Girl Interrupted Identity Vs Role Confusion

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Lisandra Torres Mr. Fellowes Psychology 29 October 2015 Prompt: How characters from the movie “Girl, Interrupted” goes through the identity versus role confusion from Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial. In the movie, “Girl, Interrupted,” Susana, the main character, is rushed to the hospital after she tries to commit suicide by drinking a bottle of aspirin and vodka. Susana is recommended for Claymoore, a mental hospital in which she meets other girls with mental disorders and problems. Susana is able to befriend most of the girls like Polly, who is a burn victim, Georgina who is a pathological liar, and Daisy who is sexually abused by her father. Unfortunately, Susana does fall under Lisa’s captivating sway. Lisa’s persuasive sociopath…show more content…
In the identity versus role stage, confusion occurs between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. During this stage, a person can go through the identity part which defines who one is as a person and what one values in life. The identity confusion part about this stage consists of a lack of direction and misunderstanding the definition of self. The intimacy versus isolation stage occurs between the ages of nineteen and forty. During the intimacy part of this stage, a person will start to form a loving and intimate relationship with others. On the other hand, a person may experience the failure part of this stage in which they will feel lonely and…show more content…
Susana feels like she does not know where she is headed as she signs herself into Claymoore. She cannot clearly see her path and feels addled as to what she wants to do in her future. As the movie progresses, Susana shows signs that she is trying to find herself as she writes in her journal about her emotions and feelings. At the end of the movie, she can distinctly define herself and knows where she is going to. In Susana’s character, it is easy to see Erikson’s Intimacy versus Isolation stage. She has a boyfriend in which she has a romantic relationship with but then leaves him and isolates herself to find her true identity. Susana also completely isolates herself from the people at the hospital and her family. Lisa, one of Susana’s close friends is also clear that she goes through Erikson's identity versus role confusion stage. Lisa is the most aggressive patient in the hospital and has no clue who she really is as a person. Throughout the movie, she still has a hard time defining what life means to her which results in her feeling disoriented. Lisa’s character is an example of people who are not able to go past the identity versus role confusion stage. At the end of the movie, Lisa is still very perplexed which will lead to her being isolated on Erikson’s next
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