"Jim saw that he had been living, before he came here, in a state of dangerous innocence... He had been blind." What did Jim mean and how does it relate the overall point of the novel. 'Fly Away Peter', by David Malouf, is essentially a novel examining life; it charts Jim's loss of innocence as he confronts the brutality of war and the truth of human nature. On his arrival to the trenches it is …showed first 75 words of 760 total…

…showed last 75 words of 760 total…war, he had indeed been living "in a state of dangerous innocence". His innocence was dangerous because he had no knowledge of the perils or the differences there were outside of the sanctuary and Australia. 'Fly Away Peter' examines the universal theme of life; losing innocence in favour of intelligence and experience. Like Jim, we continually need to reevaluate our stance and consider our opinions afresh, so as not to endanger ourselves by our ignorance.