At first, Wendy might not want to grow up, but she accepts the inevitably of it from an early age, unlike Peter. We know this because the narrator tells us:
All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can’t you remain like this forever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up.
Nevertheless, Wendy is pleased to go on the adventure to Neverland with Peter. However, she accepts and embraces the idea of returning home and becoming an adult. When she comes home, she goes back to Neverland every year for a time to tidy the place up but never stays. Eventually, she grows apart from Peter.
Wendy becomes the symbol, at least for a time, of the woman who cares for and protects the boys who don't want to give up being boys. The story shows that boys depend on someone more mature like Wendy to keep their lives carefree. The narrator tells us that Wendy is, in the end, pleased to assume an adult role:
But the years came and went without bringing the careless boy; and when they met again Wendy was a married woman, and Peter was no more to her than a little dust in the box in which she had kept her toys. Wendy was grown up. You need not be sorry for her. She was one of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end she grew up of her own free will a day quicker than other girls.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
How does Wendy feel about growing older? Cite at least two pieces of evidence from the text in your response.
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