‘ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT – IDENTITY FORMATION IN UMA PARAMESWARAN’S MANGOES ON THE MAPLE TREE.’

Abstract

The paper proposes to apply Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development to analyze the confusions related to identity creation and formation of enduring relationships among young adults. Uma Parameswaran is a Canadian writer of the Indian diaspora. The novel Mangoes on the Maple Tree portrays the personal and social travails faced by second generation Indo-Canadians in the process of identity creation. The novel provides an in depth psychological study of youngsters as they cross the adolescent stage and become young adults. Uma Parameswaran is a Professor of English at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. She published SACLIT An Introduction to South Asian Canadian Literature in 1996. The work contains a collection of essays written between 1982- 1992 and focuses on the South Asian diaspora in Canada. The ethical constrain between two cultural constructs causes highest degree of sensitivity in the formation of human relationship. Erickson’s theory describes the impact of social experience in the development of personality.