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
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