What is the point of view in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan?

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The point of view of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan is an interesting combination of omniscient third-person narration and first-person narration. Though the narrator uses the pronoun of "I' often, many descriptions of events, characters, settings, and other elements of the novel are presented with a distant and all-knowing tone that rings of omniscient narration. As well, despite the use of this personal pronoun that suggests first person narration, the identity of the narrator is not revealed, which is also typical of omniscient narration.

This unique blend of narrative styles allows the storytelling narrator to discuss everything that happens in a confident and all-encompassing manner while also reacting to various moments alongside the characters in the novel. In this way, the narrator enjoys a personal connection to events while also being in a position to know more than anyone else in the book.

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The point of view of the novel is that of a third-person omniscient narrator. This means that the narrator is not a participant in the action of the story (which would make them a first-person narrator), but he or she is omniscient. This means that the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters and can report on them to us. Early on, the narrator says that, " . . . Wendy knew that she must grow up." Soon thereafter, Mrs. Darling's mind is described as being "like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more . . ." Moreover, the narrator also describes Mr. Darling's love for his wife.

Therefore, we can see how the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of many characters, which means that he or she is not a third-person omniscient narrator, who knows the thoughts and feelings of only one character, or an objective narrator, who does not know the thoughts and feelings of any characters but can only report on what can be observed.

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The point of view in J.M. Barrie's literary classic Peter Pan is that of the unnamed narrator. Peter Pan is told entirely in the third-person, a conventional story-telling style that is distinct from the epistolary and first-person styles of writing, the latter being particularly common. While it is a story told in the third-person by an omniscient narrator, Barrie's style is to make the narrator more than just an unseen observer; on the contrary, the narrator in Peter Pan is pretty much an integral part of the story, commenting on every aspect of the characters' personalities and idiosyncrasies, including those of the family pet, a large canine that assumes the role of "nurse" to the Darling children. Barrie treats this pet, Nana, as a veritable member of the family, as many pets are in real life. He goes further, however, in ascribing to this large animal the attributes of an actual childcare provider. Describing Nana's role in the Darling household, Barrie notes of this member of the family:

"She had always thought children important, however, and the Darlings had become acquainted with her in Kensington Gardens, where she spent most of her spare time peeping into perambulators, and was much hated by careless nursemaids, whom she followed to their homes and complained of to their mistresses."

While the point of view in Peter Pan is that of the narrator, the perspectives do change accordingly, as the story shifts from the family's home, during which time the parents represent the dominant presence and perspective, to that of Wendy, oldest child among the Darling's three children. Wendy's relationship to Peter, of course, provides the crux of the story, and the interaction between the two provides the most poignant of passages as this young girl and her two brother, John and Michael, travel to Neverland and meet the Lost Boys. In any event, the point of view in Peter Pan is that of the narrator.

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