Determining the constituents of reality is arguable the genesis of a prevailing acquiescence within society, and this manifests largely as either blind conformity or wistful ignorance. J.M Barrie and The Wachowski Brothers, authors of Peter Pan and The Matrix, respectively, consider how the obvious dichotomy between reality and fantasy in the two texts acts as a metaphor for society and their ability to choose preferential ignorance in times of strife. This idea is extended to incorporate the distinction between one’s enemy and one’s self and how the line between each identity is permeable.
Both Barrie and the Wachowski brothers employ extended metaphors to elucidate human behaviours in certain situations. In Peter Pan, Barrie considers Neverland …show more content…
Barrie employs the characterisation of Peter to facilitate the novel acting as an allegory of childhood. Pan epitomises childhood in the way he will forever remain a child, but also in his endearingly realistic portrayal. He is selfish, impulsive, and rude and is only capable of deep emotion for a short period of time. It is Pan’s invariable character that depicts the journey all children must take in order to grow up. In this instance, Pan takes children on their last adventure in Neverland before they must return back to reality and the responsibilities that are associated with this. This is supported in Chapter Seventeen when Peter returns after a long absence to find Wendy, “can’t fly,” anymore as she has completed the journey to adulthood, whereas her daughter, Jane, “rose with Peter,” to begin the journey her mother took before her and, “it will go on as long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.” This is the cyclic nature of childhood; it is fleeting and exciting, but eventually one must again acknowledge reality, and when this occurs, it will be time for the next participant. Awareness of reality is emphasised through the use of meta-reference from the author in the sense that it acts to break the fourth wall between the reader and the novel, drawing attention to the reader’s dependence upon the narrator and emphasising the ability to be jolted back into reality with a prompt. An example of this is in Chapter Nine when the narrator is describing interactions between Peter and a Never Bird, who cannot understand each other, to save Peter from drowning. It states that, although the author wishes that the novel was one in which man could talk to animals, “I wish for the
Both Barrie and the Wachowski brothers employ extended metaphors to elucidate human behaviours in certain situations. In Peter Pan, Barrie considers Neverland …show more content…
Barrie employs the characterisation of Peter to facilitate the novel acting as an allegory of childhood. Pan epitomises childhood in the way he will forever remain a child, but also in his endearingly realistic portrayal. He is selfish, impulsive, and rude and is only capable of deep emotion for a short period of time. It is Pan’s invariable character that depicts the journey all children must take in order to grow up. In this instance, Pan takes children on their last adventure in Neverland before they must return back to reality and the responsibilities that are associated with this. This is supported in Chapter Seventeen when Peter returns after a long absence to find Wendy, “can’t fly,” anymore as she has completed the journey to adulthood, whereas her daughter, Jane, “rose with Peter,” to begin the journey her mother took before her and, “it will go on as long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.” This is the cyclic nature of childhood; it is fleeting and exciting, but eventually one must again acknowledge reality, and when this occurs, it will be time for the next participant. Awareness of reality is emphasised through the use of meta-reference from the author in the sense that it acts to break the fourth wall between the reader and the novel, drawing attention to the reader’s dependence upon the narrator and emphasising the ability to be jolted back into reality with a prompt. An example of this is in Chapter Nine when the narrator is describing interactions between Peter and a Never Bird, who cannot understand each other, to save Peter from drowning. It states that, although the author wishes that the novel was one in which man could talk to animals, “I wish for the