Erikson’s Stages of Development, Relating to the Great Santini Essay

Erikson’s Stages of Development, Relating to the Great Santini The Great Santini is about a father who is a great pilot in the military. He uses his military training to help him be a father; treating his children like recruits. He has a supportive wife, and four children, including Ben, the oldest. He commands his children and they must obey his every orders. Ben has a hard time dealing with his father and his need for acceptance. The movie focuses on his cluelessness to family life and being a father. Ben has a hard time succeeding through the stages of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, because his father’s authoritarian parenting styles keep him from progressing. Authoritarian parents are â€Å"parents who make arbitrary rules, expect unquestioned obedience from their children, punish transgressions, and value obedience to authority† (E. Wood, S. Wood, & Boyd, 2011, p. 261). During Erikson’s first stage, trust vs. mistrust, â€Å"infants learn to trust or mistrust depending on the degree and regularity of care, love, and affection provided by parents or caregivers† (Wood et al. 2011, p. 261). When playing a basketball game with his son, he resorts to pushing and shoving in order to win. Ben’s father tells him that no one in the family has ever beaten him in anything, then, Ben makes the last basket and beats his dad, his dad changes up the rules and makes him play for another basket, this time he begins to call his son a little girl and tells him he is nothing. Ben is unable to develop trust with his father, which will cause an unhealthy personality. Researchers have concluded, â€Å"Erikson’s theoretical propositions have had wide influences on understanding and further theorizing in areas of child development, adolescence, adulthood, and aging. Much child-rearing, educational, and clinical practice has also been influenced, either explicitly or implicitly, by his stage model of development† (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981). Ben is more harsh and rough on the outside, but soft and sensitive on the inside, because his father has not shown him love and compassion. His mother, who is loving and supportive, helps balance out his personality. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt is Erickson’s second stage, this stage is when â€Å"Children learn to express their will and independence, to exercise some control, and to make choices, if not, they experience shame and doubt† (Wood et al. , 2011, p. 261). Ben’s father holds such high standards that he must come out autonomy because his father has told him there is no other option. This also goes along with stage three, initiative vs. guilt, when â€Å" Children begin to initiate activities, to plan and undertake tasks, and to enjoy developing motor and other abilities. If not allowed to initiate or if made to feel stupid and considered a nuisance, they may develop a sense of guilt† (Wood et al. , 2011, p. 261). Ben has a great amount of pressure on him to be the best and do the best, he is afraid that he will not live up to his father’s expectations. When Ben had finally beat his father in the backyard basketball game, his father wanted him to win by two baskets instead of one, he was putting him down and telling his son he wasn’t good enough. His mother had to step in to support her son and says to her husband, â€Å"Don’t you talk to me like that! Now, he beat you and it was beautiful†(Carlinio, 1979). His mother helps him become initiative rather than his father who makes him feel guilty for not being good enough. Ben has major conflict in the stage of industry vs. inferiority, this is â€Å" Children develop industriousness and feel pride in accomplishing tasks, making things, and doing things. If not encouraged or if rebuffed by parents and teachers they may develop a sense of inferiority† (Wood et al. , 2011, p. 261). Ben has always been told to be the best; he is becoming a well-rounded boy on the outside because of his acceleration in sports and school. He takes a sense of pride in his work, but on the inside still doubts himself. He knows his father wants more from him, Ben knows he will never be able to be as good as his father. In the stage, identity vs. role confusion he is finally able to start caring about his wants more than his fathers. At his high school basketball game his father is screaming at him from the sidelines and he chooses not to listen and does what he thinks is best. He wins the game on his own and sees that he can do it without his father. The movie ends about the time that Ben is in the stage of a young adult, â€Å" Adolescents must make the transition from childhood to adulthood, establish an identity, develop a sense of self, and consider a future occupational identity. Otherwise, role confusion can result† (Wood et al. , 2011, p. 261). Ben is able to love his father after a night of his eighteenth birthday, when his father becomes extremely drunk, and lets down his guard, and makes a toast to his son, â€Å"I’d like to propose a toast, to my son. He is eighteen today. He has just ordered his first drink. Before he drinks it, I’d like to wish him a long life, a wife as fine as his mother, and a son as fine as he’s been. To my son† (Carlinio 1979). This shows Ben that his father loves and respects him. He is able to show compassion to his father, making it easier for him to show compassion to others. Because of Ben’s fathers authoritarian parenting styles and high demands, Ben has a hard time maturing through Erickson’s stages, but Ben is finally able to develop a sense of self. When watching The Great Santini, I noticed that Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development show through in Ben’s personality and self. Each stage Ben experiences, and depending on how he is treated, will affect the outcome of the person he will become. The reason people are not the same is because every one experiences different things during each stage, which makes every one different. Each person must work through the conflicts in each stage to become a healthy person, just like Ben does in the movie.