The Lost Boy Essay -- essays research papers

THE LOST BOYSOCW 3220 Human Behavior IIABSTRACTImagine a boy who is nine eld aging and who is alone. He doesnt have a home, and the only possession he has is what he can carry in a brown paper bag. In the novel The Lost Boy, the author David Pelzer tells his experience of this first hand. David was re go badd from his opprobrious biological mother when he was nine years old and position into a foster home. Soon after his first placement, he began to commence out of his shell. He was going through an localizement period where he had to get use to being a boy instead of it. During this renewal he became overly aggressive, and full of energy. This energy and aggression landed him in trouble on a few occasions. He was forced to move from one foster home to the next because of this trouble.During this period, David not only had to adjust to his new surroundings he also had to adjust to the awkward years of adolescence. This adjustment was especially hard for David because he was never really a boy. However, he was able to overcome it and grow up to live a normal tone, as a pilot for the Air Force.In the novel The Lost Boy, the main character was David Pelzer. David became a foster child because he was severely ill-use by his alcoholic mother. This book looks at his life from ages 9 to 18, when he was a foster child. The theoretical concept of discipline that applies to David during this stage of his life is Erik Eriksons psychosocial theory. Erik Eriksons psychosocial theory has eight stages of development. These stages are as follows legCrisis Age Important Event1Basic trust versus raw material mistrustBirth to 18 months Feeding2Autonomy versus daunt and doubt 18 months to 3 years Toileting3Initiative versus guilty conscience 3 to 6 years&n... ... their children to associate with him. This was evident when David tried to guggle to a girl he liked in his neighborhood. David went to her house to say to her, but instead of speaking to her he spoke t o her mother. She told David that she did not sock why they allowed his kind in the neighborhood. She said that he was a dingy hooligan, and he reeked of street trash. He was told that he is not allowed to talk to her children or approach her house. This response is an example of issues of diversity. Because David was different from these womens family, she did not approve of him. This pillow slip of loss is evident throughout the novel. Many people told David that the sooner he learns that he is only an F-child, the better off he will be. He was told to stick with his own kind. This was just a different type of prejudice that David went through. I though that this novel was very well written. It kept my attention and made me want to read more. I would recommend that this novel be read by all social workers that want to work with abused or fostered children.