Theme Of Innocence In Things Fall Apart

There is always depth when it comes to an innocent face. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Crucible by Arthur Miller all have characters that present innocence. Furthermore, this innocence is profound because it is a result of the social pressures put on these characters to behave in a certain way. Innocence is featured as a concern to a large extent in all works studied because the characters in the works are subjected to social obligations. In the novel The Things They Carried, innocence is featured as a concern to a large extent because Jimmy Cross has his innocence manipulated as a result of his role in the war. Jimmy Cross recounts the story of when he visited Martha after the war to O’Brien:

When Nwoye was reflecting his conflicting thoughts he thinks: “Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell…” Nwoye was thinking about how he preferred his mother’s stories to his father’s. However, his mindset says that he believes the masculine stories of his father are superior to those of his mother. Nwoye’s masculinity is not valued in society. Therefore, the innocence that surrounds him is due to his lack of understanding of why his nature is being subjected to pressure by his society. Innocence is featured as a concern in the novel because the social pressure put on Nwoye by society to behave in a certain manner. In emphasis, Achebe wrote this novel in response to the literature of the time that illustrated Africans as savages. Achebe shows the complexity of Igbo society by showing the intricate nature of society because of the pressures put on people in the

When Abigail feels pressured to give names or else suffer consequence she does: “I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” The strict rules of Puritan society does not allow individuality to thrive. Abigail decides to “confess” because she does not want to suffer the consequences of society. Abigail is seemingly innocent. However, she is one of the masterminds behind the hysteria of the Witch Trials. Innocence is featured as a concern in the Salem trials because Abigail Williams was seen as an innocent victim of witchcraft. On the other hand, she was able to use this to accuse others of witchcraft to further her own agendas. This questions the supposed innocence of members of society. Arthur Miller wrote the novel to criticize McCarthyism. Miller does this by connecting the fictionalized drama based on a real life situation to another situation,