A Developmental Psychology Study On Lessing's The Fifth Child

Doris Lessing was a prestigious writer in the history of English literature in the 20 th century.Lessing's The Fifth Child,composed in 1988,is an excellent work when Lessing returned realistic themes from space themes.The work is regarded as a minor classic.The Fifth Child revolves around the lives of the Lovatts,attaching importance to abnormal development of Ben,the Lovatts' fifth child.The thesis discusses the failures of education on Ben.Taking the theory of developmental psychology as the theoretical basis,the thesis explores three aspects of educational failures that Ben experiences from birth to eighteen years old.These three aspects are failures of prenatal education,parenting and social education.The thesis reveals Lessing's unique insights into education.Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human race change over the course of their life.Meanwhile,it examines the influences of nature and nurture on the process of human development.The purpose is to promote the optimization of development.The main body of this paper is divided into three parts.The paper first analyzes the failures of Mr.and Mrs.Lovatt's prenatal education from psychology and body.In the course of her pregnancy,Mrs.Lovatt's emotional depression leads to Ben's unresponsiveness,irritability,aggression.Meanwhile,the physical exhaustion of Mrs.Lovatt leads to Ben's insufficient development in brain and body.What's more,the thesis analyzes the failures of Mr.and Mrs.Lovatt's parenting from caregivers' sensitivity,parenting and family conditions.As insensitive caregivers,Mr.and Mrs.Lovatt's ignorance of Ben's needs leads to the formation of Ben's unsafe attachment.Mr.Lovatt's uninvolved parenting and Mrs.Lovatt's authoritarian parenting lead to the further suspension of Ben's personality and social development.The terrible conditions of the Lovatts lead to Ben's abnormal behaviors including speech retardation,mental retardation,emotional indifference,and aggression.Finally,the paper analyzes the failures of social education from the conditions of the community and the schooling.In the Lovatts' community,violent incidents occur frequently and violent scenes are on overnight.Inside Ben's school,teachers are indifferent.In The Fifth Child,Lessing condemns the factors of nurture which lead to Ben's abnormal development and the severe consequences.She sincerely calls on us to pay attention to the innocent child around us and endeavor to help children develop healthily and harmoniously.