Mi Planta De Naranja Lima

My Sweet Orange Tree

Hypothesis: A biased opinion about a child affects the child’s behavior and attitude.

In order to better explain the development of the main character Jose (Aka: Zeze) I’ve decided to once again study the developmental stages that were developed by Erik Erikson and base my study and hypothesis on this theory. Before I begin with the paper, to make a short summary ofthe story, there is a boy who lives in extreme poverty in a setting of Brazil. He has three older siblings and a younger brother. His mother is a native Brazilian which was considered a minority group which brought shame in some situations. His father is unemployed which leads to several difficult situations. And finally and most importantly Zeze is very smart which causes him to get into lots oftrouble.

Approximate Age Virtues Psycho Social Crisis Significant Relationship Existential Question Examples
0-2 years Hopes Basic Trust vs. Mistrust Mother Can I Trust The World? Feeding, Abandonment
2-4 years Will Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Parents Is It Ok To Be Me? Toilet Training, Clothing Themselves
4-5 years Purpose Initiative vs. Guilt Family Is It Ok For Me To Do, Move and Act?Exploring, Using Tools or Making Art
5-12 years Competence Industry vs. Inferiority Neighbors, School Can I Make It In The World Of People And Things? School, Sports
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson's_stages_of_psychosocial_development

This is a simple chart that explains the different stages in very clear way. I will base the story of Zeze until the 4th stage which is Industry vs.Inferiority. I will be doing a comparison of the character and how the different stages apply to his life.

Stage 1) Basic Trust vs. Mistrust (age 0~2)

In this stage the infant’s basic needs must be met by the parents. The infant depends on the mother for food, sustenance and comfort. In this stage the infant questions himself “Do I trust the world?” If these needs are not met then the childhas a sense of insecurity which may lead to a feeling that the world is undependable, unpredictable and possibly a dangerous place. Applying this to Zeze’s life it shows that he was taken care of by his older sister Gloria because his mother was too busy working to have some kind of income to maintain the whole family. His father is unemployed and the family lives in extreme poverty. It is in thisstage that the most significant relationship is with the maternal parent, or whoever is the most significant and constant caregiver. In Zeze’s case it was his older sister because they had very similar physical traits. There are 5 children in one household which leads to a very difficult family situation in which an older sibling has to take care of a younger one. Even if his parents weren’tactually there he had his older sister, uncle and grandmother to support him.

Stage 2) Autonomy vs. Shame (ages 2~4)

In this stage the child starts exploring his surrounding and the world he’s living in. In this stage when the caregiver is supportive it helps the child foster a sense of autonomy. Through this constant exploration the child learns about their surrounding and learns to beself-sufficient. In Zeze’s case he was forced to mature faster than the other children his age because of the economic state and the dynamics of his family in which both parents were not actually available for him. He was very precocious for his age and was able to take care of himself most of the time.

Stage 3) Initiative vs. Guilt (ages 4~5)

This is the stage in which the child is starting tolearn how to master the world around them. In Zeze’s case he starts exploring more deeply his surroundings and discovers that he can talk to a small orange tree and becomes friends with it. It’s in this stage that children start to feel guilty for their actions. They start taking initiative and look for activities to do and negative behavior is shown as a result of not being able to achieve...