First bold; Yeah you nailed it fine until there. That was a misfire. He defeated Naruto when Naruto came after him before he even made it to Orochimaru's, leaving that undignified. He wen't to Orochimaru, something dangerous that he was aware could kill him, by his own will. That took balls. Not stupidity. Because, redefined, he wasn't getting anywhere being in the village. Naruto was being trained by a Sannin. Sasuke was being trained by a Jounin. He left, and he wen't to train with a Sannin. Keep the authorities in mind. He wanted it his own way. And as a fan I would say I'd have preferred that much greater.
Second bold; This is basically what I've been talking about here. You aren't understanding his complexities. At this point, he can't help but pseudo pscyhoanalyze everything. What you said prior to that is marked out, for you can't conclude it's understandable if you can't highlight this being understandable. "Shattered and torn" is the key. We do f*cked up things in retaliation to being f*cked over. Also, plot. Plot. I would think it would be disturbingly dull if he just decided to go about an optimistic mindset, after the sh*tstorm that happened to him. His character spiraled out of control, and that's when people failed to keep up with him. I cannot stress this enough. The fact that so many people STILL use this reference against him is mind-boggling to the highest definition. It puts a damper on things in-between from then and now when he had ticks of both compassion and insanity. He's an eliptic paradox of a character and that is why I say he is one of "those" that cannot just simply be understood. That's not how masterpieces work.
