Criticisms that may be meant to help are perceived as an assault on his character. These “attacks” bother him so much that he sulks over them for days (long after most adults would’ve brushed the incidents off or forgotten them). He also easily talks badly about others who he feels are of a lower class and/or status than himself. It would seem that he imagines himself to be very important in his own mind, but any perceived attempt to crack his fragile self-image is met with hostility.
I believe John operates on a borderline level of organization. He does not seem to be entirely out of touch with reality and his beliefs are not outlandishly crazy which indicates he is not psychotic. However, John lacks the self-awareness that neurotic paranoid people have (McWilliams, 2011). He never questions his perceptions or thoughts He cannot see that in all of the situations he describes he is the common denominator and cannot imagine that he could possibly have done anything wrong. Acknowledgement that he is wrong is something John cannot do because his already flimsy self-image could not stand