Innocence And The Real World: An Analysis Of Night Watch

Innocence and the Real World: An Analysis of Night Watch
Introduction
“Those who improve with age embrace the power of personal growth and personal achievement and begin to replace youth with wisdom, innocence with understanding, and lack of purpose with self-actualization” (Bennett). Innocence can by defined in many ways. Some believe that it is the lack of corruption, others believe that it is a lack of understanding, and some think it means that a person accused of a crime is not guilty. Everybody starts out innocent, and that innocence is lost with the development of maturity. The quote above was written by Bo Bennett in his book, Year to Success. The quote’s basic meaning is that people mature and become smarter and more dedicated to
Egor was called upon by two dark magicians, and follows the calling to the roof. At this point, he is an innocent young boy who has no knowledge of his powers and does not know about the Watches. This all changes when he follows the calling. He is taken hostage by a female vampire, perhaps for revenge when Anton killed her partner. Through this, Egor discovers the Night and Day Watches as well as light and dark magicians. Egor has not yet picked a side, yet he was destined to become a dark magician because he followed the calling. Realizing now what evil is, Egor remains impartial as to what side he wants to join. As the story progresses, Egor becomes increasingly skeptical of the two Watches and their motives. This shows that Egor is no longer a young, innocent, powerless boy. He is a mature boy with the power to resist evil. Even under the direct influence of Zabulon, the leader of the Day Watch, Egor resists joining the dark magicians, but also does not join the light magicians. When Anton and Egor meet in the metro station, Anton thinks,
"Yes, he'd grown. Not on the outside, on the inside. I couldn't understand how he could have avoided making his choice for so long and still not joined the side of Light or the side of Darkness. He'd already entered the Twilight, in circumstances that meant he could have gone either way. But his aura was still as pure and neutral as ever" (Lukyanenko
Svetlana had absolutely no knowledge of the vortex over her head. She is unaware of her powers at the beginning of the story. As it turns out, the dark magicians are actively seeking her out for her magical potential. Svetlana loses her innocence when she and Anton go to a restaurant. Anton knows that a dark magician is at the restaurant; however, Svetlana thinks she has no powers to help. Svetlana discovers her powers when Boris Ignatievich, the boss of the Night Watch, asks her to describe a man who killed a dark magician in the restaurant bathroom. She accurately sends the man’s aura over to Boris. With this, she has now essentially joined the Night Watch and is now a light magician. As it turns out, the Day Watch is after Svetlana for her magical powers. This is the point where she loses her innocence. Svetlana is now fully involved in the operations of the Night Watch, and she is now fully aware of the operations of the evil Day Watch. She eventually starts to climb the ladder of power in the Night Watch, eventually become a third-grade magician. Anton says, "I only realized it today... Just an hour ago, when Sveta wanted to stand up to the Day Watch, she shifted up to fifth-grade powers. In an instant. If a fight had broken out—she would have been killed" (Lukyanenko 175). Svetlana is fully opposing the forces of evil. She is no longer an innocent girl. Instead, she is the vanguard of the forces of