motivations, but according to his longing for acceptance from others.
Robert's attempts to be a part of some group continues throughout the book, to be accepted and admired (as in his failed efforts with the art review), but his own lack of self-knowledge prevents him from ever being authentic enough for others to accept him, especially the largely cynical group with which Jake is associated.
On the other hand, with Jake's ambivalence in mind, there are signs that he recognizes Robert as a fellow outsider, a man like himself who is unable to love, to give himself to life, and he feels at least a degree of sympathy for Robert: "I rather liked him (15), Jake says of Robert after having seen how a woman Robert is with controls his life with her power and jealousy. Still, in general Jake feels superior to Robert because, unlike Jake, Robert is willing to do anything, no matter how humiliating to be accepted by others. This shameless need for others' accep
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