The philosopher Simone Weil has defined innocence as the expectation, perpetuall

The philosopher Simone Weil has defined innocence as the expectation, perpetually
renewed, that good and not evil will be done to us. Write an essay on the innocence of
childhood, keeping Weil’s definition in view and discussing one of the three novels we
have studied together.
Explore the character of Peter Pan, of Sara Crewe, of Lucy Pevensie, and/or of Edmund
Pevensie in the light of Weil’s idea. Do they expect that good and not evil will be done to
them? What exactly do they expect, and how do their expectations change as they gain
experience?
Please devote your essay to a single novel and focus it on a single character there, though
of course you may find yourself discussing other characters, too: Wendy as well as Peter,
for instance, or Ms. Minchin as well as Sara or Lucy as well as Edmund.
Address an audience of college-educated readers who have agreed that literary analysis,
carefully performed, can enrich the experience of children’s literature. Assume that each
of the novels is generally familiar to them and that they are seeking your help in
understanding its hold on their imaginations, both now and when they were children.
The body of your essay should be five to six pages long (1250 – 1500 words). Write in a
formal, academic style that is suited to a professional audience.
While you are not required by this assignment to consult additional sources, you may use
any that you find useful: books, professional journals, Web pages, or the work of other
students – provided that the writers are people and that you identify them by name. Please
note that in keeping with this provision, you may not use AI.
If you do use secondary sources, please take care to cite them appropriately, and take care
all the while that your essay bears the stamp of your own observations and ideas. Use
MLA-style parenthetical citations to document all borrowed information, and include a
“Works Cited” page at the end