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Neverland Research Paper

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In today’s society, there is a persistent belief that children and adults are fundamentally different. Society has placed a gap between both generations that is evident throughout movies and children’s literature. In J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, binary oppositions come into play regarding childhood and adulthood, specifically the difference in imagination and reality. This binary opposition is expressed greatly among the characters in both novels. The children are introduced as possessing a wide range of imagination, however as the novel progress, as do their age, their imagination gradually diminishes to a more realistic view of life.
The adults focus on the reality of life, so much so, that they do …show more content…

In Peter Pan, Wendy and her brothers’, John and Michael, have virtually no responsibilities or duties. They are only responsible for their own well-being. This minimal responsibility allows them to explore their imagination. This imagination grants them the ability to fly, dream and imagine their own ‘Neverland’ that suits their fancy. For Michael and John, Neverland was a dream; it was a place where they constantly visited in their imagination and dreams. They both wanted to live there rather than in reality, as it was their own-chartered territory allowing them to venture and explore their vast make-believe land. For Wendy, Neverland was a place that granted her the wish of becoming a mother by providing her with a forsaken wolf to take care of, and the opportunity to finally meet Peter, whom constantly watches her as she dreams.
Of course the Neverlands vary a good deal. John’s for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it at which John was shooting, while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it. John lived in a boat turned upside down on the sands, Michael in a wigwam, Wendy in a house of leaves deftly sewn together. John had no friends, Michael had friends at night, Wendy had a pet wolf forsaken by its parents. …show more content…

Since she is introduced in the novel as a young girl, she does not have many responsibilities and, therefore, has time to reimagine her reality into something she desires. When Anne first arrives at Green Gables she renames the avenue to the White Way of Delight, the lake to the Lake of Shining Waters, and even her name to Cordelia, because these new names, according to her, give them justice. “‘Oh, I don’t like that name, either. I shall call it—let me see—the Lake of Shining Waters. Yes, that is the right name for it.” (Montgomery 23) Anne also reimagines her religious belief to suit her spiritual needs. When Marilla asked her to recite a prayer, Anne relied on her imagination alone to create a prayer that will suit Marilla’s prayer guidelines. Anne’s version can be considered untraditional because she imagines her prayers rather than memorizing them like Marilla did.
‘Gracious heavenly Father, I thank Thee for the White Way of Delight and the Lake of Shining Waters and Bonny and the Snow Queen. I’m really extremely grateful for them. And that’s all the blessings I can think of just now to thank thee for. As for the things I want, they’re so numerous that it would take a great deal of time to name them all so I will only mention the two most important. Please let me stay at Green Gables; and please let me be good-looking when I grow

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