent unfairness, he quickly gets over it: “No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter. He often met it, but always forgot it. I suppose that was the difference between him and the rest” (87-88). In this passage, Barrie suggests that maturation is correlated with realizing the world’s injustice. Child act differently—often unfairly—when discovering that they cannot be egotists since others are looking out for themselves. However, as Peter is forever a child he forgets these unfairnesses and therefore never comes to this realization. Although this allows him to remain moral, he is never able to mature. Hook realizes Peter’s innate fair and moral characteristics, and consequently admires them, during their climatic battle. After Hook asks who and what Peter really is, Peter responds by saying that, “I’m youth, I’m joy… I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg” (144). Peter’s claim that he epitomizes childhood has flaws, especially considering his consistent display of vanity. The narrator agrees with this, saying that, “This, of course, was nonsense; but it was proof to the unhappy Hook that Peter did not know in the least who or what he was, which is the very pinnacle of good form” (144). Hook, as a parody of the adult world, is obsessed with mannerisms, but no matter how much he tries, he will never manage to be intuitively fair, like Peter, since trying to have good form means it cannot be innate. Therefore, Hook will never be able to match Peter’s morality. Hook soon realizes that he will be unable to surpass Peter’s moral qualities, and this epiphany leads Hook to push Peter to demonstrate bad form, thus leading to Hook’s demise. During Hook’s battle with Peter, the narrator mentions that “Hook was fighting now without hope,” and that Hook desires “to see Peter show bad form” (144). Hook has become desperate: rather than focusing on his good form, he now craves to see Peter show bad form. In fact, to influence Peter to show bad form, at the battle’s end Hook “invited him with a gesture to use his foot. It made Peter kick instead of stab” (145). The childish kick that Peter gives Hook fulfills Hook’s need to see bad form, causing his last words to be “Bad form,” before being swallowed by the crocodile (145). Barrie is sure to mention that while Hook was fighting this battle, although “the other boys were flying around him,” Hook’s “shoes were right, and his waistcoat was right, and his tie was right, and his socks were right” (145). Hook, as a pirate with class, left the world in good form, even if he could not have it innately. Heather Springer, a scholar at Northern Arizona University, echoes the sentiment that Hook perished with good form by analyzing the subtleties in Barrie’s writing. Springer observes that Barrie calls Hook “not wholly unheroic” and “true to the traditions of his race” (145). She pulls these quotes to draw the conclusion that “Good form, then, in Barrie’s tale, is white, genteel warfare against a known enemy who shows courage and mercy and who dies ‘content’ that he has fought the good fight…” Springer emphasizes that good form is much more than a term—it is a way to die heroically; it is a way to live life. Springer’s argument that Barrie portrays Hook in a rather positive light, considering he is the antagonist, shows that good form entails more than just being polite: good form is a lifestyle. When J.M. Barrie introduces the world of Neverland in Peter Pan, he creates the term good form, a concept of fairness that is innate to the otherwise egotistical Peter Pan, but something Captain James Hook struggles to achieve intuitively. Barrie demonstrates how Hook envies Pan’s good form, shows that Hook is unable to achieve it instinctively since he is an adult, and scholar Heather Springer adds that good form is more than a term—it is a way of living. Although Hook struggles with innately having good form, his good form paradox of considering the possibility that good form is bad form reflects how complicated the mannerisms of adults can be. This highlights a strong difference between adults and children: while children are simpler, it frees them from expectations, creating a morally sound conscious.
Captain Hook admires Peter’s good form and that Hook cannot intuitively have good form because he is an adult, although scholar Heather Springer points out that during Hook’s final moments he exercises good form to display it as a lifestyle. Barrie provides Hook’s backstory to contradict the pirate stereotype and demonstrate his civilized upbringing and strive for good form. Hook is never characterized as a typical pirate: although the narrator initially describes him as “cadaverous and blackavized,” and that “instead of a right hand he had the iron hook,” the narrator makes sure to note that “his eyes were the blue of the forget-me-not,” and “he was never more sinister than when he was most polite.” Barrie juxtaposes Hook’s sinister elements with his politeness to show that he is not uncivilized. In fact, towards the novel’s close, Barrie writes that “Hook was not his true name… he had been at a famous public school; and its traditions still clung to him like garments… He still adhered in his walk to the school’s distinguished slouch. But above all he retained the passion for good form” (129). Hook attended an elite school, later mentioned to be Eton College, and therefore has consistently practiced its mannerisms, such as not slouching, which lead to having good form. Towards the novel’s end, Hook has a flashback to his time at Eton, where he struggles with the paradox of good form. Hook says that: “Most disquieting reflection of all, was it not bad form to think about good form?” (130). Hook has become so accustomed to good form that he cannot think of it without considering that it could be bad form. This enrages him, as this paradox is “a claw within him sharper than the iron one” (130). This illogical conundrum reflects that Hook is a parody of the adult world, as he is too obsessed with the contradictions of proper behavior. Although this parody is rather vague, since the novel does not dwell on it for much time, it augments the assertion that Hook represents the adult world from the perspective of a child. While Hook aspires to be good by relying on his dedication towards good form, he cannot escape his adult self, and unlike a child, he cannot be instinctively good without thinking about its inconsistencies. Peter Pan, though, as a child, is able to be impulsively fair, despite his arrogance.
The novel initially paints Peter as a pain: his friend Wendy ingeniously sews Peter’s shadow to his foot, to which Peter responds “oh, the cleverness of me!” (24). After Wendy points out the falsehood of his claim, the narrator states, “‘You did a little,’ Peter said carelessly, and continued to dance” (24). Peter’s hauteur continues throughout the novel, except when he is battling. During battles, there is no time for error or arrogance, causing Peter’s intuitively just personality to radiate. Peter’s encounter with Hook at The Mermaid’s Lagoon demonstrates this: Barrie mentions that, “Quick as thought he snatched a knife from Hook’s belt and was about to drive it home, when he saw that he was higher up on the rock than his foe. It would not have been fighting fair. He gave the pirate a hand to help him up” (87). With no time to think, Peter grabs a knife but immediately levels the turf, therefore contradicting his otherwise selfish personality. While Peter may have an arrogant persona, it quickly disappears in the presence of
action. Something not present at all throughout the novel’s long timeline is evidence of Peter’s maturation, which is a direct result of his fairness. During Peter’s battle at The Mermaid’s Lagoon, Hook bites Peter, and even though Peter is stunned at the apparent unfairness, he quickly gets over it: “No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter. He often met it, but always forgot it. I suppose that was the difference between him and the rest” (87-88). In this passage, Barrie suggests that maturation is correlated with realizing the world’s injustice. Child act differently—often unfairly—when discovering that they cannot be egotists since others are looking out for themselves. However, as Peter is forever a child he forgets these unfairnesses and therefore never comes to this realization. Although this allows him to remain moral, he is never able to mature. Hook realizes Peter’s innate fair and moral characteristics, and consequently admires them, during their climatic battle. After Hook asks who and what Peter really is, Peter responds by saying that, “I’m youth, I’m joy… I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg” (144). Peter’s claim that he epitomizes childhood has flaws, especially considering his consistent display of vanity. The narrator agrees with this, saying that, “This, of course, was nonsense; but it was proof to the unhappy Hook that Peter did not know in the least who or what he was, which is the very pinnacle of good form” (144). Hook, as a parody of the adult world, is obsessed with mannerisms, but no matter how much he tries, he will never manage to be intuitively fair, like Peter, since trying to have good form means it cannot be innate. Therefore, Hook will never be able to match Peter’s morality. Hook soon realizes that he will be unable to surpass Peter’s moral qualities, and this epiphany leads Hook to push Peter to demonstrate bad form, thus leading to Hook’s demise. During Hook’s battle with Peter, the narrator mentions that “Hook was fighting now without hope,” and that Hook desires “to see Peter show bad form” (144). Hook has become desperate: rather than focusing on his good form, he now craves to see Peter show bad form. In fact, to influence Peter to show bad form, at the battle’s end Hook “invited him with a gesture to use his foot. It made Peter kick instead of stab” (145). The childish kick that Peter gives Hook fulfills Hook’s need to see bad form, causing his last words to be “Bad form,” before being swallowed by the crocodile (145). Barrie is sure to mention that while Hook was fighting this battle, although “the other boys were flying around him,” Hook’s “shoes were right, and his waistcoat was right, and his tie was right, and his socks were right” (145). Hook, as a pirate with class, left the world in good form, even if he could not have it innately. Heather Springer, a scholar at Northern Arizona University, echoes the sentiment that Hook perished with good form by analyzing the subtleties in Barrie’s writing. Springer observes that Barrie calls Hook “not wholly unheroic” and “true to the traditions of his race” (145). She pulls these quotes to draw the conclusion that “Good form, then, in Barrie’s tale, is white, genteel warfare against a known enemy who shows courage and mercy and who dies ‘content’ that he has fought the good fight…” Springer emphasizes that good form is much more than a term—it is a way to die heroically; it is a way to live life. Springer’s argument that Barrie portrays Hook in a rather positive light, considering he is the antagonist, shows that good form entails more than just being polite: good form is a lifestyle. When J.M. Barrie introduces the world of Neverland in Peter Pan, he creates the term good form, a concept of fairness that is innate to the otherwise egotistical Peter Pan, but something Captain James Hook struggles to achieve intuitively. Barrie demonstrates how Hook envies Pan’s good form, shows that Hook is unable to achieve it instinctively since he is an adult, and scholar Heather Springer adds that good form is more than a term—it is a way of living. Although Hook struggles with innately having good form, his good form paradox of considering the possibility that good form is bad form reflects how complicated the mannerisms of adults can be. This highlights a strong difference between adults and children: while children are simpler, it frees them from expectations, creating a morally sound conscious.