The Concept of Childhood Innocence

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Abstract In this essay, I intend to explain how everyday lives challenge the construction of childhood as a time of innocence. In the main part of my assignment, I will explain the idea of innocence, which started with Romantic discourse of childhood and how it shaped our view of childhood. I will also look at two contradictory ideas of childhood innocence and guilt in Blake’s poems and extract from Mayhew’s book. Next, I will compare the images of innocence in TV adverts and Barnardo’s posters. After that, I will look at the representation of childhood innocence in sexuality and criminality, and the roles the age and the gender play in portraying children as innocent or guilty. I will include some cross-cultural and contemporary descriptions on the key topics. At the end of my assignment, I will summarize the main points of the arguments.

The concept of childhood innocence began with the Romantic view of childhood, where children were seen as pure and sin free. The concept was greatly influenced by the eighteenth-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Rousseau, (1765) believed that children are born good and guiltless, and through life experiences, they learn badness and guilt. Most parents see their children as innocent and want to protect them from the bad world we live in. This is not always easy, especially when the country they live in is at war and children take part in it, or they live in a poor country. The war and lack of sufficient money are some of the challenges the childhood innocence faces in today's world.

The idea of childhood innocence exists in parallel with the concept of childhood guilt. Mayhew, (1861) po...

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...n time and place’ in Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H. by John Wiley & Sons LTD/ The Open University

Nabokov, V. (1955) Lolita in Kehily, M, J., and Montgomery, H. (2003) ‘Innocence and Experience’ in Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H. by John Wiley & Sons LTD/ The Open University

The Open University (2003) U212, Childhood, Video 1 Band 3 ‘Representations of childhood’ Milton Keynes: The Open University

The Open University (2003) U212, Childhood, Video 1, Band 7 ‘Painted babies’ Milton Keynes: The Open University

The Open University (2003) U212, Childhood, Audio 2, Band 5 ‘Children and criminal responsibility’ Milton Keynes: The Open University.

Warner, M. (1994) ‘Managing Monsters: six myths of our time’ in Kehily, M, J., and Montgomery, H. (2003) ‘Innocence and Experience’ in Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H. by John Wiley & Sons LTD/ The Open University

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