Natalies 5th Reaction

The narrators encounter with Liza was strange. At first I felt that is was possible he was truly trying to help her, but in the end he was just trying to prove that he was above her the same way Zverkov has stated he was above the narrator. I thought it was funny, and fitting that the narrator stated his actions were similar to something he had read in a book. His actions seemed very cliche, the one difference being that he was not actually trying to save her but instead prove his worth. The whole novel seems like an accumulation of that, the narrator constantly trying to prove his worth. At times he comes across confident, but that attitude never lasts. When he first meets Liza, he feels mighty and important but later he worries about how she may perceive him and of course this bothers him. It bothers him because he believes that he should not worry because technically in society, his occupation makes him above her. Overall I believe that he lost his confidence because he realizes that his rant can also be applied to himself. He is not a prostitute, but he is still secluded and without love like her. Obviously this realization bothers him and therefore he takes it out on Liza.