Readings and Versions of Peter Pan in the Discursive Perspective

Abstract

This article aims to present a practice of reading and writing in the discursive perspective, from versions of children’s and young adult’s literature and cinema, on reconstruction of stories. The theoretical basis supporting this reflection is Discourse Analysis (DA), anchored in the studies of Michel Pêcheux, in France, and Eni Puccinelli Orlandi, in Brazil. We started with the reading project Ler, contar e recontar (Reading, telling and retelling) in 2012, motivated by the concern about students presenting difficulties in writing and interpreting texts in all disciplines. The project’s purpose is to perform DA on literary and cinematographic works in activities that lead to the establishment of similarities and differences among such materials. We provided visibility to the effects of meaning produced in the passage from the book to films and to drawings, considering the different processes of constitution, formulation and circulation of each significant materiality. By an approach involving reading the book, watching movies and examining drawings, added by discussions on effects of meaning of each and among them, it was possible to build the final product: a new version for the Peter Pan story, which was brought to the current days. Such story was presented on a festive night to the school community, showing the effects of authorship. It is worth remembering that it is not possible to invent a recipe. Our project is unique and even if someone wants to copy it, i.e., use the same methodology, the results will be different, as the subjects will be different, just like the production conditions, the time, the teacher, the activities etc. The unique production conditions of the conceived activities and the specific chosen class are responsible for the particular result of any proposal.