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psychosocial moratorium, those are: identity diffusion, identity foreclosure and negative identity.
Erikson 1968: 170 states that identity diffusion is followed by severe identity confusion accompanied by acute upset, inability to concentrate or a
self-destructive preoccupation. Adolescent that is unable to face the need of identity development is likely to confront to the state of identity diffusion. In
other words, identity diffusion is the unreadiness to explore and accept a proper identity. The process of finding or experimentation about oneself is
usually skipped by those who are unable to handle identity diffusion. Identity diffusion can cause disruption in the mind of those who are unable to handle
the problem. They are likely to find themselves finding difficulties in concentrating, controlling their emotion and forming relationships with others.
The second phenomenon of psychosocial moratorium is identity foreclosure. Identity foreclosure is the premature establishment of the sense of
identity. In this type of trouble, a certain adolescent is prematurely put himself into a certain role. The role then is considered as his final role. This is likely
to lead the adolescent into confusion in identity and the inability to cope with the real and assigned set of roles in the society. This identity foreclosure is
usually set by the goals of the parents or other authority figures. Nurmi 1990: 78 states that the individual with identity foreclosure is being pressured and
his sense of conformity is taken from him. So in a sense, his given identity is what his parents forced upon him and the individual accept it as his final
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identity. The individual who faces this problem is left with no choice in experimenting and exploring his own sense of identity.
The last aspect of psychosocial moratorium is negative identity. Negative identity is also known as the loss sense of identity. The loss sense of
identity then expressed in the sense of hostility towards the appropriate roles. In a sense, the failure of acquiring a proper identity turns out into a hate
toward the appropriate role of identity. The target of the disdain covers a wide range of aspect such as nationality or class membership, masculinity or
feminity, race, religion and many more.
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
The young adult stage around 19 to 40 years old is what signified the stage of Intimacy vs. Isolation. At this stage, the young adult will certainly
seeks out intimacy. The young adult seeks intimacy by building a deep and long last relationship with others and if going well it will turn into a family. If
the young adult fails to find the intimacy, heshe will be faced with isolation instead of intimacy.
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation
The seventh stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development is the stage of Generativity vs. Stagnation. Generativity is primarily the interest in
establishing and guiding the next generation Erikson, 1980:103. This stage
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occurs during middle adulthood around 40 to 65 years old. At this stage, the adult will try to do something that will benefit the society. The adult will
attempt to leave something for hisher society. The fear at this stage is that when the adult faced with inactivity and stagnation. The success of this stage
will lead in the sense of accomplishment, while the failure will lead in the sense of meaningless existence.
8. Ego integrity vs. Despair
The last stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development is the stage of Ego integrity vs. Despair. This stage occurs during late adulthood around 65
years until the end of life. At this stage, the adult that have resolved all of the seventh stages of Erikson’s psychosocial development will look back at their
life and seek the sense of fulfillment. The goal in this stage will lead the adult into the feeling of having knowledge, experience and wisdom while the
failure will result in having despair and regret.
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Table 1. The chart of Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory adapted from
www.clevelandconsultinggroup.comnewlettersccg-news-december-2012.htm
Stages Crisis Favorable
Outcome Unfavorable
Outcome
1
st
year of life
Trust vs. Mistrust Faith in the
environment and future events.
Suspicion, fear of future events.
2
nd
year of life
Autonomy vs. Doubt A sense of self-
control and adequacy.
Feelings of shame and self-doubt.
3
rd
to 5
th
years Initiative vs. Guilt
Ability to be a “self-starter,” to
initiate one’s own activities.
A sense of guilt and inadequacy to be on
one’s own.
6
th
year to puberty
Industry vs. Inferiority Ability to learn
how things work, to understand and
organize. A sense of
inferiority at understanding and
organizing. Adolescence Identity vs. Identity
Seeing oneself as a Confusion over
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12 to 18 years old
Diffusion unique and
integrated person. who and what one
really is. Early
Adulthood 19 to 40
years old Intimacy vs. Isolation
Ability to make commitments to
others, to love. Inability to form
affectionate relationship.
Middle age 40 to 65
years old Generativity vs.
Stagnation Concern for family
and society in general.
Concern only for self-one’s own
well-being and prosperity.
Aging years 65 years
until the end of life
Integrity vs. Despair A sense of integrity
and fulfillment; willingness to face
death. Dissatisfaction with
life; despair over prospect of death.
C. Previous Research Findings
A research study on Bank’s The Wasp Factory has been done before by Radek Holcepl 2012. The title of the research is “Postmodernism Mentality in The
Wasp Factory”. The research is conducted from the postmodernism point of view and is focused on the relation between forms and contents from the perspective of
sociology and depth psychology. The main focus of the research is to find out the
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relation between literature, religion and technology in postmodernism era that represented in the characterization of Frank from The Wasp Factory.
The similarity of this research and the research done by Radek Holcepl is the object, the main character from The Wasp Factory. While in general, the difference
from those researches is the theory and perspective used. Holcepl’s research uses postmodernism theory while this research uses Erikson’s psychosocial development.
The research objective is also different. This research focuses on the mental development of the main character from the story, while Holcepl’s research focuses
on the postmodernism mentality that reflected in the main character from the story. Other similar researches are also done by students in English Department of
State University of Yogyakarta. Desi Anggi Ayuning Saputri 2012 wrote a thesis entitled “The Failure of Leo Colston’s Adolescence and its Effects Viewed Through
his Psychological Development Reflected in The Go Between by L.P. Harley”. The objective of the research is to explain the factors that influence the failure of
Colston’s adolescence identity and to explain its effects on his life. The research is done by looking at the psychological identity development of Colston.
The other research is done by Anestiya Fiddin Rosyada 2013. Rosyada wrote a thesis entitled “Identity Crisis of The Second Generation of Asian-Indian
Americans as Reflected in the Lahiri’s The Namesake”. The research aims to identify identity crisis of the second generation of Asian-Indian Americans and also to explain
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the impact of the crisis depicted in the novel entitled The Namesake. The researcher uses the theory of psychosocial development stage of identity by Erikson.
Another research is done by Tri Nurlianingsih 2014. Nurlianingsih wrote a thesis entitled “Esther’s Problems of Personality as an Impact of Her Failure in
Accomplishing Self-Identity: A Psychosocial Analysis to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar”. The objective of the research is to find out in which stage Esther faced with the
problem of identity failure and also to explain the impact of identity failure toward her personality. The research done by Nurlianingsih is based on Erikson’s
psychosocial development theory. The similarity between this research and those three researches done by
Saputri, Rosyada and Nurlianingsih is the theory and perspective used. The focus of those three researches and this research is the psychological development of a certain
character and based on the Erikson’s psychosocial development theory. While there are some researches that based on Erikson’s theory. There is still no research that has
been done on Bank’s The Wasp Factory in the English Department of State University of Yogyakarta.
D. Background of the Novel
1. The Author
Iain Banks 1954-2013 is a famous writer from Scotland and his works mainly deal on the genre of mainstream fiction and science fiction. Even though his
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works are usually science fiction, it was his first work The Wasp Factory that makes him a famous writer. The story of The Wasp Factory is about a teenager with a
serious gender identity problem and it is considered to be one of the most inspiring teenage novels.
Following the success of The Wasp Factory, Banks writes several books in the genre of science fiction such as Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, Use of
Weapons and many more. Banks is also known for his unique pen name, in all his fiction books he use the name of Iain Banks and as for his science fiction books he
use the name of Iain M. Banks. As a writer, Banks has received a lot of awards in literary field such as British Science Association Fiction Award 1994, Honorary
Fellow of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies 2013 and many more.
2. The Wasp Factory
The Wasp Factory story revolves around the life of a teenage girl named Frank. The story is told in a first person perspective of Frank describing her present
life as a wicked teenager and also her gruesome childhood memories. Although Frank is a girl, in the whole story she is depicted as a boy frantically searching for her self-
identity and it is not until the last part of the story that she is revealed to be actually a girl. That gender confusion is the main theme of the story and that problem leads
Frank to commit various defiant behaviors such as violence, social withdrawal and also ritualism.
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Franks lives in a certain island in Scotland with her father, Angus Cauldhame. Even though Franks is a legitimate daughter of Angus, Frank has no birth certificate
and social insurance card, her father never registers her. Also, as instructed by her father, Frank always answers to people that she is Angus’ nephew and not his
daughter. Frank’s father is protective toward Frank, he always do all the cooking and cleaning. He also tells Frank to choose who she interact with. Her father also has a
secret room in their house that is forbidden for Frank. She knows that he is doing some secret experiments because Frank’s father is a scientist before.
Just like her father, Frank also has her own secrets. Frank has been secretly killing small animals and insects in order to perform strange ritual and she is also
responsible for the deaths of three children in her family. Frank always performs her strange ritual in the third floor loft of her house. She creates her own device which
she named The Wasp Factory. The device is enclosed in a glass and is similar to a clock with each number represents different torturing tools. Frank routinely catches
small insects and puts the insects into The Wasp Factory, the insects then will move into certain number in the device that lead them into miserable death such as eaten by
ants, burned to death, bitten by a poisonous spider and other cruel ends. By doing this Frank believes that each death is an omen that somehow can answer all the questions
she has. Those bizarre behaviors are the product of Frank confusion in finding her
self-identity. The cause of Frank’s confusion is her father, it is known from the story
