...‘The fascination of innocence lies in its fragility’. Milton’s epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’ and Jonson’s comedy play ‘Volpone’ both explore the nature of innocence – moreover, its fragility. Through their examination of justice, societal conventions, and their relationship with their audiences both writers challenge conceptions of innocence held at their time of writing. Arguably, relationships between the notion of innocence and audiences have changed over time, yet it is that which makes both works timeless pieces of longstanding fascination. The theme of justice – and subsequently the definition of ‘innocence’ – is a field explored by both Milton and Jonson. In ‘Paradise Lost’, Milton presents governance in the divine justice of God. The authority of God is asserted in his casting Satan out of Heaven – leaving him “full of anguish” and intent on “man’s destruction”, as a means to challenge the supremacy of God. Adam and Eve are presented as “innocent” at the start of Book Nine, yet to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and to fall from grace. Milton conveys the pair’s purity through the use of natural imagery: “the humid flowers” and the “sweetest scent and airs”. However, Milton also foreshadows the Fall by contrasting the natural innocence of the pre-lapsarian couple with ideas of modern religion – “sacred light”, “incense”, “earth’s great alter”. Suggesting that Adam and Eve were predestined to lose their “innocent” nature, Milton asserts his own ideas of religion: contrary...
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...Catcher in the Rye: FLE In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield expresses his love of innocence as he sees it in others, in numerous ways. He demonstrates this through the way he talks about others and the way he acts around them. We learn that Holden lost his own innocence at an early age after his “perverty” (193) encounter with Mr. Antolini. Because of this, he cherishes, and wants to protect innocence in others. This is really a reflection of his desire to be innocent himself. Allie is a paragon of innocence to Holden. I know he’s dead! Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I? Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them, for God’s sake–especially if they were a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all (171). Innocence is lost in adulthood. Since Allie never becomes an adult, he is for Holden the epitome of innocence, consequently, Holden’s love for him is very deep. Holden’s memories of Allie will always be of an innocent Allie. Holden says that he will not stop liking Allie just because he is dead. The other people he talks about are the adults that Holden sees around him. He does not like any of them because they are phony, and have lost their innocence. Mr. Spencer is one person in the book who definitely has lost his innocence, but Holden does not dislike him. Although Holden says he likes Mr. Spencer, he does imply that Mr. Spencer is a phony. There are other...
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...There are many ways someone can define innocence. When a person hears that word, most likely they will think about an individual who is pure or someone who has the mindset of a child. Also, they may believe a person is free from sin or free from legal guilt of a crime. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, explores this term by using different kinds of portrayals with its characters. Additionally, the book emphasizes the theme of the loss or destruction of innocence. Several characters in this novel who are considered innocent experience suffering. The main example of this concept is Tom Robinson. Tom is guiltless in the sense that he did not commit any crime. Another way that he is blameless was illustrated in the fact that he never intended to inflict damage on anyone. He is wrongly accused of rape, is found guilty, and is killed in prison because of it. This character’s journey is literally the death of innocence. A set of characters that lost their virtue during the book were Scout, Jem, and Dill....
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...One wrong decision can change you in an instant, we live in a world where faulty judgement can affect the lives of others around you. It is important that everyday we try and evaluate decisions that benefit us, as well others. Innocence is something we are born with and can be defined as freedom from sin, moral wrong, lack of purity or corruption. However, things that we possess can also be lost and or taken away including our innocence. A novel that demonstrates a vast loss of innocence is in Lord of the Flies written by William Goulding. Innocence in the novel is present in many of the characters but slowly begins to deteriorate over time due to the lack of maturity and discipline from their lives, which is replaced with violence and savagery....
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...kill her. They only kept Kate around for that long so she could look after the children on the bus. Kate feels responsible for the children and even offers them to take her life instead of Raymond’s. Kate is very clever. She comes up with a plan to get her and the children away from the hijackers. Kate takes orders from Miro and Artkin because she is afraid that if she disobeys her or the children will be harmed. Kate feels useless and feels like she can’t do anything to save her and children. On page 32 it says, “ Ordinarily, she hated to follow orders- at home or at school- but usually did. Another weakness. And here she was, complying again, carrying out the instructions they had given her.” Kate realizes that there are two types of innocence good and evil. Kate realizes that Miro thinks that killing all of those people is okay and she realizes that he is innocent, but not in a good way. Kate believes she is not brave. Kate says to herself, “ I’m not heroic, I’m not brave.” Kate has to summon all of her bravery to try and drive the bus away. Kate is very caring and is always putting the children first. She offers her own life for a child that she does not even know. She comforts the children when they wake up from a nightmare and she soothes them back to sleep. Kate is always putting others before herself and thinks of her safety second. I think that Kate is very brave even in the toughest of situations. Kate tries to win Miro over to make it harder for Miro to kill her. She...
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...English Why does Jem say to Miss Maudie, “I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like.” The outcome of the trial had a great affect on Jem. This is because his point of view on Maycomb completely switched after the jury gave their verdict, he realized that the town of Maycomb wasn’t as great as it appeared. When he saw his dad working as hard as he could to prove that Tom Robinson was innocent and there was clear evidence he was, they still put Tom in jail. The outcome of the court case made Jem realize no matter what happens in Maycomb, if you’re not white justice won’t be served. Jem’s quote represented his innocence as a child in the Maycomb community. He thought all the people in Maycomb were good and kind people until a key moment when the mob went to kill Tom at the courthouse, this soon brought to light what the reality is of the Maycomb people. Jem’s point of view on the community is now that they are no good and cruel to the blacks and treat them as if they had no rights, although Jem is still young and has a lot to learn but from his experience from the trial he picked up a greater knowledge by sitting in the colored section he basically had their point of view on life. They were invisible to the white people the floor below them and didn’t have that many seats which puts things into perspective about what life for the Robinson family and Tom has been and what it will be for...
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...The Catcher in the Rye: A Struggle to Preserve Innocence Adolescence is a crossroads for many, there is the natural gravitation toward adulthood as that is the next logical step in life, or for others, like Holden Caufield, it is means never growing up. William Faulkner once said ‘The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.’ This applies to Holden at his core. He is a teenager struggling to balance his need for preserving childhood innocence and his desire to become an adult. In contrast to all adults whom Holden sees as riddled with flaws and phoniness, he sees children as pure, gentle, innocent, and perfect – frozen in time. His need to become the protector of the innocent or the “catcher in the rye” is deeply rooted in the traumatic loss of his younger brother Allie, along with his own fears of changing and growing up. This is what drives him to protect Phoebe and Jane as he might feel that if he can protect two people he loves from the thing he fears most, he can also protect himself. Holden was traumatized by the death of his brother Allie, sensitizing him to the reality of unjust death and suffering. His family’s impersonal approach to Holden’s expression of grief may have been an important contributing factor in the way he deals with figures of threatened innocence. Jane’s interactions with Holden occur a summer apart from the death of his brother. Holden states that ‘She was the only one, outside [his] Kanal2 family, that [he]...
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...I looked at how they introduced and made sources credible, how facts were presented, and how counterarguments were established. Then I looked at how the authors used the information they were giving and how that helped create solid common ground and show differences. After doing that I looked at the thesis statements which guided me in crafting my own. All three of the examples helped me construct my common ground paper, but the “Lost Innocence” essay was one I thoroughly enjoyed. I love sports so this helped me relate with the topic and stay on track in hopes of soaking up valuable ideas that I could filter into my own paper, and that is exactly what I...
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...to mind? - They entered a cathedral. 6. Characterize the way the boy feels when he is about to shoot. Why does he feel this way? - He is nervous 7. Which statements are true and which are false? After the has his first kangaroo he feels – Disappointed and it has been easy 8. How well do you remember the words used in the text. - We remember them very well. 9. What is the boy’s state of mind p. 27 11. 14-15 - He doesn’t know what he’s doing. 10. Explain: “He watched while the man strolled among the cripples blessing each with his wand.” Is the man a Christ figure? - It means that he’s watching the man killing the kangaroos, that he crippled. 11. “Something inside the boy died” What? - His innocence. 12. “It’s going to be a bloody good day”. Comment - Bloody. They have killed a lot of kangaroos 13. “This one, this big one, the boy knew, would make him a man.” What does he mean? Does it make him a man? * If he shoots this big kangaroo, it would make him a man. 14. Describe the boy’s state of mind when he shoots the big kangaroo. - He is very intense, nervous, shaking and so on. 15. Which sentence does the man repeat five times? What is the...
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...The Reader Text type = Novel By = Bernhard Schlink Text about = Apocalyptic Germany giving way to the new or emergent post world was Germany. How do the crimes of four bears effect the children ? This is the central theme of Schlink’s “The Reader.” Idea 1 = Michael represents innocence and his choice of sexual relationship with an older women demonstrates both his journey into ‘adulthood’ and the interlocking of two generations. The oedipus complex is used to demonstrate Hanna and Michaels relationship. Hanna’s nickname for Michael was “kid” and for her the appeal of Michael was his innocence. Hanna is archetype for the horrors of the holocaust, the bears of guilt and strain of illiteracy. Michael wanted to gain experience and understanding and go from viewing himself as as a child, “I had run away like a child, instead of keeping control of the situation, as I thought I should. I wasn’t nine years old anymore, I was fifteen” to someone who had experience and knew their “ … way around women, and could be comfortable and open in a friendly way.” Michael’s journey to enlightenment and adulthood had a massive effect on him, “ It wasn't that I forgot Hanna. But at a certain point the memory of her stopped accompanying me wherever I went. She stayed behind, the way a city stays behind as a train pulls out of the station.” The metaphor ?? demonstrates how much of an impact one person can have on one’s life. Can I use “The Odyssey is the story of motion...
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...felony murder the defendant is most likely going to plead not guilty. But no matter what your role was in the crime, you are guilty. Throughout the entire book you have no idea whether Steve is innocent or guilty until the jury decides the verdict, and even after the decision is made, we still question the decision that was made. In one of Steve’s journal entry he refers to himself as a monster and explains how he doesn’t feel human (61-62). Many people refer to killers as monsters and if Steve was innocent he wouldn’t be referring to himself as a monster. Steve is also perturbed about the whole case (13) and tried to convince himself that he is innocent (60-61), if Steve was truly innocent he wouldn’t have to convince himself of his innocence. In addition, Steve hangs out with older men in their twenties, these men all are negative influences(52). You can clearly see in the way Steve views himself and the people he hangs around play a role in his guilt. But the evidence doesn’t end there. Osvaldo Cruz is a 14 year old who admits to participating in the robbery and claims to have only participated because he feared what King and Bobo may have done to him if he didn’t (87). Now, Steve Harmon is 16, and King and Bobo are in their twenties, being much older there is a possibility that Steve was threatened and he agreed to assist in the “getover”. Next, Steve was out playing basketball after the robbery and murder went down, when he heard two women talking about it on the street...
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...island, the more innocence they get taken from them. For instance, the first time that Jack tried to hunt, he stares at the pig holding a knife over him. Jack couldn't find it in himself to kill the pig which led to it get away. Later in the novel, Jack finds pleasure in the killing’s and even chants “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”(Golding 218). Jack chanting this is a symbol of his loss of innocence....
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...Loss of innocence is a strong topic in Lord of the Flies, the three topics that will be talked about in this essay includes, the boys acting without fear of punishment, they had to grow up and civilization helped them remain innocent and once they became savages they lost all remaining innocence. The loss of innocence is clearly shown in the boys because they are forced to grow up. They can’t play around any more but now they have to hunt and care for themselves. “We’ll make sure when we go hunting” (Golding, 35) This is when they realize they can't play around anymore or act like young boys but they have to grow up and start hunting and find resources so that they don’t die or get sick. Another time they lost...
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...Adrian Trejo Professor Crandall Monday-Thursday: 1:20-4:00PM 01/17/13 Essay#2- Lost in Translation Sophia Coppola’s, Lost In Translation presents a relationship, between two Americans who are married, but lack communication and inadequate attention from their spouses, while staying in Tokyo. Bob Harris is away from his family on a business trip, as he’s going through a mid-life crisis. Charlotte, a woman in her early twenties struggles to find a place in the world. She hoped a trip to Tokyo, with her husband would help conflicted feelings about her two-year-old marriage, her spirit, discovering a purpose and finding a career. These individuals meet and are instantly attracted to one another, because of parallel doubts about their life in contrasting perspectives. Magnetically drawn to one another, they inevitably communicate their problems in marriage, their fears, and insecurities of current circumstances. Bob and Charlotte are scapegoats staying in another country, as well as a foreign society. Their feelings of displacement, isolation and alienation during their stay in Japan, provide an exploration of complex human emotions, such as boredom and loneliness. Bob Harris is an aging movie star beyond his peak years, who is still famous enough to be recognized, but not to be asked to do any more movies. Now in his fifties, he traded his fast-paced Hollywood lifestyle for a wife and family. Harris thinks that he’ll only be in Tokyo for a few days, but his stay...
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...considering transferring operations of the pizzeria to a family member. Mario has elected to supervise the business decisions made by the family member with regard to reductions in customer wait times and lost sales. Three scenarios are simulated: adjusting the number of tables allocated for two and four guests as well as adjustments to wait and kitchen staff, choosing to implement new technologies, and a choice between adding seating space or a takeout option. If Mario sees that the decisions made by the family member are sound, then he will hand over operations of the pizzeria at the end of two months. Because measurement in service industries is subjective (Pati & Reis, 2007), progress will be measured in lost sales, lost customers, and daily operating costs. Guests typically enter the restaurant in parties of two to four. The decision was made to set the number of tables designated for parties of two to 8, leaving the remaining 10 tables for parties of four. No change was made to the numbers of wait or kitchen staff. Increasing these numbers would have increased daily operating costs, making any possible losses more difficult to bear financially. Decreasing these numbers may have placed extra burden on the staff members, making efficiency difficult. While some sales were lost (see fig. 1), the losses were kept at a minimum. Based on the results indicated in the simulation, Mario was pleased with the numbers, and elected not to make any changes. Fig. 1: In the...
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