Analysis Of Paul's Case By Willa Sibert Cather

“Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather is set in Cordelia Street of Pittsburgh and then in New York, telling of Paul who is unhappy with his life and yearns for the elite and cultured. Considering “Paul’s Case” as a dramatisation of being bi-polar, both the setting and symbolism of the short story becomes two of the most important elements demonstrate it.

Willa Cather’s “Paul’s Case,” displays the conflict between conformity and individuality through the main character, Paul. On a number of occasions, Paul is forced to lie and steal to escape the conformists who wish to control him and stifle his unique imagination. However, his lying, stealing, and attempts to escape the conformists, only force Paul into isolation, depression, and feeling a sense of shame for his individuality. Throughout the story one might see Cather’s constant contrast of individuality versus conformity, as well as Paul’s lying and stealing. Cather seems to draw the conclusion that extreme individuals, much like Paul are simply

The choices that Erik made throughout his life never came without consequences, many of his choices, whether they were choices directed to him or not, affected Paul. Paul illustrates this idea by saying, “When we moved to Houston, when Erik was eleven, he realized that football was the star attraction,”(Bloor 29) This is talking about the “birth” of the “Erik Fisher Football Dream”; Erik use to play soccer and was successful at it, but he realized that football was the place to be if he wanted attention. Paul could’ve started playing soccer at that time as well and Erik didn’t want to risk being outshined by his younger brother. Another way Erik affected Paul, in a more indirect way, was when Arthur becomes Erik’s crony, “What will Arthur do

In "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather, Paul becomes aware of the fact that his life is not exactly what could be called "liveable." His physical home leaves something to be desired, his teachers clearly dislike him, and his father is not the "model" father. Paul feels that these things are unjust and detrimental to his life. Due to the unjust things in his life, he decides to rid himself of them by running away. Later on when he decides to kill himself, he showcases his possession of the cardinal virtues. Paul's decision to kill himself is just, and therefore moderate, wise, and courageous.

Taking a deeper look into a story can help a reader see and understand a story better. By looking into a story, the little details stand out about the characters. The reader can understand so much better when reading between the lines. By reading between lines the reader can learn more about the characters in the story and understand them better. Also the setting in the story is more clear and easier to see. When taking a farther look into the story, the conflicts the character face make more sense. Every word an author puts in a story is important. So by knowing the symbols with in the story help the reader understand why it is there. In Willa Cather’s short story, Paul’s Case, allows readers to see the themes more clearly and

In her short story "Paul's Case," Willa Cather tells the tale of a young boy's struggle to separate himself from his common, everyday life and the people he shared it with. Paul admired the opulence of the theater, the wardrobe, the perfumes, the lights, the colors, the flowers, and the champagne. When he realized it wasn't possible to have these things, he threw his life away. Cather's purpose was to show that, by focusing on what he didn't have, Paul could not live at all.

The main character, a challenging adolescent boy named Paul, has an almost inexplicable ability at irritating every person he comes in contact with. He finds his education trivial, a sense of superiority towards his peers, and a general distaste for everything in his suburban neighborhood on Cordelia Street. At first glance, Paul appears to be suffering from the typical adolescent angst. However, his actions and frame of mind are better defined by Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPR). Paul demonstrates several symptoms of this mental illness such as, “preoccupation with fantasies that focus on unlimited success, power, intelligence, beauty or love, the belief

The setting of a story is something that can easily be taken for granted. Setting is defined as the environment in which characters live and move. However the setting can also hurt the character as they try to survive their surroundings. An example of this downfall would be the short story "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather. The multiple settings in this story from school and living on Cordelia Street, working at Carnegie Hall, to staying in New York all directly play a part in the tragedy of Paul's life. We learn of a young man who is fighting what he fears most: to be as common and plain as his world around him.

The “hero’s journey” is also evident in “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather. Paul’s life is a constant disappointment to others around him. He gets in trouble at school and at one point, his teachers air their grievances with him. The narrator describes that, “One way or another, he had made all his teachers, men and women alike conscious of the same feelings of physical aversion” (Cather 44). Paul’s teachers believe something is wrong because of his disdain and contempt for learning.

Paul was a self-oriented boy, concerned with money, wealth, and glamour, raised in a Calvinist household that supported these ideals. Through my research I have decided that Paul's eventual fate was not any one person's fault. Paul was just as much to blame as his father and teachers for Paul's suicide.

Willa Cather's "Paul's Case" is a story about a young 16 year-old man, Paul, who is motherless and alienated. Paul's lack of maternal care has led to his alienation. He searches for the aesthetics in life that that he doesn't get from his yellow wallpaper in his house and his detached, overpowering father figure in his life. Paul doesn't have any interests in school and his only happiness is in working at Carnegie Hall and dreams of one-day living the luxurious life in New York City. Paul surrounds himself with the aesthetics of music and the rich and wealthy, as a means to escape his true reality.

Willa Cather’s “Paul’s Case” is a story about a young 16 year-old man, Paul, who is motherless and alienated. Paul’s lack of maternal care has led to his alienation. He searches for the aesthetics in life that that he doesn’t get from his yellow wallpaper in his house and his detached, overpowering father figure in his life. Paul doesn’t have any interests in school and his only happiness is in working at Carnegie Hall and dreams of one-day living the luxurious life in New York City. Paul surrounds himself with the aesthetics of music and the rich and wealthy, as a means to escape his true reality.

Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Long Way Out” and Marc Sheehan’s “The Dauphin,” have a character that is living in a fantasy, Mrs. King and the father, respectively. The characters’ fantasies affect themselves and the people around them, either helping or harming them. Fantasy can be helpful to the ones who are living in it because of the ignorance to reality and the control over their life that it brings, but fantasy can be harmful to the ones around them as well because of how taxing it can be to keep up with. However, eventually, the fantasies wear out, and the truth always begins to emerge.

The setting of the short story “Paul’s Case” is clear and appropriate for the story. This is because Paul's feelings in the story happen to have a direct connection to the setting of the story. The East Coast of the United States is where the story takes place. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Newark, New Jersey, and then on to New York, New York, the exact setting differs throughout the story. “…the dull dawn was beginning to show grey when the engine whistled a mile out of Newark” (Cather). At this point in the story, the main character, Paul, is on board a train which has departed from his hometown of Pittsburgh en route to the Jersey City Station. From there, he plans to make his way to the glamorous New York City, a city

The protagonist in Willa Cather's short story, "Paul's Case," is adolescent named Paul. Paul's problem is that he has trouble following rules. Paul has a problem with various kinds of authorities including his teachers, principal, and father. From Paul's perspective, his problem is society. Society does not conform to him and repeatedly makes attempts on him to conform to it. Paul is disgusted, repulsed, and bored by middle class life in Pittsburgh. Paul's real problem is that he lacks perspective. This is a young man that is ferociously hungry for life outside of a small town or small city, which is partially the reason why he steals $1,000 and flees to New York City. Paul does not have an appropriate outlet through which to explore and channel his exuberant and odd energy. It is only when he is committing suicide by throwing himself in front of an oncoming train that he is capable of imagining a life both outside of the life he left behind, but not so far outside in the margins of society that cannot be a contributing member of society. Paul craves new experiences that expand his horizons and challenge him in ways unknown to him in his life back in Pittsburgh. His lack of perspective keeps him from being available to the myriad of choices he has in life but does not yet see. Ironically, it is only when his life is about to conclude when he realizes how much he wants to live and do. These feelings are often expressed by people who have