Peter Pan

Character Guide

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Peter Pan

A mysterious boy who never grows up, who flies into the Darling nursery to retrieve his shadow and offers to take the children to the Neverland.

Wendy Darling

The eldest Darling child, who loves stories and becomes a mother-figure to Peter and the lost boys after flying away with them.

John Darling (Red-handed Jack (as pirate name he considers))

Wendy's brother, practical-minded and fond of pretending to be brave; joins the flight to the Neverland.

Michael Darling (Blackbeard Joe (as pirate name he considers))

The youngest Darling child, small and impressionable, who is the last to stop believing in fairies.

Mr. Darling

The children's father, a proud man concerned with respectability and money, who chains up Nana in a fit of anger.

Mrs. Darling

The children's loving, romantic-minded mother who first glimpses Peter and worries over her children's minds and dreams.

Nana

The Darling family's dog, who serves as the children's devoted nurse.

Tinker Bell (Tink)

A small, quick-tempered fairy who accompanies Peter and shows both loyalty and jealousy toward Wendy.

Captain Hook

The fearsome, elegant captain of the pirate ship Jolly Roger, marked by an iron hook in place of one hand and a deep hatred of Peter Pan.

Smee

Hook's mild-mannered, oddly likable bo'sun, notable for wiping his spectacles rather than his weapon after violence.

Tootles

One of the lost boys, gentle and unlucky, often missing the big adventures.

Slightly

One of the lost boys, prone to telling long, self-important stories.

Nibs

One of the lost boys, part of Peter's band on the island.

Tiger Lily

Daughter of the redskin chief, captured by pirates and rescued in the Mermaids' Lagoon.

Glossary

Neverland

The magical island where lost boys, pirates, fairies, and 'redskins' live, and where children go in their imaginative play and dreams.

Redskins

The book's period-typical (now outdated and offensive) term for the Native American tribe living on the island, led by Tiger Lily's father.

Lost boys

Children who fell out of their prams and were never claimed, who live on the island under Peter's leadership.

Jolly Roger

The name of Captain Hook's pirate ship, also historically a common term for a pirate flag.

Marooners' Rock

A rock in the Mermaids' Lagoon that floods at high tide, used as a place of peril in the story.

Walk the plank

A pirate punishment/execution method where a captive is forced to walk off a plank into the sea.

Bo'sun

Boatswain; a ship's officer in charge of equipment and crew, the role held by Smee.

Bully (as address)

An old-fashioned term of hearty address meaning something like 'good fellow' or 'friend,' used by Hook.

Bracket/coracle imagery ('beaching their coracles')

A coracle is a small round boat; the phrase is used figuratively for children's imaginative journeys 'landing' from play.

Ruff

A stiff frilled collar, referenced as part of Hook's antiquated pirate-captain attire.

Tick tick (the crocodile's clock)

A clock swallowed by the crocodile that pursues Hook, whose ticking warns him of its approach before it can catch him.

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