Innocence In Billy Collins A Martian Sends A Postcard Home

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Innocence is being pure and uncorrupted, and many child hold views about the world that are innocent. However, this innocence is sometimes lost as a child learns about the truths of the world. The world becomes less pure and wholesome; these idealistic views of childhood are squandered as one learns of the violence, corruption, and unfairness that plagues the adult world. “A Martian Sends a Postcard Home” by Craig Raine, “The Gun Joke” by Jamaal May, and “The Lanyard” by Billy Collins all explore loss. They explore this loss of innocence that is experienced when growing up and learning about the imperfections of the world. Raine’s poem exemplifies the innocence lost when one learns about what being an adult is actually like. “The Lanyard” also talks about the innocence that …show more content…

May’s poem discusses the prevalence of gun violence, which is something many younger children are not aware of. This poem talks about how a school shooting is “funny.” In his poem, May say, “It’s funny…how many people are shocked / by this shooting and the next and next and the next” (1-2). This quote shows how the girl that May mentions in his poem is so used to hearing about school shootings that she is thinks it is strange that others are surprised. This exemplifies that loss of innocence one experiences when they realize that the world is not as good or as safe as they originally assumed. May goes on to explain that the use of the word “funny” by this girl does not mean what it typically means, but instead means “…crazy and crazy as in this shouldn’t happen” (21). He also shows how once one has lost this innocence, they realize that there is no where that is safe; “A young man/old man/teenage boy walks into /an office/theater/daycare/club and empties / a magazine into a crowd of strangers/family/students”

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