A Second Adolescence

He is healthy, has no known diseases or a family history that would suggest him particularly pr unmatchcap adapted to illness. He awakening into a breeding and body he no longitudinal recognizes. He has physic everyy let him egotism deteriorate In a dark cubicle show no Importance to his physical self (Lachrymal, 2004). Concern for mavens physicality Is all-important(a) in accepting the changes of middle age and universe comfort equal in ones own body (Sharon, 1998). He begins to recognize his own body s importance because off crush he develops on his daughters fri contain.Starting to work show up and place Importance on how he looks Is symbolic of his acceptance of his unexampled body (Ben-Earl, Leave, &038 Shave, 2008). His office job has made him virtuallywhat sedimentary nonetheless it progresss to have little effect on his physical tumescebeing unpack in athletic footing he begins to citation. His body and physical reckon becomes important to him. He wants to a spect at attractive and begins working come to the fore vigorously. He once again sees himself as a familiar being and wants to feel good ab come come in of the closet himself physically. Ben-Earl, Leave, &038 Shave, 2008) Changes at his Job manage as a catalyst for Lester to begin a transformation in his deportment in order to unify his self image with the actuality of his eachday Life(Lachrymal, 2004). Family dynamics Lusters family relationship with his married woman Is In shambles. They no longer support each other or have a intimate relationship. His relationship with his daughter is almost non compriseent and it is unclear if there is any extended family. No closing curtain familiar relationships exist in Lester life. It Is clear though that there was a condemnation that he and his married woman and daughter were happy.He often reminisces of a clock time when he had less to no responsibility and his whole life before of him. He feels stifled by his family and his Job and has no outlet to predict this problem. Throughout the period of observation Lester makes a complete circle to self acceptance. He considers some drastic tepees only if they argon In the end successful. He develops a cozy obsession with his daughters friend which functions to snap him out of his state of complacency and begin to mix things up in every argona of his life.He effectively begins to identify himself as an jejune would testing boundaries and forming a new voicelity(anger, 2004). Caroline Is the dominant section of the family. She Is louder and more(prenominal) demanding than her child or partner. Image Is everything to her. 1 OF 7 important to her than her actual ability to successfully fill these places(Barnett, 2004). Her whole persona is a set of illusions that are non found on reality. She is frameworkistic and lives in a world of one- half truths and delusion. As a contract her actions are hollow and self serving.They are for show as opposed to b eing truly supportive or helpful. She is overcritical, berating Jane on her demeanor repeatedly. Adolescence is a time which is difficult for two the child and the parent(Anger, 2004). On the one hand a parent must be supportive an seen as in a blot of effectiveness while nonoperational giving their child room and space to turn and grow into the adult they are fireing too. Respecting an adolescents budding maturity while arm an adult relationship with them is extremely hard on a parent, who still sees their child as being a child.It does non count to stool to be friends with the adolescent, and being cool When what they want is a level of actual respect and consideration, which is the case between Jane and Caroline. It is so important for Caroline to egress to be listening to and under stand her daughter that she loses sight of the person Jane is. As a begetter he is un adapted to connect with his daughter. Lester begins to try to shed to her yet at this point she is uninterested in meeting him half counselling and its unclear she ever will. The obvious attraction he has to Angela alienates Jane and separates them unrestrainedly further.Father and daughter could potentially be allies against Carolynn s conformist nature, but Lusters adolescent fantasy puts them permanently at odds. By paying more attention to the object of his desire, Angela, he proves to Jane that her feelings are of no consequence to him. He genuinely attends to want a more honest relationship with Jane, but fails to see the connection between his feelings for Angela and his parental role. Lester is able to play a parental role for Angela that he natesnot for his own daughter. He manages to e satisfying and accessible. As a wife Caroline is the first to step out on their relationship and partnership.In order to feel like a char and sexually attractive she begins a sexual relationship with an icon of her chosen profession(Barnett, 2004). She is able to validate her decis ions through this sexual relationship. His feeld success emboldens her in her primary relationship(Ben-Air, Leave, &038 Shave, 2008). Psychological Influences Lester becomes aware all off sudden that he is unhappy with his life. He makes a conscious decision to change his purlieu and instead of losing his Job which as the probable outcome of restructuring at the office, he collects a stand and refuses to be overlooked.Revealing an abuse of power he is able to manipulate his bosses to give him a years salary with benefits. This freedom allows him to begin a path to self discovery that codifies his self image with how he is perceived by the world. Over the course of the few months we have access to Lester he goes through distinctive stages of development akin to that of an adolescent. Risky serves as an fastening relationship for Lester. He is able to form a close unspoilt holdfast to Risky and egging to stretch the boundaries of his previously rigid amaze in family as well a s community(Sable, 2008).This is in line with the convoy speculation (Antibiotic, Kamala, &038 Dashiki, 2004) which stipulates that addendum relationships change and continue to form over time. Risky serves to both father and daughter as a stable reliable relationship that the can count on(Sable, 2008). This allows Jane to express openly comfortable and confident with her ever-changing body. It allows Lester to once again believe in himself as having worth and no longer defining himself solely as a husband and father. He begins to explore what he really wants and what he needs to do to pop there. He steadytually begins to start doing for himself.Although in the most classic terms possible he is living out a midlife crisis, it appears that for him this is a put to work of maturation and acceptance he previously did not have a get hold to experience(Lachrymal, 2004). He is mirroring the psychological experience his daughter should be loss through(Morris, Silk, Steinberg, &038 al. , 2007). He buys the car he wants, starts working out, starts smoking pot and standing up to his wife. Lester brazenly demands respect and independence both in his family and Job. He exclaims that things are changing and no longer allows his wife to bully him or talk over him.He makes a loud and overt demand for respect. He wants the identical amount of freedom as his wife and daughter and symbolically breaks the bonds of restraint by disrupting dinner, breaking a plate against the wall and demanding a change of music, atmosphere and pecking order. It is the first clear step towards Lester being able to redefine himself both internally and externally(Lachrymal, 2004). Theoretical perspectives The majority of middle patriarchal lot report having more satisfaction and less anxiety orgy their abilities and describe a sense of perfecting skills(Lachrymal, 2004).Stereotypically the midlife crisis hits a huge percentage of people yet only a small percentage actually seem to. It is a period in which people have a chance to review their decisions and life choices, and come to terms with what they have achieved or not achieved. They may be merely where they want to be or some may have to adjust their self image to incorporate the way their life actually looks potentially leading to crisis. This is the case of Lester Barman. He describes light up from a 20 year mom and finally bonny aware of, and wanting to participate in his surroundings.Lusters internal world is exquisite much dead before meeting him. He describes an awakening one day with the feeling that his life is n. Tot his and he no longer recognizes the different systems he is involved in. Using his work difficulties as a catalyst, he becomes able to change his entire life into something he can accept(Antibiotic, Kamala, &038 Dashiki, 2004). Lester seems to have not formed a functional attachment expressive style with anyone in his life until he wakes up (film) after feeling like he had been in a coma for 20 years. He starts to develop an attachment relationship with Risky in a sense.He eventually becomes comfortable with what he feels is his true self, and secure with Risky. Psychological Progress Insinuators and Bowls idea that attachment forms and changes over the life span supports the idea that Lester gains a sense of security measures through his relationship with Risky(Antibiotic, Kamala, &038 Dashiki, 2004). Ricks attachment to his father is nonexistent. He feels protective of his mother but uncomplete of his parents has provided safety or comfort for him in moments of distress, one of the most salient bobs of a caregiver(Sable, 2008).He instead has to take on the role of care-giver and protect and defend his mother who is otherwise helpless and unaccompanied. Risky easily slips into a similar role with Lester, being the familiar role he is used to. Lester gains wisdom and self awareness by mirroring an adolescent sexual attraction. He exploration and discovery an adolescent typically engages in (Arent, 2000). kinda of his parents Lester rebels and redefines himself within in the family structure he has created as an adult. He pushes emotional limits and attempts to make connections in ewe and more passionate ways.Coming full circle Lester finally is able to accept the man he is and the life he lives. He goes through a developing process a kin to that an adolescent would when creating an adult identity. Lester tests his new self out in all of the major areas of personality and finds himself in a body he accepts with a persona he is comfortable with(Anger, 2004). Lusters restraint in not having a sexual relationship with Angela demonstrates a level of maturity he did not previously possess indicating successful personality growth towards adulthood.When Lester anally sees Angela as the child she is and is able to comfort her expressing fatherly instinct his competence as a father is proven to him. He is able to reassure her without being p atronizing and respecting her growing maturity, an important role parents play for adolescent children(Anger, 2004). In a sense Lester uses Angela as a proxy for his daughter as soon as he identifies her as something more than a sexual object. The fact that Lester recognizes the purpose to which a sexual relationship with one of Canes friends would be inappropriate, the love he has for his daughter and ole as a father is reestablished.Lester gains solace by looking at a picture of the glory days of his family where they are all smiles. His ability to renew his life and find beauty in the ups, downs and ostensibly mundane moments is testament to his development as a mature, well adjusted adult(Lachrymal, 2004). SOCIAL FACTORS Gender Roles / Gender Conformity Lester and Carolinas marriage does not delineate strict gender roles in the classic sense of man as bread winner woman as home maker (Lore, 1994). Carolyn views herself as the bread winner of the family. She has proclaimed he rself the captain of her emails social standing.She believes that ones social position can be directly related to economic gains. For her, money and material gains are the most important marker of ones overall success socially. make money is the most important thing for her. It is unclear how much money she actually contributes to the family, but sole bread winner is a role she takes on readily if loudly (Mikhail, 2004). It is a typically make role, yet she someways thinks that by both worrying about economic status and appearance she deserves more credit and admiration (Barnett, 2004). She is the first o fully bring down her matrimonial relationship.Her sense of entitlement increases as their relationship moves forward. masculinity and Homophobia Considering masculinity to be socially constructed provides men with agency in forming the prevalent view of masculinity. Masculinity being malleable allows us to step back and identify exactly what we require of men to be manly in our society (Kismet, 2004). The pressure is insuperable for some people. Risky dad is unable to accept himself for who he is and his internalized homophobia is so devastating that he feels he is forced to act to defend his manhood.Lusters innocent acceptance of the realities of his life in the end is what ends his life. Not accepting general cultures definition of masculinity and the freedom that allows is Lester is terrifying to a man who has based his life around not admitting or accepting the truth of his situation. array Perspectives on Homosexuality gayity. Dont ask dont tell ( soda) being the official position thought of by some as a progressive constitution for the armed services was not repealed until 2011(Bird,2014).Showing how ingrained homophobia is in a military psyche. The block difference teen other nations policy on civil equality, even in the military is astounding. Take for example the join Kingdom and Australias answer to transgender soldiers serving verses th e United States. Julia Bards 2014 New York Times article The Courage of Transgender Soldiers elucidates unspoiled how polarize these nations policies actually are (Bird, 2014). Department of Defense regulations dont allow transgender individuals to serve in the U.S. Military, based upon health check standards for military servicing. (Bird, 2014) The official position of the United States military is hat being transgender is a mental disorder as defined by the ADSM Ill of 1980(American Psychiatric Association, 1980), instead of adopting the current medical standard for considering gender nonconformity (gender dysphasia) not as a psychological disorder in and of itself (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Solidarity and respect are shown to transgender members of the military in both the U.K and Australia while the United States military continues to use an antiquated possibility of gender, allowing official intolerance (Kernighan, 2012). Homophobia in the Military In 1999 DA DA was the official Clinton era policy adopted by the United States in 1993 (Burlier, 2010) to address civil equality in the military. Homosexuality remained a disagreeable offence when openly expressed changing very little for LIGHT military personnel. Same-sex taste after DADA was enacted was still a disagreeable offence.The law did not prevent service members from being asked about their sexuality rather it removed(p) questions sexual orientation from recruitment questionnaires. Military members and prospective recruits were not allowed to hold forth their same-sex orientation risking discharge or denial of entry if they did Burlier, 2010). The argument for not allowing homosexual service members to disclose was the concept that an open statement by a service member that he or she is a homosexual will create a rebuttal presumption that he or she intends to engage in prohibited conduct, (Burlier, 2010 p. ). Regulations are not put on heterosexual service members discussing thei r personal exploits, fantasies or desires. Several sexual practices are considered prohibited both under military code and civil courts, yet the speculation is not made that these acts have or ever will take place. DADA did very little for improving the actual situation and casual lives of LIGHT service members. The actual number of discharges due t same sex relationships was not significantly different before and during DADA policy years (Burlier, 2010).Rampant homophobia was a social requirement isolating and associating closeted LIGHT service members (Kier, 1998). The fear at being discovered was a daily reality. Anyone could tern a soldier in for same sex activity, actions as innocuous as holding hand. This leaves individuals suspected of homosexual conduct (Burbler &038 1995) alienable physical and verbal attacks as well as official action being taken. Hetero- normative principles were the sole cultural atmosphere. Colonel Frank Fits served in the military even before DADA was the official policy.The much more restrictive, abrasively homophobic policy adopted during the time of his service shaped his attitude was a requirement of service. Any closeted member of the military would have to internalize feelings of self hatred due to the ageless anti gay rhetoric. Internalized homophobia and it Repercussions Frank Fits identifies himself purely based on his military experience. He has no identity other than colonel. He does not take on or identify with the role of husband or father. He coldly treats his family as cadets below his rank.His own sun refers to him as Colonel or Sir as one would a superior officer. The fact that Frank Fits cannot be anyone but the coroner he once was makes it impossible for him to explore, let alone accept feeling and attitudes that the military looked down on. Introspection does not exist for him. Orders, fear and denial run this mans life. His sexual curiosity and feeling of thirst towards men are so unacceptable to Frank tha t he builds is life around his explicit homophobia. poise. Frank Fits residual self hatred, fear and assault pushed him to most the extremes of discrimination and racist principles.His internalized homophobia shaped his relationship with those closest to him, his wife and son who he alienates (Frost, Meyer, 2009). Hiding this part of his internal self in the end defines his entire life. Offensively attacking any chance he got to not have his internal self exposed to the public or himself. Lashing out offensively is a defense strategy so that he will never be exposed to others or himself. The torment and embarrassment Cool. Fits experiences by being what he thought to be jilted by Lester provoked emotions so strong that he had to kill Lester to be able to live with himself.Lusters comfort and ease while discussing his own marital relationship mixed with misunderstanding previous events convinces Cool. Fits that Lester is a closeted homosexual. The fact that Lester is neither actu ally gay, nor homophobic shattered Cool. Fits world. The Cool had to play the role of the butch heterosexual for so long made that he became overly Jealous, arbitrary and abusive to his wife. Being less aggressive would have made him appear weak in his military unconsciousness. This fact made it inconceivable that Lester could be unapologetic, calm and without anger or Jealousy at the fact that his wife was with another man.A freedom Frank Fits could never allow himself. He ends Lusters life right at the moment that Lester is able to achieve something that the Cool. Cannot, self acceptance. finding Lusters acceptance and renewed love of life ends up being what kills him. Lester is able to accept in other people facts that they cannot accept about themselves. Cool Frank Fits does not possess the skills to regulate his emotions or cope internally hen faced with a threatening situation, choosing instead to lash out in violent anger (Morris, Silk, Steinberg, &038 al. , 2007).For Fran k Lester becomes the embodiment of all the sexual feelings he cannot except within himself. Killing Lester is a desperate attempt to kill the feelings Frank most fears. Lester reaffirms his identity as a well adjusted adult when rejecting his foolish adolescent urges. He accepts what he has carry through and is at peace with who he is, uniting the image he has of himself with the actuality of his life. typically this type of review is done later in life(Lachrymal, 2004). Lester is afforded the luxury of being at peace before he dies even though it is sudden.