Class Discussion (2/11) (Meagan Adler)

After today's class discussion, I was particularly intrigued by the idea of the acute conscious and how the narrator inevitably sees every side to concepts such as religion and evolution to a point where they are subject to “chemical disintegration" (pg.12). Something that I find significantly powerful was the idea that the narrator clearly sees beyond the wall that the masses need, yet feels a human need to belong to the masses. It is this need for belongingness that furthermore causes him to be spiteful and hate himself. In relation to Maslow's hierarchy, I feel like the narrator is stuck in the love/belongingness stage and desperately finds himself wanting to be able to move past this point so he can see beyond the minute details and self actualize.  He says that he respects himself, but in actuality I think he is trying to convince himself of this so he can feel comfortable with who he is; I think that he hides under a blanket of insecurities and hates himself for it. He cannot analyze himself because he is afraid of accepting who he truely is.