Interview with an Adolescent
The adolescent happened to be a son of my former teacher at junior school. He had a lot of interest in me and was particularly interested in the way the father had handled me as his student. Although I remained true to my relationship with the father, it was evident on his face that it did not appear satisfactory to him.
Fortune felt the father was autocratic and was never willing to listen to anything that he said. This showed a lot of resentment within Fortune. He felt the father was iron handed and never sought the opinion of anybody except give orders. Ideally, Fortune was struggling with securing of his identity (Palombo J, Bendicsen B H, Koch B J., 2009 p 112). Besides, he seemed confused over his role not only in the family but also in his own life.
Interview with an Adolescent
I sought a calm place for my interview to avoid any disruption. During the interview it emerged that almost all the adolescents had same characteristic as stated in Ericksons development stages.
When I inquired about his perception about himself, Fortune confidently asserted that he was very responsible most of the time. He argued that he was the only one who was undertaking the family chores, yet the father never appreciated him. Subsequently, Fortune showed a high inclination towards the mother than the father. On seeking the reason for why he liked the mother more than the father, Fortune simply said, mom is caring. Indeed this could not amuse me as ideally fortune was exhibiting Oedipus complex (Rubin R., 1999 p 29). Fortune further added that his father only liked Jacqueline, who was his sister. Subsequently, I could not lay blame wholesale on Fortune, this was bound to psychologically happen. This was ideally an exhibition of phallic complex which I could not ascertain fast hand.
In showing how infuriated he was with the father, when I asked him about his perception about the way society treated the youth, particularly adolescents, he argued that society had no respect for the youth. It was evident at this point that the identity crisis inherent in adolescent was eating him up. Within this context I feel Ericksons (Palombo J, Bendicsen B H, Koch B J., 2009 p 102) assertion that during adolescence there is total role confusion.
Fortune had strong conviction that the old people were having ideas which appeared displaced. He believed that most of the ideas the old people were harboring were quite outdated yet they were not willing to be advised. He cited an example of the father insisting on listening to very old soul music. My dad wants me to listen to very outdated music but I cannot listen to anything like that, except once or twice, to Jacqueline. Fortune appeared determined to front for his ideals without bothering about the rights of others.
Presumably, Fortune appears to disclaim his existence in society. Within Ericksons conceptual framework he calls this repudiation (Erickson stages of development). Fortune had a number of friends who had very similar traits as I realized. Apparently, he was strictly looking for friend who had similar religious cults and those that appeared to be deviant in society. Initially, I felt taken aback when Fortune told me that drunken people tend to be even more reasonable that people who claim spirituality. I did notice that the difference between Fortune and his father was on the company of Fortune. Besides, it occurred to me that the two could not just fuse. While the father wanted Fortune to fuse with people who were Christian and God fearing, Fortune was with individuals who were alcoholics and drug addicts. These divergent likes and dislikes of the further enlarged the drift between the two.
I had interest in the sociability of Fortune and to introduce the topic I asked, who is your closest friend. To this Fortune answered in a more perplexed manner, Judy. But then added immediately, I hope you wont tell Dad, he may send me out of the house. On inquiring further about the relationship, it did emerge strongly that the relation was developing into an intimate one. Consciously however, he did not want the father to know. Fortune felt the father wanted him to remain isolated from the friends of the opposite sex.
Fortune argued that he also wanted to be loved and to express his feeling to some one. Apparently, given that he had a clear sense of who he was, he felt he needed to intimately associate with the members of the opposite sex (Erickson stages of development). However, as much as he wanted to associate with the opposite sex he appeared so conscious about making any commitments to the friends. Ideally as Erickson asserts, the relationship was merely meant to establish a couple hood. The ego is so inherent at this stage that the bonding of the two becomes nearly impossible. Fortune argued that Judy only offered him company when he needed a member of the opposite sex. However, the discussion revealed that despite avoiding responsibility they had some tinge of intimacy in the relationship. Besides, because he feels getting too committed to Judy, that denies him the right to engage with other friends. Erickson termed such interaction as promiscuity.
Fortune was yearning to be a pilot. He wanted to have a family of two a daughter and a son. When I inquired about the efforts he was making about the aspiration, he shifted blame to the father arguing that the father never provided for him sufficient materials for study. Vividly, Fortune is deeply immersed in his own dreams and tended to build much fantasies (Boeree C. G). Ironically, while he has a lot of quest for becoming a pilot there was no sufficient proof for self effort, rather he projected most of his likely shortfalls.
Conversely, Fortune was very critical of the society and its inconsistencies. He felt the society was quite imperfect. He appeared determined against what the society demanded from him as a youth, terming the society as incomplete. However this infidelity, according to Erickson, puts the adolescent in a fix. These results in resentment make the adolescent feel insecure and sidelined. Similarly, Fortune was feeling quite insecure not only with his father but also the entire society.
Fortune was deeply concerned about his appearance. When I wanted to know about his best fashion, Fortune started by blaming his father for not allowing him to choose on the fashion he wanted. He said the father always bought him clothes as if he was still too young to make any choices. In particular, he liked Lucky Dubes fashions. Apparently, the superego (Rubin R., 1999 p 21) had taken toll of him and the appearance to other people was most important. Fortune asserted that his colleagues always laughed at him whenever he puts on the clothes that were bought by his father.
Fortune is entangled in a sort of moratorium. While he wants so much for his future, he is doing very little to achieve it. He looks at the world as potentially hostile and offering the least. He not only appears reluctant to commit himself to anybody but also does not want to get committed to anything. Yet in utter contradiction his projections appeared so high that commitment to course was inevitable (Erickson stages of development). Fortune wants to explore and experiment with anything with a strong believe that this could assist him understand himself better.
Presumably, bio-psych-social forces are inherently at play. At this stage the upbringing of an individual counts less. The individual wants to have their ideologies take preeminence regardless of what the others think about the ideologies. In most cases, like Fortunes difference with the religious leaders and the father over their political and religious adults over their orientations, this leads to conflicts.
I also sought to know what his parents thought about his impending career choice of becoming a pilot. To this he said the father and the mother were utterly opposed. He said the parents wanted to have a way in the decision of career choice. Apparently, this precipitated the strained relationship between Fortune and the father. This insistence by the parents led to acquiesce by Fortune though belatedly. It is for this reason that while the parent is fully aware that Fortune is destined to be a doctor, he is geared towards becoming a pilot.
From the interview it is evident that Fortune is at an Identity Crisis stage (Boeree C. G). While he wants to be a pilot he has actually done the least to achieve this end. It is for this reason that Fortune is incessantly differing with the father. He is also exhibiting the least sense of fidelity to the large society. He does not want to adapt to the set societal stands but rather wants to be seen by his colleagues as superior and at his best.
Conclusions
It is evident from the interview with Fortune that during adolescence the individuals tend to seek protracted attention. This attention is normally prompted by the ego. Further, it is notable that during this stage, individuals will always feel they have a right to make their own independent decisions which should not be interfered with. The interference in these decisions tends to cause some confusion.
It is further deduced that the stage witnesses a lot of development of relationship that lack commitment. This lack of commitment tend to be prompted by the fact that most of the adolescents want to enjoy a little of promiscuity. Within this stage, as it emerged from the interview with Fortune, the individuals tend to be more concerned with their superego than real themselves. Subsequently, this leads to the adolescents seeking more that they are capable of accessing in terms of clothing and other material resources.
Summarily, this presents a very fragile stage and parents need to treat their adolescent sons and daughters with utmost care. If the adolescents are not well guided then it can largely impact on their future. The impact may be along social and career prospects. Ultimately, the way the adolescents are handled determines their subsequent developmental stages.
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