In the children's classic Peter Pan, by JM Barrie, we are introduced to the concept of never growing up , embodied in the young title. character. This refusal to grow up was the result of refusing his possible responsibilities as an adult. Throughout the three novels Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, there is a recurring theme where the children in the story leave their normal lives that require responsibilities to escape to a new world become anarchic and devoid of forms of structure. . By seeing the world without structure, children are forced to step up and become contributing people who appreciate how their preconceived worlds work. Between the three stories, there is a very noticeable lack of parental figures. Peter Pan introduces the Darlings, Alice, his sister, and the wizard's aunt and uncle Dorothy. Although these parents are good caregivers, they impose a certain form of responsibility on their children, which leads them to an ultimate escape into the dream world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay In Peter, we experience a fiasco in the Darling household, just before Wendy, John and Michael go to Neverland. We are presented with a scene where Michael, the youngest, refuses to take his medication. His father begins to lecture him: "When Michael dodged the spoon in Nana's mouth, he said to her in a reproachful tone: 'Be a man, Michael.' With this quote, we can accept that being an adult means taking your medication without complaint. Michael refuses, shouting: “No; won't ! », showing his refusal to “be a man” and to grow up. Michael would rather choose not to do something unpleasant than see the bigger picture. He refuses to see that without taking his medication, he would be sick and could therefore find himself in disastrous circumstances. With Alice we see a similar scenario. We begin on the bank, sitting with Alice and her sister, where Alice "was beginning to get very tired of sitting next to her sister on the bank and having nothing to do: once or twice she had thrown a glance in the book his sister was reading. , but it contained no images or conversations. Although Alice is not actively forced to do something she doesn't want to do, she is forced to entertain herself. Even though she attempts to read her sister's book, she brings up an interesting point. Looking over the sister's shoulder, she sees that the book lacks "pictures [and] conversations," and what would be the point of reading a book like that? Carroll brings up an interesting quality of Alice, showing that she is only interested in entertainment that would provide instant gratification (e.g. pictures), or in fantastical and "superficial" entertainment (e.g. conversations). Her sister is reading a non-fiction book, something that would provide Alice with information, but it's not something that would give her instant gratification, so she refuses. In Wizard, we see the future that awaits Dorothy, and the transformation she will undergo, via Aunt Em. When she arrived at the farm, “Aunt Em came to live there [when] she was a young and pretty wife… they had taken the shine from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from his cheeks and lips, and they were gray too. This description alone would terrify a child about growing up in this environment, but what becomes most haunting is that she "wasn't smiling now" and that "when Dorothy... first came to see her, Aunt Em had been so surprised by the child's laughter. that she would cry out and lay her hand on her heart every time Dorothy's joyful voice reached her ears; and she always looked at the little girl with wonder at being able to find something to laugh about. This is ultimately what differentiates her from Dorothy, the adult versus the child, life versus death, laughter versus darkness. As Aunt Em's transition from young woman to her current state began, she lost the joy and carefreeness of a child. So even though Dorothy is not forced to take responsibility, she sees the consequences this lifestyle will have on her and what she will ultimately lose. Interestingly enough, each character has an animal companion who accompanies them at some point in the story. Often in raising children, pets are used to instill a sense of belonging and responsibility. However, in every relationship we see an inversion of this idea, which allows children to escape even this duty. With the Darling children, we see him with Nana, whose name immediately gives away his relationship with the children. She is expected to take care of them, bathe them, clean up after them, give them medicine, just like a dog. Just by her name we can see the dependence and authority she has over children, and ultimately adults. By giving her the name "Nana", it implies that she is one of the beloved parents. This removes the possibility of childhood authority between Wendy, Michael, and John, and keeps them stagnant in their own adolescence. In Alice, we are never physically introduced to Dinah, Alice's cat, however, it becomes a topic of discussion throughout the novel. As Alice walks through Wonderland, she begins to narrate, saying, "'Dinah's going to miss me a lot tonight, I think!' » (Dinah was the cat.) "I hope they remember her saucer of milk at tea time." Although this may seem responsible on the surface level, several indications may contradict this inference. Alice worries that "they", assuming her family, will remember to feed her cat. Her cat that she abandoned without thinking to explore Wonderland. This fixation with the White Rabbit and Wonderland shows her own preoccupation and disregard for anything she may be responsible for at home. Dinah also contributes to Alice's personal involvement, which we can see when she says, "I'm going to miss Dinah a lot tonight." She doesn't admit that she would miss her cat, nor that she wishes she had thought of bringing Dinah to Wonderland, she only feeds her ego by suggesting that her cat will miss her. Wizard shows a very strong dependence on Toto compared to Dorothy, as the dog allows her to distract herself from the dusty land in which she is trapped. “It was Toto who made Dorothy laugh and kept her from becoming as gray as her other surroundings.” As previously noted, part of Dorothy's reluctance to grow up might stem from the future she herself saw through Aunt Em, which had already become gray and dull. So rather than helping these children transition from their stage of life into a more developed and mature individual, these pets help retain these childish qualities (some good, some bad). By providing childcare, friendship, distraction, and attention to their wards, these pets help retain that Peter Pan quality in each child and deflect the effects of their environment. From there we move on to the escape from boring ordinary society to "the land" (Neverland, Wonderland, Land of Oz), where the.