Many individuals find it difficult to face the unsettling and perilous realities of life. This becomes even more challenging when the parental responsibility to protect a child from these realities is incorporated. Children are born into a world full of unanswered questions. Although their innocence makes them vulnerable at first, these inquiries are deliberately left unanswered to safeguard them from the terrifying truths of the unknown. In "M3gan is about how scary a tween girl can be," Alex Abad-Santos discusses the pressures and difficulties of protecting a child's innocence from the way the world works. Santos argues that withholding information about the brutality of life may prevent children from being stripped of their innocence too …show more content…
Santos reveals his awareness of life’s unpleasant reality through statements such as, “…they also know the cruelty that the world is capable of” (Abad-Santos, 2023), and “…who isn’t blind to how brutal the world can be…” (Abad-Santos, 2023). The use of the words "cruelty" and "brutal" assists in depicting reality in its rawest form. Parents often choose to idealize a life free of these indignities for the sake of their children. Rather than the harsh truth, sometimes a pleasant lie or no truth at all is necessary when easing a child into a world they do not yet fully understand. This perspective provides justification as to why parents may feel the need to preserve their child’s ignorance and limit the amount of information they receive. Santos suggests that in doing so, parents create a false sense of reality or offer an "optimistic world" (Abad-Santos, 2023) to their children. Here, the term "optimistic" reveals one’s innocence at a young age and provides support for the notion that withholding truths that contradict this ideal reality is beneficial in the long …show more content…
He uses the fictitious movie character "M3gan" to exemplify the dangers of a young individual acquiring too much information on how the world works. M3gan is capable of committing horrific acts, making her an exaggerated representation of today's youth. Nevertheless, she supports Santos’ argument by suggesting that the harm she causes is attributable to her excessive knowledge. “While M3gan… is indeed capable of homicide, the scariest thing about her may not be that she’s willing to inflict mortal harm. It may be that M3gan has, in a very short time, learned how the world works” (Abad-Santos, 2023). This highlights the importance of innocence at a young age and offers another reason why parents should protect their children to prevent them from becoming "too smart for their own good" (Abad-Santos,