The Talisman

There are many ways in which Jack loses his innocence over the course of The Talisman. Some are natural, and some are forced upon him by circumstances he cannot control. The most obvious way is the end of childhood as his journey forces him into a deeper level of maturity. Late in the novel, people notice that Jack has changed. He notices it as well. He is harder, more confident, and less fearful about confrontations, even lethal ones. Jack eventually realizes that if his mother’s life requires his death, he is willing to sacrifice himself for her. The early death of his father forces an immediate awareness on Jack that everyone will eventually die, which heightens his need to save his mother.

Early, Jack is possessed of the “childish credulity and innocence” (20) that is the “flip side” of a “queer fatalism” (20). A loss of innocence accompanies the growth of knowledge and the accumulation of truths—often unpleasant truths. When Jack sees the gull pecking at the clam, he experiences a horrifying moment of clarity in which he understands that, at their base, all creatures are mere flesh, destined for death. His awareness of his innocence dropping away is apparent when he watches the flying men in the Territories and realizes that “his time of innocence was fast approaching its end” (227).