Many scientists and philosophers have presented information on the stages humans go through in life. One of these representations is put forward by Erikson, in the book The Nature of Adolescence, by John C. Coleman and Leo B. Hendry. This theory has four stages; 1. The problem of intimacy, 2. A diffusion of time perspective, or the problems of focusing on the future, 3. The diffusion of industry or the difficulty of concentrating on studies, and finally 4. The negative identity or “rebellious” stage. These stages are not just about the adolescence of a person's life, as they can go through them and possibly stay there throughout their life. Rebecca Fraser-Thill defines it this way: “The diffusion of identity is a step in the process of finding a sense of self. It refers to a period during which an individual does not have an established identity and is not actively seeking one. In other words, it is a time when a person's identity remains unresolved, but there is no identity crisis" (Thill). In the novel Portrait of the Artist as a Youth man by James Joyce, each of these stages can be seen as the novel progresses An analysis of the stages of development as set out by Erikson in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and in my own. life is necessary. Intimacy issues can be seen in the early stages of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man when Stephen, the protagonist of the novel, has multiple sexual escapades with prostitutes. James Joyce relates this by saying: “It was too much for him. He closed his eyes, abandoning himself to her, body and mind, aware of nothing in the world except the dark pressure of her gently parted lips” (Joyce, Chapter 2. , Section 5) This shows one's reluctance to engage in a medium of paper in the world. Many people either do not progress, get stuck at one level or another, or regress to steps they already have. exceeded. There are definitely problems in everyone's life, but the best thing you can do is learn from them. These steps are not set in stone and there is no way to fully know what is going on in a person's mind. Np, and Web. May 5, 2014. .Coleman, John C. and Leo B. Hendry. The nature of adolescence. Np: Metheun and Co., 1980. Print. Erikson, Erik H. Identity: youth and crisis. Np: WW Norton and Company, 1968. Print.Melges, Frederick T. “Identity and Time Perspective.” Cognitive models of psychological time. Ed. Richard A. Block. Np: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1990. 255-67. Print.SimplyPsychology. Np, nd.