So far, we have learned that the guide is extremely volatil…

So far, we have learned that the guide is extremely volatile, particularly around what he calls "negative thinking", which refers to the nasty names that the other children use on Stanley. This, of course, is not a very good way of handling intrusive thoughts. Stanley would be expected to become anxious around these names and repress thoughts about them in order to avoid the guide's anger. Repressed thoughts do not go away, however. Instead they return as projections. Thus, Stanley will start to read thoughts of him as a monster into innocent peoples' turn of phrase.

However, is negative thinking really Stanley's problem? Has Stanley, in fact, internalized the idea that he is a monster or is he just unhappy with the way he was treated? Stanley has said that "maybe" he is a monster, but overall his problem is much better identified with the other children than with his attitude.