Cum Corde Gravi

It is with a heavy heart we bid farewell to Trimalchio and friends.
Oh, who am I kidding? I wanted to beat Trimalchio for most of this reading. I know I'm supposed to sympathize with him, but Petronius made it so hard. The man was a complete idiot!
That said, you kind of have to wonder why Trimalchio was so obsessed with death. Was there an underlying medical condition? Could Trimalchio have suffered severe anxiety and possibly bipolar disorder?
Certainly, Trimalchio's desire to be seen as powerful and important could reflect some sort of social anxiety. After all, he had been a slave; now that he's free, he would naturally want to demonstrate his new status in any way possible...though ironically he did make himself look like an absolute fool. His desire to be seen as intelligent (crippled, of course, by his complete lack of intelligence) could also reflect a desire to be seen as big and important, and perhaps a fear that he would be seen as less-than-wonderful.
The bipolar disorder would be a bit harder to diagnose as Trimalchio was drunk and "acting" throughout most of the dinner. However, the violent mood swings and the anxiety, to say nothing of the obsession with death, would suggest at that.
Eh, it's your call.