The Lost Boy

THE LOST BOY

SOCW 3220: Human Behavior II

ABSTRACT

Imagine a boy who is nine years old and who is alone. He doesn't 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 removed from his abusive biological mother when he was nine years old and placed into a foster home.

Soon after his first placement, he began to come out of his shell. He was going through an adjustment period where he had to get use to being a boy instead of it. During this transition 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 life, 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 abused 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 development that applies to David during this stage of his life is Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory.

Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory has eight stages of development. These stages are as follows:

Stage Crisis Age Important Event

1 Basic trust versus basic mistrust Birth to 18 months Feeding

2 Autonomy versus Shame and doubt 18 months to 3 years Toileting

3 Initiative versus guilt 3 to 6 years &n...

... middle of paper ...

... their children to associate with him. This was evident when David tried to talk to a girl he liked in his neighborhood. David went to her house to speak to her, but instead of speaking to her he spoke to her mother. She told David that she did not know why they allowed his kind in the neighborhood. She said that he was a filthy 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 women's family, she did not approve of him. This type of prejudice 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.