Lee Daniels' the Butler

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presidents and forming personal relationships with them. ()Throughout all his tragedies and triumphs he was able to see blacks and whites unite and a black man as a U.S. president. He ended up serving during seven presidential administrations that lasted between 1957-1986

Character #2 – Identified Life Stage

The second character selected is the wife of the first character. Her name is Gloria Gaines, she is also a mother of two young boys. She is in the middle adulthood stage which last from 34 to 60. In this stage Gloria is experiencing the psychosocial crisis of generativity versus stagnation. Erikson describes this psychosocial crisis as a pressure on an adult to be committed to improving the life conditions of her kids (Newman & Newman, 2015). Gloria is trying to steer her sons in the right direction for a better future. She continuously stresses herself out trying to keep the family together and positive.

As a wife she struggles with finding herself and making herself useful as a stay at home mom. Due to the stressors in Gloria’s life she starts to drink heavily and also has an affair. The drinking increase causes her to experience stagnation in this stage of her life. Stagnation can be defined as a person not moving forward or growing in life. People that are unable to manage their household, raise their kids, or manage a career often feel psychological stagnation in middle adulthood (Newman & Newman, 2015). Gloria seems to be falling apart at the seams and no one is reaching out to help.

Based on psychological theory in middle adulthood the personality undergoes a reorganization that focuses more on the future generations (Newman & Newman, 2015). Gloria wants her sons to have careers and to stay out of trouble. She concerns herself with the who her children are friends with and where they go. She even sneaks behind her husband’s back to provide extra help after being told not to. At this stage in her life her main focus is on bettering her kids and keeping them safe. The developmental tasks that are associated with this stage include managing a career, nurturing an intimate relationship, expanding relationships, and managing a household (Newman & Newman, 2015). Gloria has all these developmental tasks at play except a career. Not having a career gives Gloria ore time to focus on the negative things in life, which triggers her drinking addiction. Her addiction consumes this stage in her life because it causes her to fail in her developmental tasks. If she didn’t drink the alcohol she could perform her day to day duties.

Gloria was home alone most of the time with no one to talk to. Her husband worked in the White house as much as he could. He treated her like a stranger sometimes by giving no affection to her. Happiness within an intimate relationship is more important at this age than work issues (Newman & Newman, 2015). She grew up in a very segregated time women were treated very different with little rights. At the beginning of middle adulthood she became depressed and wanted attention. This led to her having an affair with one of the neighbors. As the drinking increased it consumed all her daily activities. She could no longer pick up the kids on time or keep the house clean. Once the kids were getting older and living their own lives Gloria was no longer needed. For a very long time she allowed her addiction to control her life. Every time the family argued or she felt down she would turn to the alcohol for comfort.

Gloria cut herself off from all friends and no longer lived a real life in the middle of this stage. As she progressed in middle adulthood she realized that life was just passing her by. Her kids were grown up and making their own decisions. She began to fight her alcohol addiction and avoid any negative thoughts. Gloria ended her affair with the neighbor and attempted to communicate with her husband. Because of the limited opportunities for women Gloria choose to live the lifestyle she lived. She realized that she could make the best of her surroundings and volunteer in the community. Gloria stopped drinking and took her life back and rekindled her marriage.

Character #3 – Identified Life Stage

The third and final character is Louis Gaines, the elder of the two sons. He is the son of the other two characters chosen. He is in the early adolescence stage of his life which lasts from ages 12 to 18. Psychosocial crisis involved in this stage are group identity versus alienation. Louis had a group identity that his family knew nothing about. In this stage adolescents seek group affiliation, they are confronted by the fit or unfit of their needs and norms (Newman & Newman, 2015). He is not interested in following in his fathers footsteps. He has plans to Join a radical organization once he gets older and fight for peace and equality. Louis is ashamed at the way his father serves and obeys for a living.

During early adolescence Louis experiences developmental tasks that involve him starting to mature. In this stage he is developing emotionally and physically. His views on life and his social environment is totally different from his father’s views. He is growing up in a different time and place than his father did. He is not isolated on a farm, instead he is surrounded by his peers. He is able to make friends and interact with people that share his same vision. There are many factors such as physical maturity, relationship development, cognitive development, emotional development, cultural context, peer support or pressure, and individual differences all influence development (Newman & Newman, 2015).

As Louis enters later adolescence he began to express his beliefs to his family. Even though his mother and father dont approve, he continues to join groups. Louis, the elder son, becomes a first generation university student at Fisk University in Tennessee, although Cecil feels that the South is too volatile; he wanted Louis to enroll at Howard University instead. Louis joins a student program led by Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) activist James Lawson, which leads to a nonviolent sit-in at a segregated diner, where he is arrested. Furious, Cecil confronts Louis for disobeying him. Gloria, suffering from her husband’s long working hours, descends into alcoholism and comes close to having an affair with the Gaines’s neighbor, Howard.

In 1961, after John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, Louis and a dozen others are attacked by the Ku Klux Klan while traveling on a bus in Alabama. Louis is shown participating in the 1963 Birmingham Children’s Crusade, where dogs and water cannons were used to stop the marchers, one of the movement’s actions which inspired Kennedy to deliver a national address