Read the excerpt from Infinite Jest. ‘My application’s not bought,’ I am telling them, calling into the darkness of the red cave that opens out before closed eyes. ‘I am not just a boy who plays tennis. I have an intricate history. Experiences and feelings. I’m complex. ‘I read,’ I say. ‘I study and read. I bet I’ve read everything you’ve read. Don’t think I haven’t. I consume libraries. I wear out spines and ROM-drives. I do things like get in a taxi and say, “The library, and step on it.” My instincts concerning syntax and mechanics are better than your own, I can tell, with due respect. What conclusion can readers draw about this character vs. society conflict? The narrator is uncomfortable and defensive. The narrator has destroyed school property. The narrator earns good grades in school. The narrator is being punished for his behavior.

Explanation: It is possible to conclude that this character is uncomfortable and defensive because he is ostensibly, and almost exaggeratedly, boasting about his abilities ("I am not just a boy who plays tennis. I have an intricate history. Experiences and feelings. I’m complex. ‘I read,’ I say. ‘I study and read. I bet I've read everything you’ve read [...] I consume libraries. I wear out spines and ROM-drives. I do things like get in a taxi and say, “The library, and step on it [...]"), he is presupposing that the people he is talking to don't see it that way ("Don’t think I haven’t") and he is even considering himself superior to them ("My instincts concerning syntax and mechanics are better than your own"). This indicates a defensive and insecure attitude, typical of a person who may be indeed intellectually superior (as Hal Incandenza is), but who feels neither confident nor comfortable with his talent, and thinks that the others actually understimate him.