Paul 's Unhealthy Desire in Paul's Case
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.
Many clues were given that Paul dreamed of leaving town. For instance, he was exhilarated by the Venetian scenes and streets of Paris depicted in the picture gallery. He loved to listen to his father speak of "palaces in Venice, yachts on the Mediterranean, and high play at Monte Carlo" (202). Also, when no one paid attention to his stories, Paul announced to his classmates that he would be leaving to travel for a while. These acts foreshadow Paul's fleeing to New York. The fact that he actually stole money to take this trip shows how intensely desperate he was to leave. By constantly fantasizing about being somewhere he wasn't, Paul could not possibly live where he was.
Throughout the story, flowers are used to symbolize Paul's situation. The red carnation he wears to the meeting with his teachers is viewed by them as "flippant" and "scandalous" (195-196). This also suggests his attitude towards the gathering. Paul was very nonchalant about the entire thing. His clothes may have been a bit small and tattered, but by wearing that flower, Paul had no trouble holding his head up. He had always acted as if he were on a higher level than his teachers, and he felt it necessary to humiliate them and give them no s...
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... of Adriatic water and the yellow of Algerian sands" (213). These are both natural images, both beautiful, and neither contain artificial elements. This is significant in that Paul spent his life focusing on the beauty of artificiality, but when I feel this sense of regret in Paul, this epiphany, it is too late.
Paul stated a few times throughout the story that being in the atmosphere of luxury was "the only thing that could be called living at all" (198). He speaks of these times as "orgies of living," so I would imagine when he realized he could not afford that life, he felt that he could not live at all (200). Paul 's unhealthy desire for a life of luxury drove him to believe that his ordinary life was not worthy of existence.
Work Cited
Cather, Willa. "Paul's Case." Literature: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R.S. Gwynn. New York: Addison-Wesley, 2002. 194-213.
When Paul's father took him out of school and demanded he not work or see anyone at the Theatre, I believe it was at this point of the story that he took away apart of Paul's life, his fantasy life. He took away Paul's meaning of life and put him back into the reality, the world Paul did not like because for him it was the instruments, the music and the lights, as well as, his job responsibilities which made him feel like someone special.
Paul at some points thinks about his old town he had lived in, Houston, but each time it is brought up it either is much different compared to the town Tangerine or very much alike every once in a blue moon. When Paul refers to his old town, it mostly describes bad memories. In a way to relate, it is like someone gets lost in the sea but then gets rescued. The person would still have memories of being lost, it’s just that they're not living anymore. That is the same thing with Paul, remembering things that he wished he never knew.
"Paul’s Case." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 192-209. Short Stories for Students. Gale. Web. 21 Jan. 2010.
Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." The Norton Introduction to Literature.Eds.Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. Shorter 9th ed. New York: Norton, 2006. 988
...ards monstrous figures and sympathy towards those who seem to be tortured unjustly. In his perverse education, with instruction from Virgil and the shades, Dante learns to replace mercy with brutality, because sympathy in Hell condones sin and denies divine justice. The ancient philosopher Plato, present in the first level of Hell, argues in The Allegory of the Cave that truth is possible via knowledge of the Form of the Good. Similarly, Dante acquires truth through a gradual understanding of contrapasso and the recognition of divine justice in the afterlife. Ultimately, Dante recognizes that the actions of the earthly fresh are important because the soul lives on afterwards to face the ramifications. By expressing his ideas on morality and righteousness, Dante writes a work worth reading, immortalizes his name, and exalts the beliefs of his Christian audience.
Although they are both a lot alike, there are many differentials of the two. Universities are known for having large campuses; consequently, resulting in large number of students in each class. While Universities can range from having 20-1000 participants at a time, community colleges usually have no more than 50 participants in a class. As a result of such a large class size, it is harder for a professor to be able to develop the one-on-one time with a student. Due to most co...
Inferno, the first part of Divina Commedia, or the Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is the story of a man's journey through Hell and the observance of punishments incurred as a result of the committance of sin. In all cases the severity of the punishment, and the punishment itself, has a direct correlation to the sin committed. The punishments are fitting in that they are symbolic of the actual sin; in other words, "They got what they wanted." (Literature of the Western World, p.1409) According to Dante, Hell has two divisions: Upper Hell, devoted to those who perpetrated sins of incontinence, and Lower Hell, devoted to those who perpetrated sins of malice. The divisions of Hell are likewise split into levels corresponding to sin. Each of the levels and the divisions within levels 7,8, and 9 have an analogous historical or mythological figure used to illustrate and exemplify the sin.
Television, or screen time, has become a large part of today's society. Whether it's by way of smart-phones, a television, a computer, or a tablet, screen time has negative effects on the cognitive ability of children and adolescents. It has even been proven that it can lead to Alzheimer's disease when a person, in the age range of 20-60 years old, views an hour more than the recommended amount of screen time a day (Sigman 14). In children, the amount of screen time viewed has a relationship with the likelihood of developing a deficit in his attention span; the longer a child views screen time, the more likely he is to be diagnosed with an attention disorder. Screen time, or television, can cause attention disorders and other problem with cognitive abilities in children and adolescents that effect the education they can comprehend.
Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with many questions and thought provoking dialogue to interpret. These crossroads provide points of contemplation and thought. Dante’s graphic depiction of hell and its eternal punishment is filled with imagery and allegorical meanings. Examining one of these cruxes of why there is a rift in the pits of hell, can lead the reader to interpret why Dante used the language he did to relate the Idea of a Just and perfect punishment by God.
"Paul's Case," by Willa Cather, is a story that deals with a young boy who does not feel that he lives a life befitting of him. Upon a close reading, it is evident that "Paul's Case" is ruled by irony and symbolism, which are apparent in the story through the words of the narrator. The irony woven throughout the text builds up to an epiphonic moment, a main paradox in the story, which reveals to the reader Paul's true nature.
Seeing as this work was written by Dante, and the journey is taken by Dante, he has a unique opportunity to judge his fellow man and decide how they will be punished. He also gets to place his enemies in hell, forever besmirching their names for generations to remember. Perhaps unknowing to Dante, that is worse than any of the punishments that he placed his enemies in. The reality of The Inferno is unlikely and therefore these punishments are nothing but a fictiona...
Pauls's Case is the story of a young man who struggles with his identity. Paul feels that he knows where he belongs, but his family and teachers refuse to support his choices. In the middle of Paul's Case, there is a switch in narration. At this point, the reader can associate with Paul and his problems. Paul struggles with both internal and external conflicts, causing him to be quite a puzzling character. From tha perspective of his family and teachers, Paul seems abnormal. From his perspective, however, he seems misunderstood.
In "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather, a young man named Paul is unhappy with his home and school life. He is happiest when he is at Carnegie Hall, where he works as an usher. When he is not physically at Carnegie Hall, his thoughts remain there causing his school work to suffer. When his father finds out about his problems in school he has Paul banned from Carnegie Hall, taken out of school, and put to work. One day, while on his way to make the company's deposit, Paul decides to take some of the money and go to New York to experience the life he feels he was destined for. Unable to cope with the punishment for taking the money he commits suicide. The central idea in this story is that it takes patience and perseverance to accomplish your dreams, and you should not give up on them.
“How stern the power of Almighty God who crushes sinners with such righteous blows(Canto XXIV lines 109-110)!” In Dante’s Inferno, Dante Alighieri describes a trip through Hell, visiting the various sinners and circles of Hell. Dante also uses many experiences and beliefs from his real life to enrich his views of Hell and his idea of Divine Punishment. Dante’s perception of Divine Justice includes sinners whom he places in Hell for committing crimes without regret, they are placed lower in Hell according to the severity of their sins. Dante is not always just in his placement of sinners, his personal grudges and archaic Catholic beliefs get in the way of true Divine Justice.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 113-117. Print.