A Comparative Study of Puberty Crisis in the Narratives of "Bulldog" by Arthur Miller and "Rami" by Abbas Maroufi

Among comparative studies, the presence of common subjects and the unity of the topic play a decisive role in data analysis. Meanwhile, psychological issues—particularly those related to identity, maturity, and the development of crises, repressions, and their behavioral manifestations in both physical and psychological domains—are highly significant. In this context, following the exploration of identity and self-awareness, Erikson and Marcia addressed several prominent issues of adolescence, stating that the transition into this life stage is the origin of many behaviors. These behaviors are influenced by individual and social forces, as well as actions and reactions. In the meantime, the stories "Rami" by Abbas Maroufi and "Bulldog" by Arthur Miller can be considered two parallel and challenging narratives at this stage. Therefore, this research aims to compare the role of this crisis in shaping the narrative structure—both in content and form—using a descriptive-analytical method. The results indicate that the most important factor in the creation of identity in both narratives, which includes action, place, time, confrontations, and realities, is the dominance of cultural and discursive influences that contribute to the formation of a confused identity in the protagonists. Both narratives conclude with this theme. On the other hand, despite the diversity of contexts, collective priorities such as conflict, breaking taboos and totems, and the process of referring to the past still play a central role in both narratives. The differences in the signs will return to biological violence and historical memory.
Introduction
Among the various material realities that play a decisive role in human history, the evolutionary stages of sexual desire—alongside adolescence—hold particular significance. Their scope, implications, and the resulting physical and psychological effects on adolescents constitute a substantial and diverse field of research within society. This prominence arises from the interplay of factors such as shifting social environments, hormonal changes during puberty, structural brain development, and the transformation of social cognition in the adolescent brain. Consequently, the significance of this topic is evident across numerous research fields. This study aims to comparatively analyze two short stories—Arthur Miller’s “Bulldog” and Reza Maroufi’s “Rami”—by focusing on the theme of adolescence and seeking to uncover both the similarities and differences between these texts within their distinct cultural and discursive contexts, despite their shared subject matter. With reference to the theoretical frameworks on the crisis of adolescence from Erikson’s and Marcia’s approaches to identity analysis, this study addresses the following key research questions:

In what signs, images, and actions can the dialogue and relationships between the two texts be analyzed?
According to textual implications, how can the main characters of the two stories be classified within different identity styles, and based on what evidence?

Literature Review
Adolescence and its associated experiences are among the phenomena that civilized humans often prefer to conceal. From Freud’s perspective, the mission of psychoanalysis is to uncover these hidden desires and motives that modern humanity typically represses. Researchers studying puberty simultaneously consider both its physical and psychological dimensions, agreeing that puberty encompasses biological and physical transformations that can significantly impact an adolescent’s emotional and psychological development. Erikson defines this stage as one characterized by a relatively stable sense of self-unity. In his view, stabilizing one’s identity and self-understanding is of paramount importance; deficiencies in behavioral skills within this domain may lead to social crises. Failure to accurately analyze and resolve these crises can escalate into broader issues such as pubertal disorders, psychosis, and social problems.
These issues, according to Kestemberg, manifest as “identity and identification crises” that are processed through the internalization and stabilization of parental images. Erikson posits this as the fifth stage in his eight-stage model of personality development: “identity versus role confusion.” In this stage, the adolescent is expected to develop a clear understanding of their identity, especially as it relates to social interactions—an era that is effectively a period of role experimentation.
Erikson’s theory, with its focus on identity and its associated crises during puberty, was further developed by James Marcia (1996). Marcia reformulated this stage into the dual dimensions of commitment and exploration. He defined exploration as the degree to which an individual seeks to understand and engage with value systems, beliefs, and social roles such as marriage and relationships after puberty, while commitment refers to the acquisition of enduring values and ultimate goals. Combining these dimensions, Marcia distinguished four identity styles: achieved (high commitment, high exploration), moratorium (low commitment, high exploration), foreclosure (high commitment, low exploration), and diffused (low commitment, low exploration).
Methodology

The Axis of Conflict and Opposition

In Maroufi’s works, a discernible conflict arises from inner anxieties and regression to childhood. The protagonists’ struggles across various psychological levels illustrate challenges in identity formation—a concept not limited solely to puberty. The narrative of “Rami” follows this pattern; unresolved childhood issues cause the main character to oscillate between internal and external realities, locked in a confrontation. However, unlike other narratives, this story repeatedly allows the veil between these two selves to be torn, facilitating their integration. Similar dynamics are evident in Arthur Miller’s “Bulldog,” where the protagonist’s desires—whether consciously or unconsciously—emerge as psychological confrontations. For instance, when the bulldog is taken to the animal welfare society, the protagonist undergoes a profound inner transformation. This conflict initially surfaces during the boy’s journey to purchase the dog, as he compares the houses on Scramerhorn Street to those in his own Midwood neighborhood. In *Rami*, a significant portion of the plot centers on the protagonist’s confusion and sense of loss. Maroufi’s narration creates a cyclical portrayal of this confusion, evoking a feeling of dizziness. Similarly, in "Bulldog", the protagonist is plagued by hesitation—whether standing behind the woman’s door, hesitating before ringing the bell, or when buying and keeping the dog.

The Theme of Place and Time

Erikson and, subsequently, Marcia highlight the importance of the biological and environmental context—i.e., place and upbringing—in shaping identity, interlinked with social environments and educational settings, and expressed through environmental indicators. In “Rami,” this capacity takes on a paradoxical meaning: the emergence of a physical and material core in a completely sacred and spiritual setting. Miller’s depiction of the protagonist entering a strange neighborhood subtly conveys the adolescent’s experience of puberty—a realization of self-awareness in Erikson’s terms. Miller seems to present his Jewish neighborhood as a sacred space and the woman’s district (where the sexual encounter occurs) as profane, showing the protagonist caught between enjoyment and apathy. The architecture and transport imagery further illustrate the boy's descent into self-doubt, shyness, and uncertainty that lingers whenever he faces critical moments.

Flashback and Retrospective Context

Marcia argues that individuals with confused identities lack stability and focus and thus cannot establish a coherent self-image or metrics of value; they are constantly beset by anxiety and resort to memories that predate their established identity. This tendency is explicit in these narratives, particularly in “Bulldog,” where the protagonist revisits his childhood home—a site symbolic of both comfort and regulation, dominated by the mother and brother. The sacred motif of the past weaves throughout the first half of the tale, while, in the second half, retrospection morphs to focus on episodes between the boy and the woman, re-examined each time with new emotional hues.

Transcending the Totemic and Breaking Taboos

In “Rami,” after many years, the protagonist re-experiences a euphoric state amid the crowd’s physical and psychic commotion. Despite fears of humiliation in this sacred time and space, he feels compelled to relive and fulfill his needs, often followed by tears—a motif that corresponds to the infernal punishments described on Doomsday. This theme is paralleled in “Bulldog,” but with an opposite valence: entering the domain of taboo is portrayed as an encounter with grave sin. Unlike traditional cardinal sins, the principal transgression in Miller’s narrative is lying—a motif emphasized repeatedly, alongside the protagonist’s subsequent efforts to distract himself with sports and nature.
Conclusion
The adolescent crisis in both stories is characterized by anxiety, cognitive confusion, and the absence of both discovery and commitment; puberty, for both protagonists, veers toward sexual rebellion. According to Erikson and Marcia, the major contributor to the identity crisis is the social and cultural environment. In "Rami," clashes with these needs become confrontations with social and cultural norms, turning inner and outer conflict into a palpable drama. In "Bulldog," the Western context confines this process mostly to physical needs, culminating in psychological turmoil and the protagonist’s quest for renewed experience. The form of each story mirrors its thematic conflicts: “Rami” approaches tragedy as its protagonist confronts defeat, while “Bulldog” leads to triumph and self-overcoming. Thus, Maroufi’s hero symbolically stones the devil, whereas Miller’s adolescent hero sublimates his needs and guilt creatively at the piano. Accordingly, “Bulldog” may be aligned with an early-formed identity (foreclosure), yet, due to low commitment, remains in the diffused stage by the story’s end. In the Iranian narrative, the onset of adolescence is marked by psychological distress and unresolved complexes; societal teachings urge the suppression of beauty’s source, unlike the more open context of the other story, where the same growth spawns a musical masterpiece.
Finally, the distinct cultural settings highlight sacred and profane elements differently: “Rami” centers on taboo-breaking rooted in specific times and places, whereas “Bulldog” makes the sacred temporal. According to Marcia, identity discovery depends on recalling and reliving childhood crises. Thus, the defining feature in both stories concerning adolescent crisis is the protagonists’ recurrent retrospection. Their continual return to the past and re-examination of memories serve as vehicles for revisiting their histories, critiquing social structures, and attributing fears and anxieties to the collective unconscious of their cultures. A sense of rootlessness and lack of recognition becomes essential to the formation of a confused identity, evident in both stories’ nameless heroes. The use of the hero’s “I” signifies a broader, collective identity, with “Rami” charting an inward journey outward, and “Bulldog” navigating an external journey inward.