Eric Erickson and British Literature

Eric Ericson was a remarkable psychologist, with developing the stages of identity versus role-confusion, intimacy versus isolation, and generativity versus stagnation. I will be taking three pieces of British literature that we have already discussed in class, and take Eric Erickson’s three stages and fit them in with characters from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Othello, and Equiano. Will the characters smoothly transition in all three stages or will they all just fail and have trouble transitioning?
To be able to understand the stages when reading them, I shall discuss briefly about Eric Erickson’s stages. In the identity versus role confusion, the identity can be asked simply by who am I? The role confusion, meaning that one is feeling disordered or apprehensive of how they fit into society. In the intimacy versus isolation, Intimacy simply put is how I relate to other people, being non-sexual but as a mere means of communication. In the isolation part of it though, is will I be alone. And the final stage that we will be discussing is the generativity versus stagnation stage. Generativity being that what will one leave to others, while stagnation coming from not being able to contribute and leave to others. Now that I have briefly described the main stages that will be discussed, I will now jump into the lives of character from different times and tell their story, while seeing how they transition into the stages.
In the middle ages of literature, I will shift my focus upon Sir Gawain from the literary piece of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The tale of Sir Gawain is a very interesting piece in its self entirely. The story starts off with everyone dining, and having a very pleasant time, until the Green Knight barges in ...

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...er to make a marriage actually last. Othello in my opinion is a very loving person who truly cares for his countrymen and his country has successfully transitioned into his identity stage, and being a very loving person who was also well loved meaning that he had great communication skills also transitioned very well into the intimacy stage, and lastly as I had pointed out that Othello being a general and served his country I believe that he has also transitioned very well into the generativity stage. But when Othello had found out that he had been played a fool, he quickly jumps out of the identity stage, and plunges into the role confusion stage. But he remains intact with the other two stage pretty well until his death occurs.
And lastly we jump to the Restoration age of literature I will be shifting my focus on Olaudah Equiano, from the literary piece Equiano.