Loss of innocence can be described as the psychological transformation in which an individual is exposed in a culture of agony and evil. The term “innocence” can also be interpreted as ignorance, or being sheltered from the reality of one's world. In some cases, innocence may be lost in one's life before it is meant to be lost; for example, a child losing their parents at a young age. The collection of short stories, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Packer, discusses, at length, how people can lose their innocence in everyday scenarios and not just extreme situations. Packer uses vivid language to astonish her readers with unexpected twists and turns in her stories, as she takes her readers into the lives of characters who are unsure of where
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The narrator says, “Even though she never would have stolen anything in America, stealing in Japan gave Dina the same giddy, weightlessness that cursing in another language did [...] She stole spaghetti, rice, fruit” (Packer 202). Through this quote the reader can witness that Dina gradually becomes disillusioned by the world around her and the struggle she undergoes. Although Dina “would have never stole anything in America,” she loses her innocence and is forced to steal food and take the easy way around getting a job in order to live. Individuals will lose their innocence and do anything in order to survival even if it means to break their moral codes. Furthermore, another example in where Dina loses her innocence is when the narrator says, “He watched her undress and felt her skin only after she’d taken everything off” (Packer 108). Here, it is evident that Dina loses her innocence because she sells her body in exchange for supervisions. After being without a job or having money for so long, Dina chooses to sell her body to a Japanese businessman in exchange for money to live. …show more content…
and M.Ed. from Harvard, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin argues how children are now currently losing their innocence at a young age and once one's innocence is lost it can never be regained. This idea is evident through the following quote: “They can never go home to childhood again. They can never return to that simpler, sheltered, and supportive time” (Pickhardt 1). Pickhardt says to not rush into growing up. He is pointing out how one's childhood is crucial in one's developmental stages. Once one loses their innocence life gets more complicated because one is exposed to the real world, the not so the perfect world they have pictured in their head. When Pickhardt says one cannot “return to the simpler” times this implicates that when someone loses their innocence they do not get to live an easy, worry-free life they used to live before losing their innocence. Additionally, when Pickhardt thinks of loss of innocence he says, “These words capture the irredeemable loss that people must endure and the daunting challenge that they must brave as they depart from childhood and face the great unknowns of growing up”
The narrator says, “Even though she never would have stolen anything in America, stealing in Japan gave Dina the same giddy, weightlessness that cursing in another language did [...] She stole spaghetti, rice, fruit” (Packer 202). Through this quote the reader can witness that Dina gradually becomes disillusioned by the world around her and the struggle she undergoes. Although Dina “would have never stole anything in America,” she loses her innocence and is forced to steal food and take the easy way around getting a job in order to live. Individuals will lose their innocence and do anything in order to survival even if it means to break their moral codes. Furthermore, another example in where Dina loses her innocence is when the narrator says, “He watched her undress and felt her skin only after she’d taken everything off” (Packer 108). Here, it is evident that Dina loses her innocence because she sells her body in exchange for supervisions. After being without a job or having money for so long, Dina chooses to sell her body to a Japanese businessman in exchange for money to live. …show more content…
and M.Ed. from Harvard, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin argues how children are now currently losing their innocence at a young age and once one's innocence is lost it can never be regained. This idea is evident through the following quote: “They can never go home to childhood again. They can never return to that simpler, sheltered, and supportive time” (Pickhardt 1). Pickhardt says to not rush into growing up. He is pointing out how one's childhood is crucial in one's developmental stages. Once one loses their innocence life gets more complicated because one is exposed to the real world, the not so the perfect world they have pictured in their head. When Pickhardt says one cannot “return to the simpler” times this implicates that when someone loses their innocence they do not get to live an easy, worry-free life they used to live before losing their innocence. Additionally, when Pickhardt thinks of loss of innocence he says, “These words capture the irredeemable loss that people must endure and the daunting challenge that they must brave as they depart from childhood and face the great unknowns of growing up”