Developmental Theories Essay

1017 Words5 Pages
The Little Mermaid and Developmental Theories The story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen is a classic story of a young girl determined to have what her heart desires. Her trials and tribulations are something that most children can identify with. The little mermaid starts off at the tender age of 10 and continues to develop socially throughout the story to the age of 15. Many philosophers have identified with child development through different theories. The theory most fitting for the story of The Little Mermaid is Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory and Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of the Development of Moral judgment because the little mermaid shows maturation throughout the story and learns the importance of moral judgment. Erikson’s psychosocial development theory is about the maturation of child development. The beginning of the story shows relation to the third stage of Erikson’s theory, Initiative versus Guilt. Though the little mermaid is much older than the stage describes, she desperately wants to explore the world outside the ocean. “When you are fifteen years old, said their grandmother, you will be allowed to come up out of the sea” (Andersen, 5). She struggles with wanting to see outside the ocean, but she is not allowed to go above the sea until she is 15. The little mermaid has five sisters, each a year apart. “None of them wanted to see the world as much as the youngest and she was the one who had the very longest to wait” (Andersen, 5). This part of the story is identifiable with the fourth stage, Industry versus Inferiority because the little mermaid feels inferiority that her sisters get to go before her and she has to wait the longest to go to the top. The following quote shows how difficult it is not to be able to do the same things as her sisters, like when they go up to the ocean, and leave her all alone. “When
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