Overview: Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare Essay

The first scene in the novel when a character directly involving Paul D’s question of self identity is seen during a scene in the barn where he compares his freedom to a roosters. Paul D maintains a generally strong willed attitude when confronting torment by his slave owners, as shown in this incident

and Mrs. Fisher. Case in point, Paul finds his voice and stands-up to his brother, Erik, and Erik’s friend, Arthur. “ I stepped forward…. Erik. Come on”(261). Furthermore, a second altercation happens when Paul confronts his parents about his eyesight. “I exploded… Am I that idiot”(264). This evidence reveals the beginning of the resolution because throughout the whole novel, the main character, Paul Fisher, has been quiet and shy about his internal ideas, or thoughts. Paul finally gets enough courage to stand- up to his brother and

There are small altercations that the screenplay that the director makes in the plot. In New York, Paul meets a student in the hotel. In the text, he meets him in the evening or at nighttime. The movie shows this taking place during the day. This, however, is a minor detail and did not effect the running of the story. In Cather's version, the reader is presented with two sisters of Paul's. These are hardly mentioned in the movie. The book also illustrates Paul pushing his teacher while in the movie he is more aggressive. The movie also has an over voicing of Paul's father as he is sneaking back into his

“The Catcher in the Rye” is about a sixteen year old teenager talking about the story of his mental break down. It is really impressive because J.D. Salinger’s writing style is very direct as if Holden is talking exclusively to me and telling me about his struggles between childhood and adulthood. “The Catcher in the Rye” illustrates Holden’s hope to protect childhood innocence from adult phoniness.

"Paul's Case", by Cather, is a story in which Paul, an adolescent, is trying to find himself. Unlike Hemingway, Cather exposes the influence of a stable but cold environment to be detrimental to one's well being. Paul's dilemma begins with school, a place he is not fond of. His teachers have a strong disliking of Paul. This is seen at his readmittance inquiry "… they fell upon him without mercy, his English teacher leading the pack" (161). Paul's inner struggle is recognized by only one teacher, the drawing master. "The drawing master had come to realize that, in looking at Paul, one saw only his white teeth and forced animation of his eyes" (162). He also noted the time Paul had fallen asleep in class, "what a white, blue veined face it was; drawn and wrinkled like an old man's about the eyes, lips twitching even in his sleep" (162). This observation clues us that Paul is not a happy-go-lucky teenager; there is an inner battle going on.

She turned to him and said, ‘You’re Mike’s brother, aren’t you?’ He said, ‘Yeah’.... Then he pointed at me and said, ‘And this is Erik’s brother.’”. This excerpt might seem small, but it also shows Paul’s adaptability as well. It shows that he’s also somewhat accepted in Lake Windsor Downs, since Joey, one of the popular kids at school, is walking him around and being his friend. He’s also well known in the school if only because of his brother Erik Fisher, who’s the best kicker on the football team and is also known as ‘Mr. Generosity’ since he gave out jewelry that he stole from people. This means Paul is also adapted well to society in the upper echelons of it, in the rich kid school where people are wealthy and there isn’t really any diversity. It just shows how Paul is accepted in the rich kid school, as well as the poor kid school, which is much more tough and harder on people than Lake Windsor

J.D. Salinger’s world-renowned book The Catcher in the Rye and director Sean Penn’s dramatic feature film Into the Wild both give us a unique perspective of society through a collection of descriptive imagery and riveting plot development. Both materials present us with protagonists Holden Caulfield and Chris McCandless, whom are deeply encompassed by self-introspection and who seem to be on a quest to find true happiness and meaning to their bland, corrupt lives. A recurring theme in both works is the process of discovering one’s true identity, which can only be achieved through a journey of spiritual self-discovery.

the love and care he unknowingly needs. Paul takes on roles that disguise his own traits and turns him into what he believes to be a person nobody can say no to. When he takes on these roles, he

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 misunderstood, and not offered the acceptance they desire

The movie Six Degrees of Separation describes an upper-class New York couple, Flan Kittredge and Ouisa Kittredge, meets with a wealthy friend, Geoffrey for dinner. During the dinner, a young black man named Paul who is a friend and Harvard classmate of the Kittredges’ children knocks their door. Paul tells them about he is robbed in Central Park and has no money until he meets his dad, the famous actor Sidney Poitier. Flan and Ouisa take care of Paul’s wounds and give him a clean pink shirt which is their son’s shirt. Also, they invite him to go out for dinner. Instead, Paul cooks for everyone a wonderful meal. Flan and Ouisa let Paul spend the night at their home, but Ouisa finds a naked man is in Paul’s bed in the next

Paul has got an old university friend, a character who is very important for this book. His name is Ed Finnerty. He is the fatal character for Paul because he is the one who makes Paul realize his real position and all the people's real positions. He is

Willa Cather introduces the audience to Paul who lives in two distinct worlds. The industrialized middle class neighbourhoods of Philadelphia. Contrasted by the beautiful world of theatre and art, at Carnegie hall. Paul feels trapped by the mundane existence of the middle class, and is drawn towards his idealized life. A life of quality and meaning, full of beautiful people and interesting things.

After being forced to leave his job as an usher at Carnegie Hall Paul gets a job working at Denny and Carson's office firm. He gets the money to go to New York City by taking the money he was supposed to deposit in the bank from Denny and Carson's deposit and pockets it. Paul arrives in New York and lives the luxurious life by buying fancy clothes and checking into a nice hotel. After eight days in New York his fun runs out when he discovers in the Pittsburgh papers that his father had reimbursed the firm and was coming to get him. "Paul had just come in to dress for dinner; he sank into a chair, weak to the knees, and clasped his head in his hands. It was worse than jail, even; the tepid waters of Cordelia Street were to close over him finally and forever" (Cather 11). After succeeding

In the bildungsroman Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger employs the struggle of individuality, inevitable maturation, and the childhood corruption of adulthood to reveal Holden’s alienation from society.

Paul finally escaped the hostile world he lived in, but his money-bought romance did not last long. When he discovers that his theft has been made known in the new papers, and all the stolen money has ran out, he knew he had to go back to his real life. After a week of having the glamorized life he was longing for, Paul refused to go back to face the reality that he left behind in Pittsburgh. Paul knew he couldn’t go on forever in the City with no money in his pockets so he decided to give up on his own life. While going to get on his train that would bring him back to reality, Paul stepped out in front of it and killed himself.