Childhood and Society Literary Elements

Child psychology

Erikson sets his arguments in modern theories about psychological development, including a mixture of historical case studies and modern case studies.

The narrator is Erikson himself.

Erikson writes in an informative tone but is also often literary in his approach.

Children are depicted as the protagonist of this text, with various negative societal factors acting as an antagonist.

The major conflict in this text is trying to discover what influences childhood development.

This novel features several climaxes when Erikson makes conclusions regarding various psychological questions.

Erikson argues that certain events in Hitler's childhood could be seen to foreshadow his terrible actions later in his life.

Erikson details a case study in his first chapter, about a boy who is impacted by his grandmother's death. The impact of this event upon the boy's psychological well-being is understated by his parents.

Erikson alludes to the childhood of Hitler as an example of his theory.

Erikson uses the imagery of childhood to illustrate his arguments about psychological development.

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There is a parallel created between the young boy's epileptic fit and the death of his grandmother by a heart attack.

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Erikson speaks about how the word clinical has "long since shed this clerical garb," thereby personifying the term "clinical."