k. goes back to a childhood scene in which he was stroked for his helplessness, and he talks to his father now in a way that he never did as a child: "dad, even though i still want your approval, i don't need it to exist. your acceptance is not worth the price i'd have to pay. i'm capable of deciding for myself and of standing on my own two feet. i'll be the man that i want to be, not the boy that you want me to be