Summary

This section begins with a description of the boy's suicidal tendencies. The previous time that the boy had tried to kill himself, his doctor referred to the act as a "masterpiece of inventiveness" (par. 6). The narrator then begins to recount the history of the boy's mental illness. The boy had struggled with "delusions" (par. 7) for some time, and he was diagnosed with "referential mania" (par. 7). This meant that the boy considered random things in the world to be specifically involved with his life. This caused him great distress, because he felt that "he must be always on his guard" (par. 7) to decode everything around him.

When the married couple exited the subway, the boy's mother decided that she wanted to buy some fish for dinner, so she told her husband that she would meet him at the house. The husband abided, and he...