A Child's Innocence

Over break I read a book called The Help and watched a movie called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Both touch upon the subject of when a child begins to lose their innocence and when they become influenced by the prejudice of the society around them. Needless to say, I am writing this blog post from the view that children are born innocent and become corrupt as they age, which is a topic we have touched upon in class, whether children are born innocent or born corrupt.

In the novel, The Help the character Aibileen is an African-American maid in Mississippi during the 1960s. As part of her job she cares for her employer's daughter Mae Mobley. Aibileen cares for her from the moment she is born and the two form a very close relationship, closer than Mae Mobley's relationship with her mother. As the novel continues and Mae Mobley grows, Aibileen is concerned about whether or not Mae is going to become racist and see Aibileen as her mother does and the rest of white Mississippi. All of Aibileen's previous jobs have only lasted eight years or so, because Aibileen would leave the house when the children began to "turn" agaisnt her. Mae Mobley begins to notice the difference between her black maid and her white mother at the age of four.

In the movie The Boy in the Stirped Pajamas a little boy named Bruno is the son of a Nazi commander who runs a concentration camp. The family lives near by the camp and Bruno is curious of what exactly the the camp is. As he explores the woods surrounding his house, he discovers a fence and a young boy of his age on the other side. As he gains more knowledge of the camp he discovers the boy is a Jew, throughout the movie the boy struggles to decide whether or not to trust him and to become his friend. Bruno and the young boy are seven years old.

So my question to you is when did the opinions of your parents begin to influence your opinions? What about the society you grew up in?