The Last Lecture
Generativity
The generativity phase of Erikson’s eight developmental stages is approached by a person after resolving the 5th (that is, confusion about uniqueness against responsibility) and the 6th (that is, confusion between intimacy and isolation) stages of development. The generativity stage is accompanied by the establishment of a connection to immortality that is symbolic. An individual feels the need to engage in actions that are bound to exist long after they cease to exist in the world, such as bearing and bringing up offspring and engaging in charity activities. Erikson’s seventh stage of development (the generativity stage) derives its name from the word ‘generation’, which reflects the unreservedness with which the people undergoing this stage of development express their love and care to their children. In Erikson’s opinion, the generativity stage goes beyond activities like work. Randy Pausch, in The Last Lecture, took the chance to educate his audience, including his students, on confronting the challenges that life brings. Randy talked about what it means to have and follow well-defined ambitions and empowering other people to accomplish their dreams. Examples of other acts showing generativity include moving Jai (his wife) and the children from Pittsburg to Chesapeake, Virginia, so that they could be closer to Jai’s family.
The Last Lecture in itself can be viewed as generativity because it made a possibly huge contribution to the upgrading of society. Randy Pausch offers lessons to his students on the specificity of dreams or ambitions. He tells those in the hall that the reason why life presents challenges is because of the need to separate people who are intent on accomplishing their childhood dreams from those who have no desire to. His focus is on the manner in which his three children will be raised, how they will grow, after his death. Then logistical preparations he made were aimed at ensuring his children and Jai would cope without him. For Erikson, there is a need for a child to be cared for and for the adult to be needed. With the progress of the stages comes the growth of ego interests. At the adult phase, generativity broadly applies to family, work, society, and even relationships. A close reading of Randy Pausch’s book reveals that generativity is mainly concerned with the establishment and guiding of the next generation. In the actual sense, the notion encompasses both creativity and productivity. Identity achievement is not essentially linked with earlier phase resolutions. Identity achievement, for instance, designates an individual who has undergone a crisis and built an identity. Moratorium describes an individual who is in a phase of transition, whereas foreclosure describes an individual who has not passed through a crisis but merely the identity that has been conferred by others. Identity diffusion, on the other hand, represents an ongoing state of confusion.
Integrity
Integrity is also referred to as the review phase. This stage designates the feeling an individual has of being at peace with oneself and the entire world. An individual who has ego integrity often has the feeling of being complete and whole, and has made peace the reality of impending death (Sternberg, 2006). The individual, at this stage, is fully satisfied with what he or she has achieved thus far. An individual who has despair integrity gives a picture of the feeling of squandered opportunities. Such an individual wishes he or she could get another crack at life. What Randy Pausch exhibits is ego integrity. In The Last Lecture, Pausch has fond memories of his upbringing, including the letters his mother used to send him when he was in college. He tells the audience that he has accomplished all the dreams he had as a child, and he has helped other people, especially Tommy Burnet who went on to work on the On Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Pausch and Zaslow 2008:121). The general feeling is that Pausch has lived his life well, and he has made preparations for his children’s upbringing and education after his death. He has accepted that death is approaching and it is unavoidable.
Erikson postulates that integrity entails feeling an enduring wholeness, and an emotionally coherent belief that one’s life is justified and has a purposeful flow. Attaining integrity entails having peace in the conception that one’s past is merely past and it is not changeable. Randy Pauch, in The Last Lecture, speaks warmheartedly about the strict background and a life he lived well. He acknowledges that his death is imminent, but he is enjoying his time. He acknowledges that his past was pleasing and he is not anxious about death. Pausch is of the opinion that his life makes a lot of sense. Looking at the book, he has accomplished integrity.
References
Pausch, R., & Zaslow, J. (2008). The last lecture. New York: Hyperion.
Sternberg, R. (2006). The nature of generativity. Creativity Research Journal, 26(18), 87-98.
