The point of view in J.M. Barrie's literary classic Peter Pan is that of the unnamed narrator. Peter Panis told entirely in the third-person, a conventional story-telling style that is distinct from the epistolary and first-person styles of writing, the latter being particularly common. While it is a story told in the third-person by an omniscient narrator, Barrie's style is to make the narrator more than just an unseen observer; on the contrary, the...
The point of view in J.M. Barrie's literary classic Peter Pan is that of the unnamed narrator. Peter Pan is told entirely in the third-person, a conventional story-telling style that is distinct from the epistolary and first-person styles of writing, the latter being particularly common. While it is a story told in the third-person by an omniscient narrator, Barrie's style is to make the narrator more than just an unseen observer; on the contrary, the narrator in Peter Pan is pretty much an integral part of the story, commenting on every aspect of the characters' personalities and idiosyncrasies, including those of the family pet, a large canine that assumes the role of "nurse" to the Darling children. Barrie treats this pet, Nana, as a veritable member of the family, as many pets are in real life. He goes further, however, in ascribing to this large animal the attributes of an actual childcare provider. Describing Nana's role in the Darling household, Barrie notes of this member of the family:
"She had always thought children important, however, and the Darlings had become acquainted with her in Kensington Gardens, where she spent most of her spare time peeping into perambulators, and was much hated by careless nursemaids, whom she followed to their homes and complained of to their mistresses."
While the point of view in Peter Pan is that of the narrator, the perspectives do change accordingly, as the story shifts from the family's home, during which time the parents represent the dominant presence and perspective, to that of Wendy, oldest child among the Darling's three children. Wendy's relationship to Peter, of course, provides the crux of the story, and the interaction between the two provides the most poignant of passages as this young girl and her two brother, John and Michael, travel to Neverland and meet the Lost Boys. In any event, the point of view in Peter Pan is that of the narrator.
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