Portrait of the Artist

Stephen Dedalus from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a character that both supports the concept that a person is able to create his/her own reality, and refutes it. In the beginning, it seems that Stephen can't help but be different from everybody else; his quiet and awkward nature and passion for literature separate him from the rest of society. As a child, it is impossible for Stephen to bring about another lifestyle for himself. On the other hand, Stephen experiences a drastic change in lifestyle because of a new and closer relationship with his church. His past decisions/mistakes motivated him to create a completely new and disciplined agenda, revolving around the church. In this part of Stephen's life, he was able to create his own reality. On the other other hand, in the end, Stephen finds that he cannot fool himself into living a life he is not meant to live (with the church), and he decides to live a life as an artist.

Based on Stephen's story, my conclusion is that Stephen's subconcious is too powerful to let him create a reality that isn't the truth. Is it possible that some people DO have the ability to convince themselves of something other than the truth in pursuit of the lifestyle they want?