Both of these stories appear to address Stanley's problem o…

Both of these stories appear to address Stanley's problem of being accepted by his friends, but Stanley is not allowed to say that what he wants is to be accepted. The false narrative of accepting yourself for who you are is the only one allowed and it does not address Stanley's problem with friends--it implies that he should stop trying to have friends and just focus on the piano instead.

If one were to read a hidden meaning into all this, one might say that as a monster, deception is the only means available to Stanley to be accepted by society. Yet, as we have noted, he is a perfectly normal child. Who is the real monster?