Summary Of ' The Sad Little Paul '

As a child daydreaming and imagining was essential to survive the extensive abominable days of summer, or the weekends. Likewise, in the texts “Red Cranes” by Jacey Choy and “The Firefly Hunt” by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki two children who still express their imagination and creativity, have to realize the harsh realities that everyone must incorporate. In the texts “Red Cranes” and “The Firefly Hunt” they express the ambition and creativity of a child’s mind. However, the development of the two characters dealing with the realities in their adolescent years, varies tremendously between the two stories.

Joyce’s use of imagery to describe the boy’s life growing up is significant as it showcases his awareness to his dark and somber reality. The story begins with the boy’s description of North Richmond Street, his neighbourhood

Annie got the freedom of the streets, from her mother, as soon as she could say her telephone number. She memorized the neighborhood, making a mental map of it in her head and rehearsed it while she was in bed, picturing herself making turns onto different streets on her bike. She loved this boy who played football, but only spoke to him once in two years, so nothing happened there. Also Annie disobeyed her father’s wish to not go to Frick Park, but her mother let her as long as she did not tell her father. At Frick Park she started to learn more about wildlife by getting a bird book from the library and seeing how many she could spot at the park. She never met anyone at the park, but she would think about if a bum did come up to her she would

“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.

The friends of the narrator, however, do not hide in the imaginary world of childhood and are maturing into adolescents. Sally, “ screamed if she got her stockings muddy,” felt they were too old to “ the games” (paragraph 9). Sally stayed by the curb and talked to the boys (paragraph 10).

The topic of an individual’s desire to escape society is essential to understanding the human condition. Some suggest that when an individual does not fit within their community, they must seek acceptance elsewhere. However, others, believe that an individual must adapt and conform to those around them. In the short story “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather, where Paul struggles with fitting in among the people of Cordelia Street. Initially, he attempts to escape the monotonous and restricting life in Cordelia Street by going to Carnegie Hall, the one place in life where he finds enjoyment in watching the beauty and glamour in acting. However, Paul’s hatred towards hard work and feeling of superiority over others forces

Paul is a third-grader who is a very strong reader. He chooses to spend most of his time reading and enjoys many different topics. He writes long and complex stories during writer workshop as well. Paul seldom engages socially with other children; in fact, he is quite timid with both children and adults.

Everyday, Brother takes Doodle to Old Woman Swamp and the same thing happens: he grabs his little brother, stands him up, then Doodle collapses soon after. Through hard work and perseverance, Doodle eventually learns to walk on his own. Brother gains confidence in Doodle, and now believes in his own ability to do nothing wrong. In Old Woman Swamp, Brother also creates a development program for Doodle. Brother and Doodle’s relationship is beginning to flourish, “Doodle and I spent lots of time thinking about our future. We decided that when we were grown we’d live in Old Woman Swamp and pick dog-tongue for a living...Mama and Daddy could come and live with us if they wanted to. He even came up with the idea that he could marry Mama and I could marry Daddy” (Hurst 4). The daily trips Doodle and Brother take to Old Woman Swamp together slowly strengthen their bond. The beauty of Old Woman Swamp allows Doodle to imagine a perfect world. His innocence causes him to not understand that his idea of a ‘perfect world’ is never going to become a reality. Brother is old enough to know everything Doodle is imagining is a lie, but the picture he is painting is so serene, that all Brother could think to do was to agree. Doodle cherishes every second he has with his older brother, and Brother realizes how precious his little brother really is. Old Woman Swamp is a land of fantasy, whose warmth and comfort gives the two brothers a safe haven.

She took a quick look around the last turn before the main street that led to the school. She noticed several boys and girls in the alleyways on both sides of the narrow street. It looked as if every class at her school, several young ladies and even her teacher waited for her in ambush. She ducked back before they could see her, hiked up her dress, and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her in the opposite direction of the angry mob. She didn’t stop until she had found the forest path that she needed and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard no one in pursuit. The forest surroundings felt different for some reason and it frightened her. It had a forbidding feel to it this dawn like she had never felt in the past.

Societies are often placing strict rules and expectations for individuals to conform to, and it is up to the individual to follow these rules or not. Willa Cather displays the dark and true nature of the motivations that can direct an individual’s course of action through the arrogant and aloof high school student Paul, in “Paul’s Case”, and where Paul finds the motivation to escape his claustrophobic home in Cordelia Street. Paul initially feels imprisoned and unhappy with his life in Cordelia Street, so he seeks to escape; however, when Paul is met with the realization that he can no longer run away from his problems, he figures that the only solution is suicide.

Sarah slugged through the early morning work and realized-too soon- that she needed to make a trip to the house. She made her way, clasping her arms around her for warmth in the cold November morning. Painted Girl’s borrowed sweater did not help dissipate the cold air, and neither did the lingering whiskey in her system. A light shone in the window illuminating Grandfather and Dingle, who sat at the table together eating pie. She watched as Dingle grabbed a juicy strawberry from Grandfather’s pie and nibbled at it greedily. Grandfather must have finished his hunt early, Sarah realized. She had hoped to avoid Grandfather today but nature called. There was no choice, either the woods or the house. Sarah did an about turn and went for the

    Children are beautiful because they possess the quality of innocence. In Gary Soto’s autobiographical narrative “A Summer Life”, he recalls a boyhood experience that left him striped of his innocence and purity in the form of a glaring pie tin. Many different literary elements such as imagery, diction and repetition are used to recreate the experience of his guilty six-year old self.

Annie Murphy Paul created this piece in response to a comment made by Gregory Currie. She also describes the positive reasons to why reading books makes better and smarter students.

A michevious streak had always run though the young boy and he was often the one to run around, playing games and getting out of trouble by looking at his mother with big eyes. Realizing her child had an excessive amount of energy, she enrolled him into every after school activity that she could. The only two that seemed to keep Knox’s interest were football and acting. Pursing the latter to the fullest, it was at

When Bryce Loski was seven years old, he moved into a new neighborhood. A little girl named Juli Baker lived across the street. She insisted on helping Bryce and his family move in but was a little too pushy and had muddy shoes and Bryce was immediately annoyed by her. Juli was constantly at the door wanting to play; Bryce's dad made many excuses for him for several weeks. Bryce started second grade, Juli Baker constantly pestered him, following him around at school, This went on til seventh grade, when Bryce's grandfather Chet Duncan moves in with the family. Chet finds Juli different, special, kind of girl who's hard to come across. there was this old sycamore tree that Juli loved to climb and no one ever understood why. One day, the