I love "Peter Pan." I love every version of it, every retelling, and absolutely any reference to it. Maybe my love for the story of the boy who never grew up stems from a longing for magical adventures or from a love for storytelling. I know, without a doubt, though, that I now love it for the lessons and symbolism it contains. One particular lesson, which parallels a college student’s transition from childhood to adulthood, is told by the juxtaposing characters of the young, cocky Peter and the old, fury-filled Captain Hook.
In "Peter Pan," each character and moment seems to be a metaphor for something else. Peter, for instance, is the young spirit inside us: the one who wants to be carefree and playful all the time. He constantly battles his mortal enemy, adulthood, also known as Captain Hook. In the original novel, Hook is described as a well-educated gentleman and is written to have far deeper emotions, even if they stem from anger, than Peter. Hook, as an exaggerated symbol of adulthood, loathes and fears youth’s unrelenting ego and free-flying spirit. He symbolizes a part of us, however small, that fears the negatives of youth and childishness because it brought him pain once (the loss of his hand). Hook would die for the sake of demolishing childhood, while Peter would die before he agreed to grow up. Neither complete childishness nor the complete rejection of it would allow for the realization that a healthy soul is one balanced in both youth and maturity alike. One character in "Peter Pan" did understand that balance, however.
Wendy Darling. Wendy ran away to Neverland—the physical embodiment of the land of her childhood—to avoid the terrifying task of growing up. During her stay in Neverland, she comes to the understanding, after fighting with Peter, that by refusing to grow up, she is missing out on the best adventure of all: life. Wendy realizes that the key to truly flying in life is to embrace both the past and the present, both youth and maturity, both imagination and reality.
All college students face the difficult trail from the dependency of childhood to the independence of adulthood. Clinging to either side of the path would prevent one from moving forward in life and from achieving the maximum mental well-being. The lesson I, personally, took from "Peter Pan" is to neither stop believing in your ability to fly nor to forget how to land. Embracing life’s inevitable changes and allowing both the past and present to merge in your heart will clear space in your life to have a real, magnificent adventure.
