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Ben gets engaged
Ben gets engaged to his girlfriend. This is one of the four elements in Pearlin's individual paths. This is also a stressor in Ben's life (planning, wasn't sure if he was ready to get married) -
Ben gets diagnosed with cancer
Ben gets the news from his doctor that he has been diagnosed with stage four cancer with a 10% survival rate. This relates to Pearlin's theory because it's a stressor to Ben -
Ben buys a motorcycle and travels
Ben's Fiancé did not like motorcycles but Ben did, he never bought one because he didn't want to upset her. After the diagnosis Ben decided to buy his own motorcycle and start traveling. This is two of Pearlin's four elements of path's individuals may take; he took individuality and skills to cope with distress. He bought the motorcycle and traveled as a way to cope with the huge stressor of having cancer. -
Ben cheats on his Fiancé
Ben wasn't sure throughout the movie if he was actually in love with his Fiancé. Later in the movie Ben cheats on her with someone completely different, this describes Pearlin's theory because getting married was a stressor for him, and was also a norm in society; they had been dating for a long time, when he proposed Fiancé and family were wondering what took so long. Pearlin thought you could change your life course at anytime; he was honest with her and they decided to break up and move on -
Ben publishes a book
Ben had been working as a teacher, he didn't enjoy it and really wanted to publish a book. After being on the road and changing his life around after the large stressor of getting diagnosed with stage four cancer he published a book. Pearlin's theory states that people are able to change their life structure at any time, Ben did that in many ways in this movie. One example is him switching careers from a teacher to a writer.
