7608

Psychology

Banks

22 January, 2011

Differing Personalities of Members of the Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club, a film set in the 1980s at a typical high school,

depicts the way five different students interact when forced to spend a day

in the same room. The five teenagers display very different personality types

that clash and mesh in various ways. From shy, strange Allison to the

obnoxious and rebellious Bender, the characters illustrate how personality is

shaped by upbringing and environment. Many different theories exist that

explain the reasons behind and describe the behaviors of the students’

differing personalities.

Andrew Clark is an outstanding athlete at the high school who is

pressured by his father and coach to excel in his sport but is outspoken and

uncomfortable with the situation he is being forced into. Alfred Adler

theorized that some individuals suffer from an inferiority complex. Andrew is

an example of this type of person, as he feels that he is and always will be

inferior to his father, and he will not live up to his father’s expectations. He

displays this by working hard as a wrestler for the sole purpose of pleasing

his father. Similarly, Andrew exhibits Karen Horney’s theory of submission.

This is the idea that some people, such as Andrew, give in to others’ wishes

in order to gain approval. Andrew is constantly seeking approval from his

overbearing father. Even the prank he pulled on the other boy in the locker

room was only to please his father. Andrew would never do something like

that on his own; in fact, he is ashamed of his deed. Andrew also

demonstrates Adler’s theory of compensation. He attempts to compensate

for his insecurities and flaws by excelling in his sport and maintaining his

status as a champion. By becoming someone he feels his father would be

proud of rather than someone he truly wants to be, Andrew Clark shows how

excessive pressure can lead to anxiety.

Claire Standish is a popular girl who is pampered by her father but

feels overwhelmed by the pressures of keeping her popular status. Claire

exhibits Carl Jung’s theory of extroversion by associating herself with many

of her peers and trying her best to be liked by as many people as possible.

For example, she mentions that in the future, she most likely will not remain

friends with the people in the detention after it is over because befriending

the less popular students she spent time with would ruin her reputation, and

people would think she was unpopular. Because Claire’s priority is to be

extroverted and well-liked, she will try her best to keep her current position

intact. Claire seems to be a pawn between her parents; they use her to get

back at each other in their marital issues. This predicament has caused her

to desire the approval and affection of all of her peers. However, it could be

argued that she is someone Jung would have classified as an irrational

person due to her inability to think for herself and decide what is truly

important to her. Claire does not want to go along with everything her friends
do, but she feels that she will be liked more if she does. In other words, she

tends to make decisions on who to associate herself with and what she

should do with them based on perceptions and emotions, as opposed to

making them based on reasoning. Although her father pampers her, Claire

suffers from conditional positive regard, as Rogers argued. Claire’s father

only showers her with affection in order to get back at her mother, not out of

genuine love for his daughter. Referring to her detention, her father tells

Claire that he will “make it up to [her]” by continuing to pamper her even

though she should be in trouble. Claire’s father only loves her if she behaves

in a way that will give him an advantage against her mother. In order for

Claire to be less vulnerable and more successful, her parents should give her

unconditional positive regard.

Because of the pressure he feels from his oppressive father, John

Bender hates everything the principal represents and rebels against all

authority figures. He takes out his anger and frustration by harassing the

other students and trying to appear superior. Bender displays Horney’s

theory of aggression by presenting a hard exterior in order to cover up his

feelings of anxiety and insecurity that stem from his father’s incessant

abuse. In describing the nature of his father’s actions toward him to the

Breakfast Club, Bender shows that he is confused and vulnerable inside, but

he still acts tough and ruthless to cover this up. Bender also demonstrates

that he has a corrupt and strange superego. The superego, a theory

originally presented by Freud, is a person’s ideas of morals and ethics that

develop during childhood. Since Bender’s upbringing was wrought with

cruelty and abuse, his set of morals is skewed to be violent and rebellious.

He acts viciously toward his fellow detainees and toward the principal even

when Bender is not being confronted about anything; perhaps this mode is

all he knows. Due to a lack of good parenting, Bender is also failing at

Erikson’s theory of identity versus confusion. Bender’s father treated him

terribly when Bender was younger, so now he is confused as to his role in

life. Bender is not sure what he is supposed to do with himself, and his

confusion is shown by his unpredictability and aggressiveness.

All of the characters in this film display drastically different

personalities, but it is seen that they all suffer from similar insecurities and

anxieties, though they may take different forms. The Breakfast Club delves

into the lives of three ordinary teenagers and proves that they are, in fact,

anything but ordinary.