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CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
This research attempts to identify the failure of the psychosocial development of an adolescent that is portrayed in Chbosky’s The Perks of being A Wallflower.
Hence, the researcher only involves Charlie as the leading character that is assumed as an adolescent who experiences failures in his psychosocial
development. Erikson’s psychosocial development is employed to guide the researcher in answering the research objectives related to Charlie’s failures.
In this chapter, the researcher describes the findings of the research, which are divided into two sub-chapters. The first sub-chapter answers the first research
objective that is about Charlie’s failure in the fifth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development. It is marked by three problems ascending in his psychosocial
moratorium, which are identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, and negative identity. The second sub-chapter answers the second research objective about the
impacts of Charlie’s failure toward his personality in the sixth stage, Intimacy vs. Isolation. In addition, the researcher also provides one part that explains the
traumatic experience and other supporting factors as the causes of Charlie’s failure in achieving his proper personality development.
A. Charlie’s Failure in the Fifth Stage
Erikson with his psychosocial development theory intends to say that human personality is highly influenced by the social and historical factors. It is in line
with Freist 2008: 249 who states that “in addition to elaborating on
psychosexual stages beyond child-hood, Erikson places more emphasis on both social and historical influences.” Therefore, the ability of individuals to integrate
with society and history in their environment will determine whether they will grow to have a healthy personality or not. The society will accept individuals
based on the way they react, behave, and think about things in accordance with the standard adopted in that environment.
In addition, in his theory, he emphasizes that there are eight stages of human personality development through which individuals pass. Erikson puts the term
‘versus’ to link the two opposing conflicts in each stage: the positive ‘versus’ the negative. Each stage has its own role, and the outcome of the earlier stage will
contribute to the skill of individuals in handling the later stage. The task of individuals is to make a balanced outcome in every stage. A healthy personality
can be indicated from the result, whether individuals can make a balanced outcome or not.
Identity vs. Role confusion is the fifth stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development, and it is the most crucial period than the other stages. Individuals
will face the fifth stage when they become adolescents. Adolescents are demanded to achieve the sense of identity as the basic strength at this stage. Thus,
individuals need to explore a sense of identity in this stage, which is called as psychosocial moratorium. Erikson 1968: 156 says that psychosocial moratorium
is the time when individuals have experimentation to find out the way they can fit in the society and be recognized as part of them. However, there are some
problems that occur during this stage; which are 1 identity diffusion, 2 identity
