George lowered his eyes and walked, in disgrace, away from them, but before longhe discovered they were still friendly to him.
George's doubts and assumptions on how people see him are all in his head. His guilt and worry is magnifying the situation in his mind, causing a complete mood change and isolation from everyone. This reveals another character trait: George overthinks situations.
he easily countedoff a hundred, then sat down at a table to read
This shows George has a conscious. He had been lying to everyone about his readings for so long, the guilt caught up and he decided to keep his word.
he could feel approval onall sides. A couple of nights he felt so good that he skipped the park at theend of theevening.
Now that George feels people respect and approve of him, his view on himself, the neighborhood, and life in general has changed for the better. While it shows a development in character, it could be a bad thing because he is dependent upon others approvals for his happiness.
He wanted people to like and respect him.
This is the second time the narrator has mentioned something about respect. It is obviously very important to George that he is respected. This shows he cares about how others perceive him.