While for a majority of the novel S has acted must differently than the crew members, he has begun to conform on this page.

S has sunk into a routine as he “threads the hook, re-sews his mouth, cuts off the thread-tails with the razor blade” (306).   It has been easy for S to resort to becoming like everyone else, as he adapted this disgusting routine rather easily.  It seemed almost harder for him to be an outsider with an open mouth, than it is for him to sew up his mouth.

A limitation of expression, the thread and and hook keep S from flourishing.  He has been sent into an inner self thought environment, which in theory would help his identifying of self, because of his obsession in self.  However, he does not find self through this.  This could hint at a theme that self is best found through our relationships with others, not within our own head.

In addition to this, the usage of ink has changed here.  While it used to help to communicate a writers emotions, it has transitioned into a source of blood spilling out into pages when he opens his “veins” (306).  The source to our blood, the vein, encompasses our body, showing how writing lets us spill out all of who we are.

Ultimately S has lost his normal writing and his search for identity.  Instead, he has sunk back to become like everyone else.