LUX LISBON’S IDENTITY CRISIS DURING HER ADOLESCENCE IN THE VIRGIN SUICIDES BY JEFFREY EUGENIDES

Antoinetta Vinsensa Audria, English Literature Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia

Abstract


Abstract

This research aims to describe the causes and effects of Lux Lisbon’s identity crisis during her adolescence in The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. To answer the objectives, this research uses the theory of psychosocial stages of development by Erik Erikson.

This is a qualitative research that employed the relational analysis method to analyze the data. The sources of the data of this research were taken from The Virgin Suicide by Jeffrey Eugenides. The form of the data is the expressions, narrations,  and  dialogues  within  the  novel.  The  data  were  analyzed  using Erikson’s psychosocial theory concentrate on the fifth stage of the development and kinds of identity. To make sure about the data trustworthiness, the researcher used triangulation to check on the data relevance.

The findings of the study show that Lux Lisbon’s parents become the main causes of her identity crisis. They are unsupportive and over-controlling parents. Furthermore, she experiences identity diffusion, identity foreclosure and negative identity as the effects of her identity crisis.

 

Key words: identity crisis, Lux Lisbon, psychosocial development, Erikson, The Virgin Suicides

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References


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