14. Negative Nancy

Chapter 14 mainly consisted of Jake's thoughts while trying to go to sleep. His thoughts bounce back and forth making it very difficult for him to rest peacefully. He first thinks of Brett and their friendship with one another, found on page 152: "I had been having Brett for a friend. I had not been thinking about her side of it. I had been getting something for nothing. That only delayed the presentation of the bill. The bill always came. That was one of the swell things you could count on." That sure is quite a negative outlook on life, thinking that there is always a price to pay for everything good, so-to-speak. Jake then switches his thoughts to Mike and Robert, then to Brett, to Harris, and to Brett once more. After all these uneasy thoughts circulated in his mind for some time, Jake "turned off the light again and read," (153). Jake is unable to let himself actually feel something. To stop his thoughts he picks up a book and reads until he can finally sleep. He constantly pushes reality out of his mind because it seems to difficult for him to face.