 He readily buys into the state of mind that scouts are physical go-getters, men who can survive in any element.  These are people who master life, and are esteemed by others (this means girls, too).  The manual equates scout attitude with prosperity, specifically American-style prosperity.  Although much of adolescence is universally understood by readers of he novel, I am inclined to make all of these conclusions because of Wolff’s portrayal of Toby the boy.  “I liked reading all these advertisements” (Wolff 103).  The most important thing to Toby about a Boy Scout identity is not, however, what he gleans from the literature, it is the uniform and its potential for donning badges.  “I liked being a Scout…[m]y uniform…made me feel like a soldier” (102).  He admits that his entire focus is how to get badges, and they could almost put any explanation behind the system as far as he is concerned.  He is aware that society’s eyes immediately translate a uniform into identity for the wearer.  He is further aware of which visuals confer which type of status.  He certainly needs to escape Dwight, however, in order to realistically become himself or any one for that matter.  Dwight undermines his attempt to be well outfitted for the Scouts.  In two other cases as well, a uniform represents an identity Toby desires, and in both other cases Dwight also undermines Toby’s ability to join a group.  Toby could care less about the appearance of dress shoes in a gymnasium, but Dwight’s deliberate effort to deny the boy adequate footwear for the basketball team destroys his ability to play the game.  He has talent.  He could have been the next basketball star and have enjoyed exactly the kind of social position he sought.  When he works brilliantly to assume another social position, ivy-league prep-school student, Dwight throws away crucial documents for the process, and attempts to psychologically manipulate the boy.  Once again, the uniform is the nucleus of the identity, as Wolff represents to the reader by recounting testimony of Toby’s ally, the college scout, and by revealing a glimpse of superficial, elitist behavior at the school.  He is unable to hold on to his school uniform (the expensive wardrobe) because he is unable to complete school at that time.  But we know he was finally granted a uniform in the U.S. military.  He finally got his gun as well, which is another item that carries associations about role.  More importantly, getting his own gun despite Dwight’s interference, as he does even in the novel, is being true to himself while illustrating his need to flee his stepfather for the purposes of self-actualization.  From the novel’s beginning, we see that Toby sought identity in the notion of assuming the name “Jack.”  Jack has a commanding, masculine sound to the American ear.
