Page "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" Paragraph 28

Critics have focused on the parallels between the life of E. T.

and Elliott, who is " alienated " by the loss of his father.

A. O.

Scott of The New York Times wrote that while E. T.

" is the more obvious and desperate foundling ", Elliott " suffers in his own way from the want of a home.

" E. T.

is the first and last letter of Elliott's name.

At the film's heart is the theme of growing up.

Critic Henry Sheehan described the film as a retelling of Peter Pan from the perspective of a Lost Boy ( Elliott ): E. T.

cannot survive physically on Earth, as Pan could not survive emotionally in Neverland ; government scientists take the place of Neverland ’ s pirates.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times similarly observed that the film " freely recycles elements from [...] Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz ".

Some critics have suggested that Spielberg's portrayal of suburbia is very dark, contrary to popular belief.

According to A. O.

Scott, " The suburban milieu, with its unsupervised children and unhappy parents, its broken toys and brand-name junk food, could have come out of a Raymond Carver story.

" Charles Taylor of Salon. com wrote, " Spielberg's movies, despite the way they're often characterized, are not Hollywood idealizations of families and the suburbs.

The homes here bear what the cultural critic Karal Ann Marling called ' the marks of hard use '.