Innocence is blindness. To be innocent is to be unaware of important parts of a situation. When someone is innocent to a problematic situation or crisis, they do not have enough knowledge to form an opinion that could help find a solution. As a result, that person becomes problematic if they attempt to help find a solution. People are always biased to the knowledge they have, whether it is true or false, a lot or a little. When innocent people look to solve a problem, they are biased to their innocence, which often causes more harm than good. In The Quiet American, by Graham Greene, Alden Pyle is an innocent, and therefore problematic, character. The novel is set in 1950s Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Pyle is representative of the American …show more content…
Trouin and Fowler dive over a village as Trouin drops sampan bombs, killing not only communist supporters but also a multitude of innocent villagers. Fowler narrates that after the raid was finished, the two of them “didn’t even wait to see [their] victims struggling to survive, but climbed and made for home” (Greene 142). Trouin later explains to Fowler that he feels sorry for all of the victims of the raids, but unlike those similar to Pyle and General Thé, he would rather be aware of the destruction he is causing. He explains, “What I detest is napalm bombing. From 3,000 feet, in safety…You see the forest catching fire. God knows what you would see from the ground. The poor devils are burnt alive, the flames go over them like water…We are fighting all of [the government’s] wars, but [they] leave us the guilt…But we are professionals: we have to go on fighting till the politicians tell us to stop” (Greene 143-144). He explains that even though he feels guilty, and wants to recognize the devastation and destruction he is causing, he has no choice but to be blind. If Trouin took this destruction to heart and let his emotions overcome him, he would not be able to drop the bombs and follow his orders. He and the other soldiers and pilots have to be able to walk away from the destruction in order to do their job and complete the task. …show more content…
It is necessary to justify the means of achieving their goal. Because they believe that it is their duty to stop the communist forces in Vietnam, they believe that it is okay to take any actions necessary to do so. The destruction is justified because they believe that they are “helping” the Vietnamese people, even though the number of deaths does not determine who wins the war. They cause excess damage that outweighs the “good” they are doing. They are trying to help Vietnam, but at the same time, they cannot recognize the destruction they are bringing to the nation. They believe that they are not causing any serious harm because they are different in their cause. That is what American exceptionalism encompasses. Pyle and those like him want to be the ones who save Vietnam: the heroes. They choose to ignore the costs in the hopes that they will benefit the nation in the end. As long as their forces eliminate communism and all traces of it, they will believe that have succeeded, despite the harm they caused along the
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Innocence is something that can only be lost once. Within both The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley there are various characters that lose their innocence in very dramatic ways. A character can lose their innocence due to the death of someone else. They can also lose their innocence by just being looked at from a different perspective by others, this can be seen through the characters Bernard and Rachel. ADD ANOTHER TOPIC Someone who has lost their innocence changes their personality and perspective on life, which results in them acting in situations differently than they would before.
In conclusion, America’s involvement in the Vietnam War was the right course to take we showed the world we will not stand for communism and will fight for what we believe. The Vietnam War stopped the domino theory and even more spread of communism, and show America’s war tactics should be changed. US may of lost the war but still sent a message to the
Innocence is something that people lose as they grow older from childhood into adolescence and then into adulthood and get more exposed to new things as they grow up. Innocence is important in the novel because it was the one thing that Holden was trying to hold on to by trying to save another person’s innocence but is also trying to lose his own. There are situations where there would be a loss of innocence and would influence Holden because he is transitioning from different stages of his life. In a coming of age story, losing innocence is a sign of growing up and change. This is seen through characters that have effected Holden in a way, just like how Allie’s death showed him the harsh reality of life, and symbols like the record he
Holden’s view of life is that it can be very cruel and unfair. The origin of this thinking is from his younger brother Allie. He feels guilty that he is essentially wasting his life away, while Allie died so very young of Leukemia. This is a huge part of his entire journey. Holden always describes Allie as a very smart and kind person that he looked up to, which is why he feels life is so cruel.
Howard Zinn says it best when he writes that “from 1964 to 1972, the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the history of the world made a maximum military effort, with everything short of atomic bombs, to defeat a nationalist revolutionary movement in a tiny peasant country – and failed” (Zinn, 460). Zinn does not mince words when expressing his thoughts about the Vietnam War, because as Zinn says, Vietnam was basically a modern portrayal of David vs. Goliath. One could even go as far as to say that Vietnam was in essence a case of mass genocide in Vietnam. Thousands and thousands of Vietnamese and America soldiers were killed along with thousands upon thousands of innocent, Vietnamese citizens. War is an infectious disease and the Vietnam War is a perfect example of how deadly of a disease war can be. Everybody involved in the Vietnam War was affected, whether it was Vietnamese citizens, Vietnamese soldiers, American soldiers, or even American citizens back home. The disease that was the Vietnam War infected the hearts and minds of two countries half way across the world from each other.
It is often said that loss of innocence is an essential part of the process of growing up. Usually, it is a personal experience, happening at unique rates for every individual; however, time and time again a case occurs where this change is experienced collectively. Timothy Findley’s novel, The Wars, tells the story of such an occurrence. The reader witnesses the horrors of the First World War through the eyes of Robert Ross, a young man who enlists in the army to escape a troubled home life. Along with several companions he meets during his tour of duty, Robert is subjected to a sequence of events that cause them all to realize that the world is a much uglier place than they had known it to be. Following his first kill in the trenches and
Innocence. What is Innocence? According to the Cambridge Dictionaries, innocence holds multiple definitions from being proven not guilty to a lack of knowledge or understanding. Although the protagonist of A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, has seemingly lost his innocence to the war, he has remained innocent in the eyes of both morality and the constitution of his country throughout his memoir. Beah’s memoir lays out his life in Sierra Leone, his life during the war before his was a soldier, while he was a soldier, and his rehabilitation.
Innocence to many people can be defined as someone who has no guilt or shame and who is pure and uncorrupt. At times, this childhood like manner is loss for an abundance of reasons one can not control, whether it is because of a pain experienced off a struggle, or simply because one grows old and just experiences life with all its life changing moments. In my opinion, innocence is something that should be cherished as long as possible. Scars are sometimes left, imprinted deep into our skin, changing a person for good. In the book All Quiet in the Western Front, this could clearly be seen throughout the whole story about how these characters, Paul and his friends, go through many challenges that they did not expect,
The Vietnam conflict has been known for being the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particular wanted and for people who did not seem especial grateful.
Innocence is often a word used to describe children, they are pure because they have not yet become exposed to corruption. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah illustrates what happens when innocence has been seized from a young child. When rebels attack Beah’s village, he is forced on a life altering journey. Beah involuntarily transformed from an innocent adolescent into a rebel soldier. He needed a lot of guidance and correction to reconstruct his virtue. The conflict of the Civil War shaped Beah’s character.
Innocence is what makes a child a child. Innocence is the reason for a joyous childhood for children. However, Innocence can be seized away just instantaneously. Ishmael Beah's Innocence was snatched away when he became a child soldier in the Sierra Leone war. In A long way gone, Beah embodies the loss of Innocence by sharing his inhumane actions.
Whether you’re five or fifty, you will always have innocence somewhere inside of you. Everyone is innocent in some respect, whether it be from lack of experience or just not knowing something. The main character in my book displays his innocence rarely and randomly. He is often too worried about everyone else to notice his own innocence. In the book, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden displays rare instances of innocence such as worrying about his growing body, running away, and petty fights.
I think we never had innocence as a country. From the way that we came here and got this land to how we as a society built this country. It was never innocent. Sure we try to help the world as best we can but overall in the past few years the more we "help" the more we destroy. We shouldn't be in Afghanistan or Iraq, we are only making China stronger by letting business control the economy, America thinks that we have to help the world because in the sixties we had the economy to do so. Today, however, we don't so I don't understand
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton is a book that gave the word “love” many other meanings, such as impossible, meaningless and incomplete. There were many unbearable obstacles that Countess Ellen Olenska, one of the main characters, had to face because of love. She was treated badly by many people and always longed for love but never obtained it. With everyone cursing her, betraying her and hurting her, there was one person who was always there for her. Newland Archer wasn’t only sympathetic towards her; he also began to fall in love with her. The love she always wanted. He was the man who truly cared for her and always helped her make decisions. Out of all the selfish people in New York who