what the childhood mold-eating is (cause / red herring / late addition) — cross-listed under composition

This asks what to make of the childhood mold Hal eats: a genuine cause of his later condition, a red herring, or a late-added detail that only looks causal. It is contested because the scene was demonstrably added late in the writing, which some readers argue disqualifies it as the real cause while others treat the very ambiguity as the design.