On Golden Pond

The life stages for an individual changes as a person grows older and has various experiences in life. There is a change in the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional growth as an individual age. “The process of development is linked to internal conflicts, changing self-awareness, and a dynamic social environment” (Newman & Newman, 2012). Understanding the current stage, assist the counselor in therapeutically preparing for treatment. This paper will view the members of the Gilbert family including Gilbert, Arnie, and Bonnie Grape through various life stages from school age

Gail Sheehy has written a new way of thinking about the aging process. She uses ideas from Erickson’s psychosocial theory of the life cycle and creates new ways of mastering each stage of adulthood. Sheehy organizes her stages in age cohorts in which each cohort has lived through the same events even though they may have had different experiences. By understanding how others like ourselves have dealt with again concerns, we are better able to understand our own lives.

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is suited to analyse this particular film as each character, including ones beyond this analysis, are all in different stages and outcomes of the model. It is this that allows for direct examples of how

Erikson’s Theory is divided into periods of development in which an individual goes through a crisis. Depending on the outcome of said crisis, one would gain a positive or negative trait. In the theory, there is a set of crisis’ that nurture the most development. These are mainly the middle years, from about 3-40 years old. Dallas Winston can be more easily analyzed through these years considering that the most information about his past self is revealed in that time period. During the first period within this set, from 3-5 years

Norman, a strong guy, could not save him not for lack of strength, but instead because of complete chaos around him, and “the worst part […] the smell” (O’Brien, 139). After the firefight was over, guilt set into Norman that would never leave. He blamed himself for Kiowa’s death, and it riddled him with self-doubt. After the war, he is completely unable to tell anyone about the incident, and the medal he should’ve won, “he wished he could have explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be” (O’Brien, 126). His feeling of inadequacy is based on this singular incident, and is something unable to be represented in the NBER study. After the war, Norman lived in the same town he has always lived in, yet he felt like a stranger: “the town could not, and would not listen. […] It had no memory, therefore no guilt” (O’Brien, 137). Norman feels alienated from society, wracked with guilt for a situation beyond his control, he finds his only solace is in the taking of his life. Tim O’Brien uses the suicide of Norman Bawker to represent the extremes of post-war trauma of veterans as a whole. Norman is a stand-in for every soldier who comes home from the war feeling as if he could have done more. Norman’s home town, a sleepy town in middle America with, “stone patios with barbecue spits and grills, and wooden shingles” (O’Brien, 131) represents America as a whole and its uncertainty of how to

Thao up a bit. The elderly are often seen as no longer being valuable members of society yet they

The Up Series documents the lives of fourteen children in a longitudinal study. The filmmaker interviews these fourteen individuals every seven years to examine how their lives progress over time and to examine how their socioeconomic status affects their life. In this paper, Suzy will be examined from age 7 to age 56. Over the course of the Up Series, Suzy’s personality and priorities changed dramatically in almost all of the aspects of her life. From the small bits and pieces of her life that were captured and shown on the series, the course her life could have taken could have been much different. Her story shows that one life event can change the course of your whole life. In the end Suzy was the poster child of how one life event can change the rest of your life. She is not necessarily the poster child for wealth, prosperity and privilege that the series paint her to be. Initially, she was because that was the type of person the filmmaker wanted to portray her as. However, in the end, she was successful at portraying herself very differently. It took her many years to do so, but she was able to do it. By the end of the series, Suzy changed the way she portrays herself, and much of this change has to do with the life events she has experienced. She experienced being a resistant child and young adult on the series, losing a parent at a young age, finding a successful marriage and experiencing financial instability. All of these events happened at an age the made her grow

Erik Erikson has developed the psychosocial theory that proposes eight stages across the life span of human development. Each and every one of the stages has a “crisis”, a significant psychosocial topic that is important in that moment. The theories are deliberately having an impact on by social and cultural influence a process of development of the ego and self. “According to Erikson, the ego develops as it successfully resolves crisis that are distinctly social in nature. These involves establishing a sense of trust in others, developing a sense of identity in society, and helping the next generation prepare for the future. (McLeod 2008, p. 1) In this paper I will be talking about each of the main characters in the movie, “On Golden Pond” and what they all go through to a crisis of psychosocial development using Erikson’s theory.

“The national attitude toward old people has made a 180-degree turn” in recent years (p. 86). This is an indicator that society now recognizes their value. Additionally, society now has ample data to support that with improved technology and pharmaceuticals

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 journey through late adulthood can be experienced in different ways. One particular movie entitled “The Bucket List” exhibits an astounding portrayal of late adulthood. In fact, there are many accounts that the movie entails about late-adulthood. This includes the illustration of Erickson’s late adulthood stage – “Ego Integrity vs. Despair,” wisdom, marriage, friendship, parent-child relationship, and death and dying in late adulthood.

The movie "The Golden Pond” has characters that each represent psychological, physical, and cognitive stages of the life cycle, also referred as Erikson’s Theories. Through these concepts each character is under a different developmental category, with each relationship urging for acceptance.

I have always admired the senior citizens who are wondering how they have passed such long journeys of their lives. They not only have accomplished achievements, but also have done memorable works that deserve admiration, respect, and priority in today’s society. These old people may look incompetent and unexciting in somebody’s eyes and thoughts, but not everyone realizes that they are the people with greatest knowledge and experiences beyond their masters of life. From my own experience, whenever I see an old mister or mistress looking for help or in need of help, I can never ignore him or

The elders in our society are both respected and experienced, but in the early 20th century it was not always like this. Now during our lifetime retirees get compensation and benefits to reward them for their years in the workforce, not to mention the free medical insurance they receive by the government. In the Great Depression elders had to work their life away, in other words they had to work their whole life just to get by and didn’t earn any financial aid. For example, in Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, Candy who is a swamper on a ranch is old and is physically disabled due to a machine malfunction that took away his hand. Candy gets pushed around and is treated poorly due to his disability and age. Therefore,

As human beings age, according to Erik Erikson, they go through developmental stages that help to create and transform their personalities. If needs are met and the ego is gratified, then the individual is able to move on to the next challenge. Onward they march in life and in stage until they find the end level: integrity versus despair. This has been categorized as adults 65 years and older by Erikson. Here, people are to reminisce and judge their lives in terms of merit or disappointment. Erikson himself had a lot to comb through in his later years.