NFTU 1st Reaction

            This story so far has left me with totally mixed feelings.  Some of the narrator’s points make sense, such as the belief that people need a purpose, or cause in order to be happy and productive in their lifetime.  But many of his other topics in his rambles don’t resonate with me.  The narrator of the notes is so pessimistic, depressed, and self-loathing that I have trouble understanding his pain.  He seems to suffer from existentialism, which is something I have never felt before in my life.  Trying to connect with him is like trying to find the connections between myself and a cardboard box.  The conversational style of the book helps to convey how troubled of a human being he is.  He directly questions the reader, and continually admits how he knows the reader will not understand all of his problems.  I hope the book moves beyond all of his current views, and more into how he became the man he is in the present.  He hints to how he was different as a young man, and I wonder what could have forced him to become so hateful to himself and the world around him.