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
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