The Beauty of Innocence

 Write a well-developed essay that argues your position on the extent of the importance of innocence.

"When I grow up, I want to become a doctor, when I grow up, I want to be a professional athlete, and when I grow up, I want to marry a billionaire! " These are often sayings of young children who have yet to know the hardships and reality of what life actual entails. What children don't know is that people have to work vigorously to become a doctor or professional athlete and it isn't that easy to find a billionaire that wants to marry you. They don't realize that they might not achieve their dream job because they they didn't study hard enough or because that path was simply not fit for them. Children are often too innocent to understand the awareness of the "adult" world; however, I believe innocence is a characteristic that should be valued with age but the loss of innocence is important as well because it is a symbol for growth.

   Although some may argue that innocence is a lack of knowledge, innocence serves as a . barrier for the hardships that follow the reality of the adult world. This idea is depicted in Elie Wiesel's book Night, where his innocence is taken away by the atrocities of concentration camps during the reign of Adolf Hitler in World War 2.  At a mere age of 15, Elie is forced to leave his home and move into a concentration camp where he sees Jews as well as himself being stripped of freedom and sent to work in slave labor conditions. He not only loses his faith in God but is unable to wrap his mind about the suffering he endures as his soul become engulfed in darkness and tribulation. Elie losses his innocence as he discoverers the cruel side of  the world that incorporates pain and hardship. Before he was forced into concentration camps, Elie was a young and innocent boy who was immersed in his faith and knew he had a purpose in life but the harsh loss of his innocence takes away everything he held dear to his heart. Eile Wiesel's memoir exemplifies that innocence is characteristic that allows for people to be protected from the negatives of the adult world because his life before the holocaust was safe and free from doubt, fear, and pain that was forced upon him during the holocaust.

  Furthermore, innocence can be an escape from hypocrisy and dishonesty that consumes the path of adulthood. Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist of the Catcher In The Rye, seeks to be the protector of innocence as he sees that the adult world is full of artificiality and materialism. He envisions this field of rye and a cliff with children playing full of joy and happiness while he wants to catch those children from falling off the cliff. Metaphorically meaning, Holden wished to save them from falling into a cruel reality of real world. He also sees the walls of his little sister school vandalized with a curse word that triggers him because he is so uncomfortable allowing young children being introduced to profanity. Through out the novel, Holden wants to hold onto innocence because he realizes it's the only things that prevents him from growing up and facing the obstacles of what adulthood holds.

   

   However in some cases, the loss of innocence can allow people to become more knowledgeable through the experiences of the growing up despite the negatives. In "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," Charlie, who begins his high school career with innocence is faced with new experiences that allows him to learn about the cruel world of drugs, sex, and alcohol. He falls into temptation and has to learn about wicked truth behind his childhood  but if it wasn't for the exposure of theses realities, Charlie would have never been able to meet his group of newfound friends and learn about relationships as well as love if he hadn't gone through the experiences and pain that he was faced with. His loss of innocence changed his life for the better as Charlie was a bookworm who had one "friend" who was his English teacher to becoming a person who is more aware and conscious of evil things around him. Although he was introduced to some sinful things, Charlies learns is able grow and change from his past.

 

   Like Elie Wiesel and Holden Caulfield, many people see the importance and beauty of innocence because it's the purity of innocence that allows people not worry about the hardship of life but to see life as this amazing gift filled with opportunities and a  purpose. However, we do need the essence of growing up because maturing and becoming knowledgeable of the realities of life can help us to learn from the past.