63 tortoise. Dave is very proud of himself when finally he gets his turn to give a
name for his tortoise. He develops his autonomy by getting turn to give name his tortoise. According to Erikson in Money 2000, toddlers need to experience the
independence of being able to make some choices for themselves. Dave successfully develops his autonomy on making decisions to give a name for his
pets.
c. Initiative Person
The third stage of Erikson‟s theory that addresses the early childhood years is initiative versus guilt. This stage happens in the play age period at the age of 3
to 5. According to Erikson as cited in Feist 2006, preschool-age children are developing locomotion, language skills, curiosity, imagination, responsibility, and
the ability to set goals. In this stage, children need to begin asserting control and power over the
environment. Children who are successful at this stage feel capable, responsible, and they are able to lead others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with
a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of initiative. In the first novel when Dave is four years old, he is described as a
responsible child. He has many pets in his house like cats, dogs, exotic fish in the aquarium and a gropher tortoise
A Child Called “It”, p.20. Dave‟s brothers always have a chance to give names for their pets. Dave also wants to give the
name to his pet for the first time. Dave is very happy when finally his mother
64 gives him a chance to name his tortoise for the first time because he has an
initiative to take care of his pet. The other proof that shows Dave is successful in this stage is when his
family decorates the Christmas tree. Every year, Da ve‟s brothers always have
opportunity to place the angel which is the most beautiful decoration of the Christmas tree. Because of
Dave‟s parents never give him a chance to place the angel, Dave has initiative to do the same thing like his brothers. He wants to place
the angel at the top of the tree. He feels very happy when his parents allow him to place the angel at the top of the tree. It can be seen in the sta
tement: “Each year one of us was honored by being allowed to place the angel at the top of the tree,
while Father held us up in his strong arms ” A Child Called “It”, p. 22. From the
analysis above, the researcher concludes that Dave is successful in this stage. He has initiative to do something.
d. Inferior Person
