The narrator does have an impulse to write truthfully about his life, but he continues to be concerned about sharing such truthful writing—and, by extension, his true identity—with his peers. Fearing that the poem would make his personal dissatisfaction with his father too evident, the narrator instead submits the poem that makes his life seem rugged and adventurous. This decision to hide one poem and share another underscores that writing can be powerful because it can change how the narrator’s peers look at him.