The Lost Boy

THE LOST BOY

SOCW 3220: Human Behavior II

ABSTRACT

Imagine a boy who is nine years old and who is alone. He doesn't have a home, and the only possession he has is what he can carry in a brown paper bag. In the novel The Lost Boy, the author David Pelzer tells his experience of this first hand. David was removed from his abusive biological mother when he was nine years old and placed into a foster home.

Soon after his first placement, he began to come out of his shell. He was going through an adjustment period where he had to get use to being a boy instead of it. During this transition he became overly aggressive, and full of energy. This energy and aggression landed him in trouble on a few occasions. He was forced to move from one foster home to the next because of this trouble.

During this period, David not only had to adjust to his new surroundings; he also had to adjust to the awkward years of adolescence. This adjustment was especially hard for David because he was never really a boy. However, he was able to overcome it and grow up to live a normal life, as a pilot for the Air Force.

In the novel The Lost Boy, the main character was David Pelzer. David became a foster child because he was severely abused by his alcoholic mother. This book looks at his life from ages 9 to 18, when he was a foster child. The theoretical concept of development that applies to David during this stage of his life is Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory.

Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory has eight stages of development. These stages are as follows:

Stage Crisis Age Important Event

1 Basic trust versus basic mistrust Birth to 18 months Feeding

2 Autonomy versus Shame and doubt 18 months to 3 years Toileting

3 Initiative versus guilt 3 to 6 years Locomoting

4 Industry versus inferiority 6 to 12 years School

5 Identity versus role confusion Adolescence Peer Relationships

6 Intimacy versus Isolation Young adults Love Relationships

7 generatively versus stagnation Maturity Parenting and creating

8 Ego integrity versus despair old age reflecting, and excepting life

(Zastrow, 1997)

Since the novel began when David was nine, the first stage that applies to his development is number four: Industry versus Inferiority.

"School age children six to twelve years old must address the crisis of Industry versus inferiority." (Zastrow, 1997) Children in this stage focus on being productive and succeeding in their activities. Children's activities at this stage include play, school, and developing peer relations. "Children who experience failure in school, or even in peer relations, may develop a sense of inferiority." (Zastrow, 1997)

When David lived with his mother, children wouldn't talk to him because he was dirty and he smelled. His mother made him do unreasonable amount of chores after school and on weekends. This made it so that David was never able to play. When he was removed from his mother's home, he was able to play. However, he still had problems with peer relationships because he was a foster child. A poor peer relation was one of the reasons David did poor in school. Since David was not doing well at school, or in peer relationships, he developed a sense of inferiority. This inferiority stayed with David when he progressed into the next stage of development, five.

Identity versus role confusion is the stage when adolescence explore who they are, and establish an identity. "It is the transition period from childhood to adulthood, when people examine the various roles they play." (Zastrow, 1997) Some people become confused about their identity because it is uncertain and unclear. This type of confusion is referred to as role confusion.

Since identity development begins in the early years of life, David was unable to develop a good identity of which he was. "During the early years, one's own sense of identity is largely determined by the reaction of others." (Zastrow, 1997) David's mother always told him that he was a bad boy, a nobody, and an it. David played the role of the identity that his mother gave