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Running Head: The Great Expectations

Erickson's Stages Applied to 1996 The Great Expectations [Name of the Author] [Name of the Institution]

The Great Expectations

Abstract This paper will apply Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development to the character Finnegan Finn Bell in the movie The Great Expectations by Alfonso Cuaron The purpose of this paper is to analyze 3 different stages in the life of Finn (based on Eriksons stages) by using specific observations of his life as portrayed in the film. Based on Charles Dickens 1946 novel, the movie around the events happening to the main character of the film i.e., Finn. The movie character is a nice example to explain several stages in Ericksons psychosocial development phases. The movie takes place during the life of the character from his childhood to adult. Finn struggles to find his self, love and relation. As he passed through different stages, he often missed balance which should be acquired from during these phases. Eventually, he revisited to attain the much need balance in life after becoming mature.

The Great Expectations

Erickson's Stages Applied to The Great Expectations The Great Expectations is a film which revolves around motifs of ambition, social difference, love, relationships and sincerity. Finnegan Finn Bell is the main character of the movie. The movie starts by small encounter of young Finn with Arthur Lustig, a convict trying to escape, and how he helped him by providing Lustig with food and bolt cutter. Subsequently, he met with Ms. Nora Dinsmoor and her niece, Estella. They grew up together and parted during some time, met up once again in another city and again parted. Ericson's psychosocial development theory can help us to understand Finn's behavior. According to Erik Erikson, all individuals goes to 8 development stages in ones life. The nature of development depends upon ones biological and maturation abilities (Maianu, 2011). During all these stages, an individual goes through certain events or crisis that affects the later development stages. Erickson believed that each stages development upon the conflict between two opposing traits e., trust vs. distrust and a person should strike the balance between these two traits in order to develop an integral personality. If there is healthy balance during all stages of development, the individual will be able to form right personality. In the absence of balance between two contrary traits in any stage can result in deficiency which will appear also in later stages. However, Erickson also believed that one can revisit each stage at later time of life to achieve the lost balance. While watching the movie with Erickson's stages of development in mind, we can see areas of Finn's life where he did not attain a healthy balance between the conflicts of several stages, which led him to where he is today. For the purpose of this paper, I will focus on the last

The Great Expectations

3 stages of personality development since they are predominant in the character throughout the movie: Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation & Integrity vs. Despair. The stage that is shown most widely in the movie is Erikson's fifth stage, Intimacy vs. Isolation. As Erickson has mentioned in his theory, our character in focus, Finn, felt a strong sense of self identity. He felt that his needs a strong self identify if he wishes to have intimate relations. That why he isolate himself from Paradiso Perduto; not meeting with any1 there for seven years. In the course, he also stopped drawing, but, as soon as the opportunity rose, he knew it would be right step towards establishment of his own identity. Real intimacy is only possible once a reasonable sense of identity has been established (Erikson, 1959, p.95). Erikson theory is fully applicable on our character. Finn became too conscious about his relationships and he experienced the opposite side of the conflict i.e., isolation. Like previously mentioned, an individual should be experiencing both sides / balance of both trait including intimacy and isolation in order to positively contribute to the development of the personality. This isolation was good in a way because even the most ideal couple couldnt experience total intimacy. Finns relation with Estella shows imbalance during the sixth stage of development, which is also, referred to as young adulthood. The other stage which we will find Generativity vs. Stagnation. During this stage, we either take more interest in developing our career and family. Failing in participating actively will result in stagnation i.e., stage of inactivity. Quite interestingly, Finn also went through this stage when he tried to work out his relationship once again with Estalla. But she was already engaged to someone else. Finn continuously focuses on his career by working hard day and night to prepare masterpieces for the Art Gallery. He seems not be miss this chance to establish his identify in the society. Although he failed in his personal relationship by losing Estalla, he

The Great Expectations

remained conscious in about his career. Finn was not encouraged much in childhood to discover his potential, but his benefactor made some efforts to allow him to re-discover his true potential by providing him resources and opportunity. Later on, Finn also worked on the stage of trust vs. distrust when he met his benefactor whom he once helped during this childhood. Once, the same benefactor forced him to do things against his will. The later part of his meeting with his benefactor reveals that he got devastated by old mans sudden death in his own hands. He went to Paris to study art against implying he is working on his personality and got back after several years. We can also observe last stage of Erickson psychological in which he reflected back on his life. He went back to his hometown and in the hope, to do anything, which he missed in his previous stages, also visited Paradiso Perduto where he found out Estalla and her daughter. The moral lesson our main character learnt during the movie is quite simple: affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social advancement, wealth, and class. Our subject, Finn has passed through various stages of psychosocial personality development. Initially, he might not be successful in these stages, but later on, he worked to rectify what went wrong previously by revisiting his past and making things right in the course.

The Great Expectations

References Lee, D. (II) Linson, A., Linson, J., (Producers), & Cuaron, A.(Director). (1998). the Great Expectations. United States: 20th Century Fox. Anonymous, (2000), Erikson Eight Stages of Life, p. 277-302