Innocence...Forever Lost Essay - 1048 Words

A beautiful flower with delicate petals sits in a lush green jungle. As a violent storm with fierce winds surfaces on the horizon, the flower yields with each gust. Unable to withstand the torrential downpour and harsh winds, it loses its petals and snaps from the intense pressure. This exact thing happens to Mary Anne as â€Å"The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong† unfolds. Even though people have the capacity to endure great tragedy, suffering and violence, the sheer brutality of war permanently strips the innocence from Mary Anne and the devastation becomes engrained to her soul. The Vietnamese culture and the graphic scenes enliven and empower Mary Anne and as â€Å"she enters the wild, uncivilized jungle and becomes irrevocably enthralled by the†¦show more content†¦Each new discovery quickly sheds each individual layer as she submits to its force. Just like that delicate flower, Mary Anne arrived so young, fresh and beautiful and now part of her tries to withstan d the pounding Mark sees the changes in her. They are subtle at first; he even tries to encourage her to distance herself from it, all the way he does. You have to protect yourself from the storm if you want to be protected and Mark knows this. Mary Anne so naive and inexperienced in the world; she wants to embrace it and feel it all full force yielding to the strong winds and giving to its strength. Mark saw this as O’Brien writes about how serene her face becomes in time of action â€Å"He was proud, yes but also amazed. A different person, it seemed, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it† â€Å"For centuries we have seen casualties of war; soldiers who have had various physical injuries and scars that last a lifetime. Yet until the 20th century little was known about the emotional effects of war on soldiers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Tian 2009). Mary Anne was not a soldier, but is still exposed to all of the same dangers and violence as soldiers typically were in the Vi etnam War. The average age of an enlisted soldier in Vietnam was twenty something years old. Here is Mary Anne, a seventeen year old untrained girl, seeing the victims come in one after another. She bandages them up, notShow MoreRelatedCatcher in the Rye vs Frankenstein Novel Study Essay1304 Words   |  6 Pages In today’s world, innocence cannot be preserved forever. As humans age, they lose their innocence due to the corruption that exists in society. This is demonstrated in the two novels, Catcher in the Rye and Frankenstein. The two authors, J.D. Salinger and Mary Shelley prove this statement through their use of various literary devices. 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