The narrator appeals to Lana because she knows that her parents would never approve of him, not only because he isn’t rich but also because he is biracial—an opinion that the narrator will later hear himself from the General. Lana sympathizes with Bon’s loss. Instead of identifying with his friend in this moment, the narrator’s lust for Lana intensifies. He craves her sexually, but he also wants the comfort that his mother and Sofia once provided.