i KNOW im gonna cause a huge dispute from of this comment, but hey, i like arguing so whatever....

personally, i think that Dean is AWESOME and that he really does have good intentions at heart. in my opinion, there is a justifiable reason for all of his "loser-like" qualities. For example, his poor treatment of women can be justified by the time period. despite my thoughts about his good intentions, i wont defend him in terms of him being quite immature. he acts like a child and treats life as one big game. he never looks ahead into his future and just plays everything out by ear. however, he never does anything outrageously immoral and just does what he can to survive. Dean falls in love with his baby and i think that he would make a good father. as ironic as it is, i think his child is kind of teaching him how to be a man and grow up. i think as the book progresses, Daen will further find an identity and mature into a responsible man, instead of acting so irrationally and not caring about his future.