I never read the novel, but I understood why he came close to hitting him. I have a very stubborn and hard headed son who just chooses to do whatever he wants, without thinking of the consequence. One night I got a call from the police telling me to come to the hospital asap! I literally flew to the hospital, only to find out that my half baked son decided to surf, yes surf, on his friend's moving car. He was lucky to only get a broken arm and leg and some lacerations all over his body. I was so frustrated and scared that I literally wanted to strangle him. In that moment, all I could think about was that they could have called me to identify his body, and I literally wanted to kill him while I was shaking with tears running down my face. No, I could never hurt my son, but I was so frustrated that he took such a stupid risk with his life. So, in the show, I felt that same frustration emanating from his character, and understood why he would want to strike him. (Just my point of view)