Peter Pan

J.M. Barrie (Penguin Classics)

Grades 4-6; Genre - Fantasy; GRL X; AR pts: not listed

A classic and original story of "the boy who would not grow up".

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. When describing Wendy’s mother, it talks about a kiss that Wendy will never get. What does the author mean by this?  It’s a foreshadow of the interchange that Wendy and Peter will have about a thimble and a kiss. Pg. 5
2. What was Mr. Darling’s career? Traded stocks and shares  pg 6
3. How did Mrs. Darling “tidy up her children’s minds?” Listen to them while they slept and tried to talk to them  8 & 10
4. Why was Mrs. Darling so concerned about the leaves in the nursery? She didn’t know how they got there, they weren’t from England pg. 11
5. Who was the first person to see Peter Pan in the Darling family? Darling  pg. 12

Chapter 2

1. What does “mea culpa, mea culpa” mean? It’s my fault, it’s my fault p. 15, 228 (explanatory notes)
2. What is a word you would use to describe Mr. Darling’s behavior after Wendy fetched his medicine, when he said he would take his medicine to show Michael how “to be a man”? Childish, immature, cowardly  19
3. Why was Mrs. Darling nervous to have Nana outside while they were away at their party? She barking her DANGER bark and was worried about the boy p. 21
4. Why were Mr. and Mrs. Darling upset and recalling the memories of “the Friday night”? their children were gone and they didn’t know if they’d see them again. P.21

Chapter 3

1. Why did Peter come into the nursery the night the Darlings left for the party? Did retrieve his shadow p. 23
2. After Wendy sewed on Peter’s shadow why did she go hide under her covers? Peter took the credit for Wendy’s cleverness of sewing on his shadow  26
3. Why did Peter give Wendy an acorn, when he “kissed” her after her offer to kiss him? He thought a kiss was giving something small away to someone because Wendy gave him a thimble instead of a kiss p.26
4. How did the Lost Boys come to be? As babies, they fell out of their perambulators (baby carriages) p. 29
5. Why did Peter want Wendy, John and Michael to go to Neverland with him? So Wendy could tell stories to the Lost Boys and himself p. 30

Chapter 4

1. When the children were flying with Peter to Neverland, how did he feed them? Take food away from birds that had food suitable for humans in their mouths  37
2. Why did Wendy urge her brothers to be nice to Peter as they flew to Neverland? She didn’t want Peter to leave them, she didn’t know the way home, they couldn’t pick up food as well, they bumped into things and Peter helped them out  38
3. On page 40, how is the sun a good example of personification? The sun was wanting them to reach Neverland before leaving them for the night; protecting; guiding with it’s rays; being a friend p.40
4. When they were on their tip toes in the air and looking down into Neverland, why were they familiar with the things they were seeing? They had pretended all of those things p.40
5. When Peter Pan spoke of Captain Hook, why were the children so afraid? Hook was Blackbeard’s first officer and he was the only man Long John Silver (Barbecue) in Treasure Island was scared of  43 & 228

Chapter 5

1. What happens to Neverland when Peter is away? It goes to sleep, things are quiet p.47
2. What are the four main groups that inhabit Neverland? Pirates, redskins, beasts, Lost Boys p. 47
3. Name three of the Lost Boys and one characteristic of each. Tootles-kind, melancholy, humblest of them all; Nibs-happy debonair; Slightly-whistles and most conceited; Curly-he’s a pickle and always in trouble; Twins-apologetic, vague and hard to describe since Peter didn’t know what twins were  48
4. Describe Mr. Smee. Genial, stabbed without offence, nonconformist p.49
5. Who is the leader of the redskins or Piccaninny tribe? Princess Tiger Lilly p.50,52
6. How does Hook know when the crocodile he fears is near? It swallowed a clock and it makes a ticking sound  54
7. How did the pirates discover the home of the Lost Boys? They sat on the hidden chimney and felt heat p.54
8. How did the Lost Boys defeat the pack of wolves running toward them? Looked between their legs and flatulated  55

Chapter 6

1. What saved Wendy when Tootles his her with the arrow? The button on the chain she put around her neck p.59
2. Why did Slightly leave and pretend to come back as a doctor when Peter told him to fetch a doctor? Peter believed make believe was true and if they broke down in their make believe he would rap them on their knuckles p. 61
3. When Peter wanted to build Wendy a house and she was lying on the ground with her eyes closed, how do you know she wasn’t still injured? She answered Peter in song, the kind of house she would like  62
4. How did Wendy feel about being the Lost Boys mother? Delighted  How do you know? She was shining when they asked p.65

Chapter 7

1. Describe 3 things about the tree house Wendy and her brothers stayed in with Peter and the Lost Boys. It had one large room; the colorful mushrooms used as stools; the Never tree grew every morning in the middle of the floor: they’d put a door on top to make a table and sawed it off after tea time to make room to play; bed tilted by the wall in the day and let down at 6:30: all of the boys slept in it except Michael and was tight they had to give a signal to turn over; enormous fireplace; had a private apartment for Tinker Bell  P.68
2. What did Wendy do to make sure her brothers wouldn’t forget their mother and father back home when they were living in Neverland?  Give them tests/examinations about them  p. 70

Chapter 8

1. Why did the mermaids treat Peter differently than Wendy and the boys?  They liked him p.73
2. After Hook swam aboard in the Mermaid’s Lagoon, why was he melancholy?  He found out Peter and the boys have a mother (Wendy) p.77
3. When Hook was trying to guess who the voice was, what game did he play with it to figure it out?  20 questions p.80
4. Why did Hook withdraw in the fight with Peter on the rock?  The crocodile was after him p.82
5. What made Peter become resolute in surviving his wounds and not drowning on the rock? He realized that dying would be an adventure in itself and he was ready to face that adventure  p.84

Chapter 9

1. Who tried to save Peter when he was wounded and trapped on the rock? The Never bird p.86
2. When they couldn’t understand each other’s language, how did Peter and the Never bird treat each other?  With insults, calling names, bad manners  p.84
3. After Peter was in the nest, why was the Never bird watching him closely? To see what Peter would do with her eggs p.86
4. What did Peter do with the Never bird’s eggs? Put them in Starkey’s hat and used it for a boat to float upon the water p.87

Chapter 10

1. Why did the redskins call Peter the Great White Father?  He saved Tiger Lilly from the pirates p.88
2. How did Tiger Lilly, Wendy and Tinkerbell feel about Peter? They loved him p.94
3. Give me two examples in which the author prepares the reader for the terrible events that are coming up in the story?  The author called the evening the Night of Nights; Wendy snapping, but wouldn’t have if she knew what was to happen before the night was out; none of them knew, perhaps it best not to know; their ignorance gave them one more glad hour; it was to be their last hour on the island; Peter stayed and sat on the stool and listened to the story;  p.89;93
4. Why does this author give us hints that something terrible is going to happen in the story?  To help us anticipate it; to build our excitement for the story  p.89;93

Chapter 11

1. What was Wendy’s story about in this chapter?  Wendy, Peter and John going to Neverland p.96
2. What made Peter upset about his own mother? He thought she would always leave the window open for him, but when he finally went home, it was barred and another little boy was sleeping in his bed p.98
3. How did the Lost Boys react when Wendy, John and Michael said they wanted to go home?  Advanced upon her threateningly, wanted to keep her prisoner p.99
4. How did Tinkerbell feel about Wendy going back home?  Happy, but she didn’t want to take her p. 99

Chapter 12

1. What time of day did Hook attack the redskins?  Just before dawn; when the sky was grey p.104
2. What strategy did Captain Hook use to win the battle?  He used the element of surprise  p.105
3. Who did Hook want to destroy? Peter Pan  p.105
4. Why did Hook have such a hatred for Peter?  Peter’s cockiness  p.106

Chapter 13

1. What was Slightly’s secret Hook discovered that betrayed Peter? No boy so big could use a tree wherein an average man could fit, so there was a hide out in a tree under the ground  p.109
2. What made Hook decide to stay and capture Peter, his enemy? Peter’s impertinent appearance as he slept; Peter’s personification of cockiness p.111
3. Who drank the poison Hook put in Peter’s medicine cup? Tink p.113
4. Why did Tink drink the poison? To save Peter; she loved him  p.113

Chapter 14

1. Hook was haunted by the action of “good form” from his school days. What was it? behaving properly p.117&231
2. Where on Hook’s ship were the children kept prisoner? In the hold   p.119
3. When Wendy was brought on deck from the hold and Hook spoke “as if he spoke in syrup”, how would his voice have sounded? Heavy, smooth, sweet  p.120
4. What stopped Hook immediately, when he was ready to make Wendy watch the boys walk the plank?  The tick-tock of the crocodile  p. 122
5. Who was really making the ticking sound?  Peter  p.122

Chapter 15

1. Why was Slightly counting during this chapter?  He was counting the number of people that died after Peter came aboard the ship and went through the process of saving the children p.126
2. Who is the “doodle-doo” on the ship killing people?  Peter  p.127
3. Who did Hook send in to fight the doodle-doo?  The children p.127
4. How did Peter at last defeat Hook?  Pushed him off the ship to the crocodile p.132

Chapter 16

1. What was the setting of the beginning of this chapter?  The children were aboard the pirate ship, wearing pirate clothes, acting like sailors  p.134
2. Where was the ship sailing? to the mainland; take the children home p.134
3. Why did Peter and Tink fly into the room while Mrs. Darling was playing the piano and Mr. Darling was falling asleep in the kennel?  To bar the window to prevent Wendy from returning home  p.139
4. How did the children finally convince Mrs. Darling they were really back home again and not a  dream? They ran into her arms   p.141

Chapter 17

1. Why did Mr. Darling treat the Lost Boys unfavorably when they wanted to come live with the Darlings? He felt they only asked for Mrs. Darling’s consent and not his  p.143
2. How often did Mrs. Darling allow Wendy to go to Neverland? For a week every year and do his spring cleaning  p.145
3. What happened to Peter’s spring cleaning when Wendy grew up?  Her daughter Jane would go and Jane’s daughter Margaret would go, etc.  p.153