All His First Teeth

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the preoccupation by J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan's teeth in his novel "Peter Pan" which is based on an earlier story about Peter Pan provided in the work "The Little White Bird" in which Peter is most painstakingly described as a very young child, just seven days old and lives among the fairies and birds in Kensington Gardens, in the center of London. It looks at how in "Peter Pan" there is a preoccupation with Peter's teeth and how they are mentioned five times in the novel and how three of those bring up the fact that they are all his first teeth. It evaluates why it is relevant that he still has his first teeth and how there are three important elements to Peter's teeth. It analyzes how that he does in fact have teeth now and not in Kensington Gardens, indicates a transitional period between the two works. Secondly, that he still has his first teeth indicates how young he still is. Thirdly, that he has not had any knocked out indicates what a brave and talented boy is Peter.

From the Paper:

"In Kensington Gardens, Peter is just a baby. He cannot even fly, for he has lost his faith. (It is faith, according to Barrie, that gives a bird the power to fly. Once Peter realizes he is no longer a bird, he looses the ability to fly.) There is much more talk of death and transition in The Little White Bird, and Peter buries the children that sneak into the Gardens and die, guiding their souls as far as he can. Some have speculated that Peter himself dies, and it is this death that enables him to transcend his limitations and go to Neverland. Regardless of that detail, it is evident that between his time in Kensington Gardens and his time in Neverland, the boy who wouldn't grow up did actually grow just a little: he got old enough to have his first teeth. That suggestion of change is enough to cast any number of shadows across the narrative of Peter Pan. "

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