In both Witness and Mosquito Coast, there is a special relationship between the patriarch and the young boy. Both children lose their innocence early in the film; Samuel in Witness sees a vicious murder in a train station and Charlie is subject to the bizarre and paranoid actions by his father. In Witness, the corrupt police officers come to the farm to kill Samuel and whoever else (they are later thwarted by John Book) and Eli nods at Samuel to run away. This shows not only the loss of innocence, but also show Eli's coming to terms with what has happened to their otherwise sheltered life. At first, Eli did not want Book or any of his "English" standards in their Amish community, but realizing that it would save Samuel's life, he agrees to house Book. When Book kills the "bad" men, Eli realizes that he really saved his family and in turn the lifestyle that they live by protecting them from outside world corruption and chaos. In Mosquito Coast, Charlie watches as the ice maker explodes and his father's reaction. He has lost his innocence completely when he realizes the mental instability of his father. His father took them to Central America to live freely and chase an unattainable utopia. Nothing goes according to plan and Allie goes crazy. Charlie is forced to see his father in a state where he is shown as weak and paranoid so he loses his innocence. In both scenes, the boys are dominant which directs the audience's attention to them to showcase their loss of innocence. Both films depict how young children are influenced not only by the patriarch in their family, but also by the outside world.
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