James Matthew Barrie captures the universal fear of aging and death in his famous literary work, Peter Pan . In this story of adventure and fantastical creatures we meet an interesting character foil. This character foil is Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Peter Pan is the little boy who refuses to grow up. Captain Hook grew up and is a pirate. The two battle it out in a never ending war. Peter is the innocent child in us all and he is our childhood memories of adventure and play. Captain Hook has become an adult and with this adulthood comes unwanted worries and baggage. Through Captain Hook's fear of the alligator that swallowed the alarm clock, we can sense the adult fear of time. Our lives are very demanding; work, money, expenses, children, and everyday stress. Captain Hook fears time also because time takes a toll on us all. We all must die sometime. However Hook refuses to embrace time, age, and death and this is why he avoids the alligator. James Matthew Barrie also captures the universal conflict between children and adults. Adults forget what it is like to be a child. Adults have ventured through that threshold of maturity and have far too many other worries. A child, however, views the world through immature and innocent eyes. Their lives revolve around adventure, their peers, their dreams, and their feelings. A child's innocence betrays them easier than the innocence of an adult. A child cannot fathom the idea of money and the requirements to obtain currency. As to where an adult knows exactly how hard and how long it took for him/her to make. This also relates back to the battle between Peter Pan and his Lost Boys against Captain Hook and his Pirates. James Matthew Barrie illustrates many everyday issues in our society with his characters and his literary genius through the book, Peter Pan.