The description of his "rebirth" after waking up further hints at his deranged mentality. .
Several characters in the novel also portray superiority complexes in order to emphasize their inherent motives and desires for power over others. Hazel Motes illustrates his superiority complex when he moves into a lot next to Asa Hawks just to tell him, "'I've started my own church,' Hazel said, 'The Church Without Christ. I preach on the street'" (Page 104). The fact that he goes to drastic measures just to prove his point to Asa implies that Hazel constantly feels the need to seek approval from him. He essentially wants Asa to admit to him that he is worthy as both a man and a preacher. A case similar to Hazel's superiority complex can be found in Enoch, especially when the narrator states, "Enoch had got over his fear and was trying frantically to think of an obscene remark that would be suitable to insult [the gorilla] with." The way that Enoch reacts to seeing the gorilla immediately implies that Enoch feels threatened by the man in the gorilla suit. He feels that, in order to assert his dominance, he must attack the gorilla with ad hominem remarks. By highlighting the inherent superiority complexes that some characters have over others, the narrator is able to emphasize their grotesque attributes.
Hazel Motes also portrays an oedipal complex throughout the novel to illustrate how he is rendered powerless under some of the female characters. An example of this is illustrated through his interactions with Leora Watts, "Mrs. Watts eyed him steadily with only a slight smirk. Then she put her other hand under his face and tickled it in a motherly way. 'That's okay, son,' she said. 'Momma don't mind if you ain't a preacher'" (Page 30). Mrs. Watts reduces and emasculates Hazel Motes by breaking through his facade of masculinity and treating him like a child.
