Innocence

“The knowledge that makes us cherish innocence makes innocence unattainable,” Irving Howe. With knowledge of the world innocence is lost, this can be seen in several literary works including these coming of age stories; The Grave by Katherine Anne Porter, The Intruder by Andre Dubus and Where Have You Gone Charming Billy by Tim O’Brien. All of which have a similar lesson that the authors reveal through selective details that enhances the naïveté of characters which consequently is left behind in…

forget about the past. I believe that this opportunity presents itself as Tess’s quest for innocence. As stated on pg. 117, “Was once lost always lost really true of chastity? she would ask herself. She might prove it false if she could veil bygones. The recuperative power which pervaded organic nature was surely not denied to maidenhood alone.” Tess believes that there is hope in retrieving her innocence despite the fact that it has been taken away from her. I think that after the events…

The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld. They created the Innocence Project to help wrongfully accused people get out of jail. They looked at cases where people were wrongfully incarcerated and through DNA, try to help them regain their freedom that they deserve. Their mission statement is “to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment”. Since the Innocence…

turbulent stages of adolescence. In many books childhood is shown as a symbol of pure innocence. While in adolescence that innocence turns to curiosity as one starts to learn more about the world around them and the truth it bears. In Lord of the flies childhood is indeed show as a sign or symbol of innocence, but only in the beginning. As the story progresses the kids on the island start to lose that childhood innocence. When piggy points out that they have set a part of the island on fire all…

refuses to let go of his childhood innocence even though he is quickly approaching adulthood. Behrman also highlights Holden’s trip to the Museum of Natural History and his soliloquy about how the museum never changes, but the visitor does. This is interpreted as a revelation of Holden’s inability to adapt to these changes. The museum reveals…

struggles to face such as, racism, judgement, conflict with understanding society, etc. Those who don’t understand the concept of this because they don’t view the world with so much judgement, but instead with the hope of everyone being good. Our innocence can blind us from seeing how people really are. Many people, mainly children, are blind to what the world is really like. Jem Finch is one of them, for he believes the best in people. “I always thought that Maycomb folks were the best in…

important passage from innocence to experience, which is the experience of our own self being. The innocence represents childhood, the period of naivety, honesty and honor. Whereas, the experience qualifies through the journey of the human spirit, the disappointment that comes from it, the harsh reality of adulthood. “I am a child and thou a lamb.” (Book 5, 217) William Blake, portrays the dependency of a child with their parents, which can be an example of pure innocence, also…

haven’t done anything to hurt anyone. They try to help and make things better. While other people try to “kill” them. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper lee uses the symbol of the mockingbird to display to them that it’s a sin to kill innocence. The first mockingbird is Arthur Radley or Boo Radley. Boo Radley is seen as a terrible and scary person because of his history in Maycomb. All the things said about him were made up and still people think he’s evil. Scout says, “ Inside the…

look out for themselves. By not caring they start to do cruel things to each other and the pigs around the island causing them to lose their innocence. The boys lose their innocence because they hunt and kill pigs, they leave “gifts” for the Beast, and they hunt Ralph. With each pig they kill, Jack and his hunters come closer and closer to losing their innocence completely. At first, it is hard for Jack, or any of them, to hunt and kill a pig. Jack is the first one to get close to killing a…

Innocence for the Guilty When America was in the process of becoming a country, one of the main focuses of their new government was avoiding the tyranny that came with the system of ruling being that of a monarchy. The most notable way this new nation veered from the British path was by creating a democratic republic in which elected officials represented the will of the people. By no longer vesting power in one ruler who could serve until his death, other branches of the government had to be…