Forming And Shifting Identity: Psychological Dissection Of Devi Vishwakumar Of Never Have I Ever

Abstract

Never Have I Ever is a comedy drama television series based on the life and experiences of an Indian-American teenager Devi Vishwakumar. It revolves around different aspects of Devi’s life that contribute in shaping her identity. She goes through different and complex identity statuses. James Marcia, a developmental psychologist, gave a psychological theory of identity formation which is based on the personal choices made by an individual during adolescence. He gave four identity statuses namely- Identity achievement, Identity diffusion, Identity moratorium and Identity foreclosure. This paper attempts to analyze the psyche of Devi and the complex process of identity formation that she undergoes. The main aim of the paper is to understand the universal nature of the complexities of the process of identity formation, wherein, every individual, during adolescence, while making decisions, struggles to reach identity achievement