Thursday, September 27, 2012

Peter Pan Character Sketch

So in case you hadn't noticed... I've been on a Peter Pan kick lately. And by "lately," I mean the last eighteen years of my life. If my life was a book, Peter Pan would be a motif.

I must remember that when I write my memoir.

ANYWAYS.

I wrote this a while back and thought some of you out there in the Bloggerverse might find it entertaining. In Creative Writing last year we got outlines for writing character sketches, and one night I just felt like filling one out for Peter. Some of it is J.M. Barrie canon material and some of it is purely my imagination. I think it's kind of witty in places, if I do say so myself, so here it is.


Name: Peter Pan
Birthplace: London, England
Gender: Male
Appearance: Red-gold hair, green eyes, about 5’1”, skinny, still has all baby teeth, clothes made out of leaves, thin lips, freckles, barefoot, usually semi-dirty
Self image: Simply the greatest thing ever to grace the universe
Age: At least one year older than the oldest child present. (But for real, nearly thirteen. He doesn’t know that though.)
Health: Pristine
Addictions: Adventure and general mischief
Siblings: A nameless little brother, for whom he feels only contempt and a twinge of jealousy (although he’d never admit to that part)
Close Relationships: Tinker Bell, whom he often takes for granted, but actually cares for quite deeply; the Lost Boys, whom he sees as his disciples, of a sort; Hook—he values their rivalry and probably wouldn’t know what to do with himself without him.
Memory of father: Talking about what he was to be when he became a man.
Memory of mother: Lullabies
First love: Tinker Bell. He’s half in love with her but he’ll never know it, being twelve. He would answer that girls don’t have as much fun as boys. Too clean.
Current Home: The Neverland—second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning. Specifically, his hideout under a hollow tree (with the Lost Boys… but naturally it’s really all his). His own quarters w/in the hideout are enclosed by a red curtain and contain a hammock, a variety of stolen pirate swords and treasures, a niche in the wall for Tinker Bell, and several other treasures. 
Ideal home: Why, his current one, of course. If it weren’t, he’d move to his ideal one.
First job: Jobs are for grown-ups.
First memory: His first laugh as an infant (or so he claims. But it’s Peter, so who really knows?)
Worst memory: When Tink died.
Most haunting memory: Nothing haunts Peter Pan. He’s far too forgetful for that.
Favorite music: His pipes.
Least favorite music: Anything that’s not his pipes (unless, of course, he’s playing the instrument, in which place it is again his favorite).
Favorite/least favorite books: Books are for grownups.
Favorite activity: Flying, fighting Hook, taunting Hook, narrowly escaping Hook…
Least favorite activity: Anything boring or grownupish
Recurring dream/nightmare: Who knows? You’ll never get him to admit he even sleeps, much less dreams.
Areas of expertise: In his mind, everything there ever was ever. But honestly, he can fly. And for a kid he’s a sword-fighting prodigy. He would also like me to mention that he’s never lost at hide-and-go-seek.
Knowledge wished: Absolutely nothing. He thinks he knows everything.
Deepest fulfilled desire: Neverland. It’s his island, after all. 
Deepest unfulfilled desire: Honestly, he’s very static. The doesn’t want anything, and there’s nothing he would change. A little boy’s “deep” desires change so randomly day to day that there’s no way to pin one down for Peter.
Prized possession: Neverland. It’s his island, after all. 
Jealous of: No one. Or everyone. Depends on his mood.
Proud of: Himself. His cleverness. His many abilities. His extraordinariness. His ability to fight pirates at age twelve. His shadow. Need I go on?
Most adventurous travel: When you live in Neverland, travel no longer seems very adventurous. Quite the opposite, really. 
Biggest current disappointment: Disappointment is for grownups.
Reason for living: It’s an awfully big adventure.
Possible reason for dying: It’s an awfully big adventure.



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