The Underground Man feels fear when being with other people because he thinks that they will look down on him. During his interaction with his old classmates, he is unable to be social because he just does not know how to behave in conversations with people. The Underground man fails to be social because it just doesn't come in naturally and during the dinner and he is disliked by his classmates because he is speaking with people that don't like him which will not help him learn how to be social.