Lost Innocence Theme Analysis

As a novel that depicts the terrible things teenagers endure and do to each other, Nineteen Minutes is concerned with the idea of lost innocence. This is theme primarily explored through Peter, who as a result of bullying (as well as other issues, from romantic rejection to violent video games) transforms from an innocent child into a mass murderer. It is also explored through Josie, who is a similarly sweet and innocent child before social pressures lead her to enter a cruel group of friends and an abusive relationship. Somewhat unexpectedly, the novel also explores the theme of lost innocence through the adult characters, who—despite their relatively advanced age—still struggle to cope with their own problems as well as the issues faced by the younger generation. Ultimately, the novel suggests that even teenagers and adults still contain the innocent versions of themselves, and that it is important to recognize this part of a person in order to treat them with kindness.

In order to depict Peter’s transformation from an innocent child to a mass shooter, the novel utilizes a non-chronological structure that juxtaposes stories from Peter’s childhood alongside the events that directly lead him to commit the shooting. As children, Peter and Josie are best friends; on their first day of kindergarten, Josie supports him as he is bullied by the other kids. However, over time, both Peter and Josie lose their innocence due to social pressures at school. Peter loses his innocence after being repeatedly tormented by bullies, which eventually leads him to violent thoughts of revenge. Meanwhile, Josie realizes that if she remains friends with Peter she will also be bullied, and thus loses her innocent inclination for kindness in order to protect herself.

When Peter commits the mass shooting in high school at 17, it is obviously hard to view him as still “innocent,” but small hints of his former innocence do emerge in the midst of the chaos. For example, in the interrogation room directly following the shooting, he whispers, “I want my mom.” This is a reminder that underneath the violent and vengeful killer Peter has become, there still lies a vulnerable child. When Peter’s trial is taking place, Josie’s mother, Alex, makes a gesture of kindness to Peter’s mom, Lacy, by indicating that she remembers the innocent boy Peter once was: “He used to like the peanut butter on the top half of the bread and the marshmallow fluff on the bottom […] And he had the longest eyelashes I’d ever seen on a little boy.” Alex’s words not only convey that she remembers Peter’s innocence, but also suggest that she believes that on some level, that innocence is still an important part of him.

The novel’s depiction of its adult characters further emphasizes the idea that all people, no matter how old, still retain some of their childhood innocence deep inside them. This is represented by the pain, despair, and confusion that the adults feel regarding issues in their own lives as well as the ones facing their children. Indeed, the fact that the adults seem so ill-equipped to help the teenagers face the problems plaguing them suggests that throughout their lives, people remain “innocent” in the face of issues such as bullying, intimate partner violence, drug addiction, and abortion. Adults and teenagers are equally bewildered by and terrified of these issues—the only difference is that adults have to pretend they know how to cope. This idea is conveyed during one of the flashback episodes in the novel, which describes the terrorist attacks of September 11th that occur when Peter and Josie are in middle school. Speaking to Lacy, Alex observes that their children are “old enough to understand what’s happening.” Yet in response, Lacy says, “I’m not old enough to understand what’s happening.”

The novel presents the fact that innocence inevitability collapses into bitterness, coldness, and cruelty as one of the tragedies of human existence. The heart-wrenching nature of this process is conveyed by Lacy’s reflections on the babies she helps deliver as a midwife. At the beginning of the novel, the narrator notes that “Newborns reminded [Lacy] of tiny Buddhas, faces full of divinity. It didn’t last long, though.” During Peter’s trial at the end of the novel, Lacy echoes this statement: “When you look into your baby’s eyes […] you see everything you hope they can be… not everything you wish they won’t become.” Lacy’s words highlight the terrible potential that innocent babies will grow up to commit terrible deeds. Yet the novel also shows that something of that early innocence remains in everyone—no matter what evils they commit—and that is important to remind oneself of this fact.