The White Castle, Part 2

The narrator's obsessive relationship with the Hoja continues to develop at this point in the novel. It is at this time, (late chapter 7- early chapter 8) that the Hoja advances in rank due to his increasingly hands on relationship with the Sultan. However as the Sultan and Hoja get closer, the narrator becomes distanced from his once close "brotherhood" with Hoja. This soon develops into a problem in which the Hoja sees the narrator as being jealous of his success, when in reality,the narrator just doesn't want to lose the comradeship that they once had. The narrator stated on page 98, "It wasn't that I wished to seize a share in the triumph... I should be by his side, I was Hoja's very self! I became separated from my real self." This marked a period in the novel when the narrator was at a low point, disconnected from his other half, his brother, and from his very self.
During this downward spiral, the concept of defeat was described. In the description discussed by the narrator it is made apparent that the narrator truly fits this mold. The first idea of defeat was standard, applying to the empire as a whole, directed to inflict a reaction in the sultan. It stated clearly that defeat may just be the loss of territory. The next concept described defeat to, "mean that people would change and alter their beliefs without noticing it." (109) This very situation was occurring to the narrator. He had lost the sense of who he was. This is apparent by the fact that he could no longer dream of returning home to the his mother and fiance. He had accepted the face that his mother was most likely dead and his fiance had begun a new life. The third and final concept was, "to accept the superiority of others and try to emulate them." (109) At this time the narrator was fully engrossed in the life of the Hoja, living through his life and completely losing track of his goal and his visions.