While the truth was revealed to the narrator, it was done so through the use of much deceit, leaving him distrustful and alienated.

	White society therefore is a powerfully felt influence throughout the novel..  After all that happened to the narrator, a haze of confusion seemed to settle, leaving him confounded, with all former dreams shattered and something of bitterness in his heart.  No greater force of influence than white society and individuals existed beyond the influence of his own race.

The reader's ability to understand the nature of Steven Dedalus's character is enhanced by Stephen's repeated attempts to understand himself with words.  It is through his efforts that the reader is able to see the budding ideas that will later shape his life.  Stephen's relationships with society and with other people are important aspects of the book, and are expressed in some of Stephen's verbal designs.
	At a very young age, Stephen is exposed to the adult world.  Politics being an important part of every Irishman's life, Stephen is often audience to his family members' heated debates, his father and governess being the prime speakers, and he also sees how much these topics affect his entire family.  In a desire to understand the importance of such discussions, Stephen decides to write a poem about the most recently discussed dead gentleman, Parnell.  Stephen sees that his father is distressed by the loss of Parnell's life, therefore he feels that this dead man should be properly revered and mourned.  In attempting to write this poem, he displays a desire to be patriotic, and to be dutiful to his father.  This signifies a future interesting Ireland's welfare.
	Another important facet of Stephen's character is the way that he reacts to other people.  Stephen again attempts to understand the world through writing.  In one instance, after he has failed in his attempt to write about Parnell, Stephen begins to idly write out the names and addresses of his classmates.  Compared to his knowledge of Parnell, Stephen knows a great deal about these other students; they are his age and he has often met them face to face.  So, failing to understand the place of Parnell in his world, Steven's mind wanders to the society he does know.  The comprehension of Parnell will wait until he is older.
	The habit of scribbling had at one point moved Stephan to describe an instance where he had been with a girl waiting for a tram.  It was the morning after the event when he wrote these lines, abstractly detailing the way the night had felt.  But the emotions stirring within him had been more than he could comprehend, so he put the poem away.  After ten years, he again wakes with the girl on his mind.  After writing out the lines that speed across his mind, he begins to understand his realtionship with  the young lady, or rather, hiis relationship as an artist to beauty.
He has drawn his conclusions, and the reader feels that with the writing of this second poem, Stephan has achieved an understanding of himself.
