Loss Of Innocence Essay (Grade Ten Advanced Placement, Non-Revised Version)
Often, we as humans tend to separate ourselves from stories and myths. If a story is fictitious, we immediately dismiss any possibility of relating and learning from it. However, some archetypal events and themes observed in literature may be far more real than we wish to admit. The loss of innocence is one such archetype. Despite having broad definition, the effects of the loss of innocence are narrow. Commonly, an innocent or ignorant individual experiences an event or realization causing a shift towards experience and knowledge. Archetypes are present in Roman and Greek myths, and are still used today, sometimes unknowingly, in stories, songs, and poems. This is likely because it is a reflection of events in our own lives, to a certain extent. The innocence of youth, prevalence of a life-changing event, and experience of adults are all observed in life and literature alike.
Before a shift towards the knowledge and understanding associated with experience, the loss of innocence archetype explains that a person is first unknowing, or ignorant. Innocence is often identified through a belief in, among other things, the reliability of appearances, stability & permanence, and immortality. Many literary figures concerning in the loss of innocence are youthful, although don’t unreservedly have to be so. Pandora, the first woman in Greek mythology, embodies many of these traits. In the myth Pandora’s Box, she is portrayed as being assuming and curious. Given a gift from each god, Pandora is created with the intent of her opening the vase also gifted to Epimitheus. Her decision to open the vase, as Zeus had anticipated, is reflective of her personality. She is asked not to do so, but goes against her husband’s request. Pandora believes that she will not be harmed opening the vase, life shall continue as before, and the vase is simply a container, nothing more. Primarily, this is because of her belief in immortality, stability & permanence, and the reliability of
Before a shift towards the knowledge and understanding associated with experience, the loss of innocence archetype explains that a person is first unknowing, or ignorant. Innocence is often identified through a belief in, among other things, the reliability of appearances, stability & permanence, and immortality. Many literary figures concerning in the loss of innocence are youthful, although don’t unreservedly have to be so. Pandora, the first woman in Greek mythology, embodies many of these traits. In the myth Pandora’s Box, she is portrayed as being assuming and curious. Given a gift from each god, Pandora is created with the intent of her opening the vase also gifted to Epimitheus. Her decision to open the vase, as Zeus had anticipated, is reflective of her personality. She is asked not to do so, but goes against her husband’s request. Pandora believes that she will not be harmed opening the vase, life shall continue as before, and the vase is simply a container, nothing more. Primarily, this is because of her belief in immortality, stability & permanence, and the reliability of