On Golden Pond
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In Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond, we encounter a family in the midst of dealing with the tensions and frustrations of moving through a phase of Erik Erikson’s “Life Cycle”. Erikson’s theory was based largely on the belief that life is a continuous development process, and, that, maturity is not the end of psychological growth. At each stage of the Life Cycle, Erikson believes there are challenges to be met in order to advance to the next stage of development in a whole and health manner. The stages of development often overlap and can vary to a large degree dependent upon the individual and environmental circumstances. Erikson’s stages are most applicable to the individuals portrayed in On Golden Pond. If we look at all five of the characters in the film, we see that each is struggling with the issues and challenges at different stages in Erikson’s life cycle. Billy Ray, Jr. is a thirteen year old boy who is challenged by the issues inherent in Erikson’s fifth stage of the life cycle, adolescence. In this stage the individual is typically between 13 and 17 years of age and struggles with the challenge of forming an identity versus role-confusion. During this stage, the “individual begins to develop the ability to see things from others’ point of view. The youth must develop a sense of his or her own identity, as distinct from all others and personally acceptable, or he/she will be confused or settle on a ‘negative’ ident
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won her fourth Oscar for the role, tries to break through the walls she has built around herself by telling her life moves along and it is time for her to mature past these feelings based on the past. Particularly in order to live in the here-and-now. As Ethel expresses to Chelsea, “Here we go again-Your miserable childhood. Father who is overbearing…Chelsea, you’ve got a great, big chip on your should which is very unattractive…I have to beg you to come here and see us, and, when you do, you are disagreeable about the past…there isn’t anyone who doesn’t look back to their childhood with some bitterness and regret about something. It doesn’t have to ruin your life darling; you’re a big girl now. Aren’t you tired of it all…Bore! Bore! Bore!…life marches on Chelsea. I suggest you get on with it”. Ethel has accepted that one has to move past these kinds of psychological stumbling blocks if they are to experience wholeness and appreciation in the here-and-now.
Norman Thayer is losing autonomy over his own self, as his mental and physical faculties are noticeably declining on his 80th birthday. He is preoccupied with thoughts of death, because, as he tells his wife when she asks him why he is so, “he thinks of nothing else a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1330
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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