Before going into the story, let us ask, is Stanley's probl…

Before going into the story, let us ask, is Stanley's problem trying to be what others expect him to be rather than himself? Man is a social animal so (virtually) all men what to be accepted by society. It seems to me that this is all that Stanley wants. Of course it is not good if you are some kind of people pleaser, but that's not what Stanley is. He got mad and threw the ball in the lake when the other children bullied him, which seems quite reasonable under the circumstances. Again, it seems the guide is framing an external conflict as an internal conflict, when what might help Stanley a lot more is to talk about what the other children would respect and what they would value.

Additionally, it seems to be that the "misunderstood monster" label does not really apply to Stanley and that his problems are quite typical of childhood. Thus, the guide is falsely telling Stanley that he is special because of his problems. Thus, what makes Stanley special isn't relevant to the situation, unless it is something that the children value, which it isn't. It seems that the guide is telling Stanley to substitute pride for his piano playing for acceptance from the other children.