Loss of Innocence

Children have a reputation for being innocent and naive. This is mainly because their experiences with the world are few and sheltered. As the children grow up they are exposed to more and more of the unfiltered world. Some parents do everything they can to keep their children from seeing that world. That is because as they see more of the world they become less innocent. Normally adults are the only ones who have truly lost their innocence. Unfortunately, there are exceptions, as there are to every rule, and they are not good. Children who have lost their innocence have had horrible things happen. Elie Wiesel writes in the novella Night how he lost his innocence. Elie has suffered a loss of innocence because he is desensitized, he has lost

"We went from children who were afraid of gunshots to now children who were gunshots… Shooting became just like drinking a glass of water" (Barnett, 2012). Ishmael Beah, the main character and writer of the novel A Long Way Gone is a clear example of the loss of innocence that war causes. During the Sierra Leone’s civil war, Beah is recruited as a child soldier and eventually turned into a cold-blooded killer with no sign of naivety in his body. At a tender age, Beah is trained to kill, mutilate and terrify dozens of people, which causes him to be bared to a flood of disturbing scenes; transform into a murderer; loose all sense of emotion; and in time, lose his innocence. In the novel A Long Way Gone, the reader can view the multiple events

Characters lose their innocence throughout American literature. What exactly does “losing their innocence” mean? Losing one’s innocence can be seen as a character maturing. A character may lose his/her innocence in ways including the viewing of a traumatic event, especially one that will scar his/her life forever. Losing one’s innocence can also be caused by losing one’s trust in someone whom he/she once trusted, catching a glimpse into the “real world”, or performing an act of immorality. The recurring theme of loss of innocence, as seen throughout American literature and reality, can affect a person and the people around him/her both negatively and positively. As a result, the audience can see the character mature through losing hope of dreams, becoming an outcast of society, gaining a new perspective of ideas, or gaining confidence. Negative and positive effects falling onto characters as a result of a loss of innocence can be found in works such as The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Hunger Games; this theme can also be seen in real life through the effects of children exposed to violent video games.

The loss of innocence is first introduced in the novel, Fallen Angels by exposing Perry and his clique, negative experiences throughout their life in the Vietnam War (1967-1968). The novel is Interpreted in Perry's point of view of ^through terror in Nam. Perry struggles on accepting the reality of war while he continuously is exposed to violence through the losses of his beloved friends. Perry and his companions, Peewee, Lobel, Johnson, and Brunner are essential characters in the novel. They alter their perspective of life in living a gloomy existences out of their foundational home in the USA.

In the novels The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, childhood innocence in times of war is very evident in Rudy from The Book Thief, and Bruno from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Though childhood innocence can be endearing, in these books it leads to their death. With both Rudy and Bruno their innocence keeps them from understanding the war. Rudy risks his life, without knowing, to save Liesel and Bruno hails Hitler, with the understanding it is just a way to say goodbye. Not only do they not understand the war, they both maintain their innocence despite the war. Rudy idolizes somebody that during that time was unacceptable. Bruno befriends somebody, but doesn’t understand who he is and what his situation is. These books also

In A Separate Peace, John Knowles carries the theme of the inevitable loss of innocence throughout the entire novel. Several characters in the novel sustain both positive and negative changes, resulting from the change of the peaceful summer sessions at Devon to the reality of World War II. While some characters embrace their development through their loss of innocence, others are at war with themselves trying to preserve that innocence.

Loss of innocence occurs when a person first develops an awareness of the suffering, evil and injustice around them. In poignant bildungsroman To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” Finch, recounting her experience growing up in the segregated town of Maycomb. Through Scout, you learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of Tom Robinson; a black man unjustly accused of rape, and of the civil rights issues and prejudice which plagues the town of Maycomb. Throughout the novel, scout loses her innocence as she is harshly exposed to the reality of injustice and racism in Maycomb. Three significant events illustrate this fact. The first example occurs when Scout

     The theme of the loss of innocence covers the entire essence of the book. There are many cases in the story where people had lost their innocence of life and it was lost to them

When people experience it they tend to understand the world better and know right from wrong. Before this happens it’s hard for people to understand everything in our world. Not knowing how to react to difficult situations is before losing innocence. When it happens they’re able to know what’s wrong and what’s right. Realizing their actions affect other is when people have finally grown

I strongly believe that one of the main purposes of this book is for the author, Ishmael, to educate his audience on one of the negative impacts of war that strongly impact children, the loss of their innocence. He demonstrates this through his personal experiences and his loss. For example at the beginning of the book, Ishmael is living a normal life and is like any other kid, living an innocent life and never having been exposed to violence. This is evidenced on page 23 as Ishmael explains how he felt as the rebel attack took place in his town. He confessed “The sounds of the guns was so terrifying it confused everyone…….My

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.

When reflecting on one’s childhood, one either views it as a blissful time in their life, or a hellish society in which they suffered greatly. While both scenarios are very different from one another, it is arguable that both parties experienced a loss of innocence in this time frame.The loss of innocence is something which happens to everybody, sooner or later. Growing up in society, children are exposed to many different concepts. While these concepts play an important role in everyday life, some of them may end up destroying a child’s innocence. Dealing with other people and communicating properly play an essential role in everyday life, but people with malice on their agenda may end up destroying the innocence of others. Even something as simple as learning the countermeasures to deal with the malevolence of others causes a person to lose their innocence. In order to be successful in everyday life, it is necessary for one to confront the harsh reality of our world, which would destroy their innocence.

The innocence of a human drastically transforms when they are placed in a war. Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road shows the changing innocence of a man in war through the motif of consumption in the novel. This motif is seen consistently in the form of words such as eating and feeding. There are two clear perspectives shown from this, one that takes away innocence and one that gives or repairs innocence. Boyden uses the motif of consumption to display how the innocence of a person can be changed through war and the role culture plays on one’s innocence.

Soldiers lost their innocence the moment they stepped onto the battlefield. They become so numb to the horrors of the war, which no longer feel a sense of

The destruction of fantasy is also significant in that it shows Cross’ transition from boyhood into man hood. The primary difference between childhood and adulthood is the burden of responsibilities. At a certain point every young adult must submit to these or be a failure. This submission is a melancholy time as it marks the end of unbridled optimism and the beginning of pragmatism. For Cross, this change is especially melancholy because the catalyst for his change was the death of a loved one. Cross loss of innocence here is, however, not singular in the sense of the story. Cross’ loss of innocence is symbolic the loss of innocence that all of his soldiers must face. But even more so, it is symbolic of the lost