very quickly reposting my ramble from the willard group bc i think its important
very often, i see people fundamentally misunderstanding willard's relationship with ben. he never hated ben, he feared him, even respected him, and this is one of those things the book expands on (people, PLEASE read it.)
i believe willard saw the rats as something he could finally control in a life that kept spiraling out of his control and going wrong. ben, however, could not be controlled, and this is why he scared willard. willard still loved him but his mistreatment of ben came from trying to hold onto his control. and after socrates died, the respect they had shared for one another disappeared. ben believed willard could have done something, not to mention how he'd been poked and prodded just the same by willard himself. and for willard, while he tried to let ben fill socrates' place, it became clear his life was spiraling out of control once again.
For his companion I have decided on Ben Suleiman. Ben Suleiman is the rat I previously called Solomon. I don't know why I changed his name. It is almost as if he forced the new name on me. (80)
Sleep is temporary death. For Socrates life is good. He likes it when I play with him. Therefore I should wake him up, bring him from death to life. (42)
and im too lazy to get it, but when he's going to first drown the rats,he notes how he believes Ma rat views him as a sort of god.