"They Shall Inherit The Earth" by Morley Callaghan

Essay by Ken ChiangCollege, UndergraduateA-, January 1996

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At some point in life, we will all experience the loss of innocence. This loss is not a choice but an eventuality. In the novel 'They Shall Inherit the Earth', Michael Aikenhead, Andrew Aikenhead and Dave Choate have all experienced this loss of innocence in different ways, but mainly through the perspective of others. Morley Callaghan in 'They Shall Inherit the Earth' demonstrates the loss of innocence through -the actions and conflicts between the characters in the novel.

Michael Aikenhead had always been an impulsive individual, even while he was just a boy, and because of this, Michael had lost his innocence. When Michael Aikenhead was a kid, he had already lost his innocence in many ways. When Michael Aikenhead was a kid, he had beaten his step brother Dave Choate, and 'rubbed his face steadily in the dirt' after he had quarreled with and refused to accept Dave. Michael Aikenhead had also lost his innocence when he was young by running away from home because of his feelings of anger towards his father for marrying Martha Choate, and taking his sister, Sheila Aikenhead, with him.

Michael had not only lost his innocence by running away from home but he also lost his innocence by convincing Sheila into thinking negative thoughts about her father, Andrew Aikenhead, and saying such things as 'they don't want us, do they?' about her father and step mother. Although Michael had made many mistakes as a kid, it is almost expected that kids make mistakes because they do not know better and so therefore the loss of innocence during childhood is not nearly as severe as the loss of innocence during the later stages in life. Michael Aikenhead had not only lost his innocence as a child but had also lost his innocence as a...