Alice By Alice Chapter Summaries

Alice has now passed through her by trail by fire, and she feels like an adult from the way others treat her as an individual. She declares “I am somebody: but her real maturation is not from how others respond to her, but from wise reflections on what it means to survivors the troubled times of adolescence.

For Erikson (1950) adolescence is a period during which individuals seek to avoid dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion by establishing a sense of personal identity. Individuals have to find answers for two major questions “who am I?” and “what is my place in society?” Identity is a “conscious sense of individual uniqueness” and an “unconscious striving for a continuity of experience” (Erikson, 1968, p. 208).

Erik Erikson created eight stages in psychosocial development that are categorized as crises that a person will experiences at some period during the life cycle (Steinberg, 2014). In Hannah’s case, she is experiencing the fifth and sixth stage of psychosocial development. The fifth stage is Identity vs. Identity Diffusion. In this stage, adolescents are trying to discover a sense of identity (Steinberg, 2014). As an adolescent matures, he or she starts to realize and think about their place in society. For example, they start to reflect on how people view them and the different opportunities they have for their future. In order for adolescents to develop a sense of

Much like Maeve’s trial and error phase, Erikson’s theory of identity versus role confusion explains psychological conflict of adolescence. This theory states that this conflict is resolved positively when adolescents achieve an identity after a period of exploration and inner soul searching. If a young person’s earlier conflicts were resolved negatively or if society limits their choices to ones that do not match their abilities and desires, they may appear shallow, directionless, and unprepared for the challenges of late adulthood. (p. 314). Maeve luckily didn’t make many choices that were resolved negatively. These social and emotional changes weren’t always easy for the rest of the family to deal with, but they were a part of her growth. With us there to provide nurturing support, she was able to develop her own healthy identity after her period of “soul searching.”

In the concluding paragraphs of the story the narrator has reached the adult stage; where they now see and are experiencing the adulthood. In the last few paragraphs the narrator now has more than one son and now holds Alice’s “bad habits” The narrator is now going through what Alice had and parenting is not as easy as it seems when your a child. The narrator ended up following Alice’s bad habits and that is really what opened up the narrator's mind to appreciate Alice more than she had as a child. While this character is just now going through these stages in life, Alice has now “grown beyond” the narrator.In the final paragraph the narrator finally accepts Alice for who she is and sits with

As kids get older they get exposed to so many new things. And that is what the novel is showing the reader. The novel allows the reader to view how Alice grows up in 2 years and all the things she goes through. Another important theme is difficulties of communication. Alice is never able to talk to anyone about her feelings which is why she writes in a diary. Also drugs and alcohol are a reoccurring theme because those are the two things that mess with Alice’s life the most. Identity is also a main theme because there is quite some soul searching and self-indulgent whining in the novel. Alice definitely has an almost non-existent self-esteem, so her sense of identity is determined by the people she surrounds herself with. And the last theme that stands out more than others is lies and deceit. One of them main ways Alice is able to pull off her shenanigans is because of a healthy dose of self-deception and some series denial. The whole time she is doing wrong things, she is lying to herself and her loved

Finding your sense of identity is basically what the teenage years are all about. Many people struggle to find their identity, just like Melinda Sordino, the main character in our novel ‘Speak’. Throughout the novel, it's a constant battle between feeling like a nobody but trying/wanting to be somebody. Melinda’s identity crisis becomes less and less severe as the book progresses and I believe she has a good sense of identity towards the end of the book in comparison to the start.

It outlines the struggle an individual faces in finding stability between developing a sense of forming a unique identity while still being accepted and “fitting in” with society. Erikson believed that when teenagers adequately navigated their way through this crisis, they would transpire into having a clear understanding of their individual identity and easily share this new ‘self’ with others. However, if an individual is unable to navigate their way through this crisis period, they may be uncertain of who they are which can result in a lack of understanding, leading to disconnection from society and the people around them. If youth become stuck at this stage they will be unable to become emotionally mature adults, according to Erikson’s theory. This period of an individual’s life allows them to investigate possibilities which will lead them to discovering their own identity based upon the result of their explorations.

The Identity vs Role Confusion stage is represented in the years of adolescence and early adulthood. Erickson identifies this stage as a very important stage of an adolescence, because this stage is where the development of identity forms begin. If a strong sense of identity is not identified for an adolescences they will continue to experience confusion roles throughout their adulthood (Siegler et al., 2014, pp. 346-347). The film represents this Identity vs Role Confusion stage because some of the individuals in the film have experienced this stage in their lives. For example, Suzy in the film had experienced role confusion in her life. In 56 Up, Suzy, at 16 years old, during her adolescence age, she was uninterested in school, which she dropped out of and moved to Paris to create a new experience. Moving to Paris made her become more motivated, which she ended up getting a job and helping her shape her identity by experiencing new social and cultural changes. She was a nervous wreck and she was a heavy smoker, but when she was about 28, I examined that she had a better sense of identity because she was more mature, settled, and successful. From Suzy being a young child to a grown adult, she has changed drastically over her life span. She has matured and once she met her husband, her views changed, such as her not wanting children, but once she married her

Many themes are explored when reading Lewis Carrol’s, Alice in Wonderland. Themes of childhood innocence, child abuse, dream, and others. Reading the story, it was quite clear to see one particular theme portrayed through out the book: child to adult progression. Alice in Wonderland is full of experiences that lead Alice to becoming more of herself and that help her grow up. It’s a story of trial, confusion, understanding, and success. And more confusion. Though others might argue that the story was distinctly made for children just to get joy out of funny words, and odd circumstances, the tale has obvious dynamics that confirm the fact of it being a coming of age story.

First theme is pubescent body image. Alice eyes a door that she cannot fit into, so she purposely shrinks herself to fit through the door only to discover it’s locked. Alice is constantly changing anywhere from 9ft to 9in tall. Also, beauty is depicted as something the characters were covering. The queen’s cards painted the roses red, instead of their natural beauty, because the queen, representing society, wouldn’t like them.

Issues concerning her size, identity, and her social exchanges with both Wonderland and its creatures spur and characterize Alice’s development towards becoming a young woman.

Alice begins the novel as a naïve child, who struggles with adjusting to new situations and the nonsense of Wonderland. She struggles with the continuous growth and changes of her body. Alice goes through various physical changes during her time in Wonderland that makes her uncomfortable. This continuous growth is similar to a child going through the awkward physical changes of puberty. Per the Department of Pediatrics, University of California, School of Medicine and Davis,

As a child, I identified with a little blond girl named Alice from C. S. Lewis’ “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland”. This story works as an agent of socialization because Alice's adventures parallel the journey from childhood to adulthood as she comes into new situations in which adaptability is absolutely necessary for success. In the beginning of the story, she can barely maintain enough composure to keep herself from crying. By the end, she is self-possessed and able to hold her own against the most perplexing Wonderland logic. Symbols are utilized throughout the story and most every character and situation seem to represent the challenges associated with growing up from childhood to adulthood.

Growing up isn’t as easy as it seems, it's a very difficult process that we go through in our life. Like from the novel “Northern Lights” by the author Philip Pullman, Lyra became her own individual once she went against her mother and said “no” to the separation she wasn't as innocent as we would had thought. All children grow up but some people as they get older they grow apart from their inner self, from who they really are either to fit in to or for religious reasons. Like Lyra’s mom who was so distant from her soul (daemon), she grew to be an alien and stranger to herself, she didn't actually reach adulthood as an individual. While on the other hand, Lyra developed at a very young age and became more mature than her own parents. Her cleverness and disobedient character and her insistence on becoming something gave her the chance to mature. To grow up isn't just a physical change in appearance, it's more of a mental and spiritual growth. Just like what we noticed between Lyra and her mom in the book “Northern Lights” that was about the journey of growing up and how some adults never do. This paper will explain how growing up is shown and who actually develops and