Compare And Contrast Paul's Case And A & P

Adolescence
Despite parental efforts to control children, teenage rebellion proves as an unavoidable staple in individuals' maturation. For some, this rebellion proves brief; for others it results in devastation. Regardless, this necessary and natural process often includes defiance of societal expectation in addition to domestic contradiction. Society's typical rejection of teenage rebellion destroys innocence, disturbs peace, and often inhibits social progress.
Both Willa Cather’s and John Updike’s early life experiences in discovering their identities reflect in their short stories, “Paul’s Case” and the “A&P”. Born into a strict family, Willa Cather could express the harsh expectations of teenagers through her protagonist, Paul. Willa

Cather grew up in a small town that restricted her from living an adventurous life. Forced to conform to society, Cather yearned for broader life experiences. Cather’s inspiration to write “Paul’s Case” came from her earlier years, because, “like Paul, she also visited New York in the winter and was attracted by the arts and by the idea of escaping dreary circumstances” (Evans). Willa Cather enjoyed the arts because they allowed her to escape the reality of harsh expectations and ideals of society. In addition, many critics believe that her writing served as a viewing into her own personal life. In an article by Catherine Kunce, “[Kunce] did not discourage students from writing of Paul’s homosexuality if they detected evidence of it...yet Paul’s case is somehow linked to her own situation” (Kunce). Her most significant relationships throughout her life involved women. Although her sexuality remains unknown, these theories help critics understand the story behind “Paul’s Case”.
Similar to Cather’s “Paul’s Case”, John Updike’s short story, the “A&P” relates to his life growing up. Born in 1932, Updike witnessed his mother’s perseverance in writing throughout his childhood and aspired to embody her motivation. Throughout college, he attained recognition for his talent in writing poems and short stories. One of his main inspirations included J.D. Salinger who “really opened [his] eyes as to how you can weave fiction out of a set of events that seem almost unconnected, or very lightly connected” (McFarland). In writing the “A&P” Updike truly encompassed Salinger’s work technique. However, with his imaginary characters came “an appropriate symbol for the mass ethic of a consumer-conditioned society” (McFarland). Inspired by his mother and J. D. Salinger, Updike’s lifelong experience in writing allowed his to create a piece of art that tells fun fictional stories while also analyzing serious subjects. “Paul’s Case” and the “A&P” display the cruel rejection of adolescent experimentation with imagination and identity.
Unlike many other students in his class, Paul hungered for broader and more adventurous life experiences. After misbehaving in school shortly after his mother dies, Paul faces a board of angry teachers while wearing “an opal pin in his neatly knotted black four-in-hand, and a red carnation in his buttonhole”, appears as a spirited yet awkward looking teenager. (Cather) However, his cheery disposition and flamboyant outfit appears to the teachers as a reflection of his misbehaviors. Because Paul proves his longing to defy the rules of society, he does not care whether he will ever return to school again, but rather, attend his job as an usher at Carnegie Hall. Paul’s love for the arts proves evident when the “first sight of the instruments seemed to free some hilarious and potent spirit within him… [and] he felt a sudden zest of life” (Cather). Not only does his love of music allow him to escape the expectations of his teachers, but also his father. When returning home from a night full of music and adventure, “He approached it with the nerveless sense of defeat, the hopeless feeling of sinking back forever into ugliness and commonness that he always had when he came home” (Cather). Paul feels that his behavior, clothing choices, and love for the arts, allows him to escape the ongoing unapproval of his father.
Society’s rejection of Paul’s true identity ultimately results in his suicide. Upon returning to school after his misbehaviors, Paul displays a poor attitude and “let his instructors know how heartily he despised them and their homilies” (Cather). Paul resents learning in a classroom, when “It was at the theatre and at Carnegie Hall that Paul really lived” (Cather). However, his continued misbehaviors and lack of interest in “normal things” resulted in him being “taken out of school and put to work, the manager at Carnegie Hall was told to get another usher in his stead, [and] the doorkeeper at the theatre was warned not to admit him to the house” (Cather). Paul, now having lost his escape and gateway of imagination, feels rejected, dismissed, and resented by his father, his school, and ultimately, society. After his father comes searching for him after leaving town, Paul decides to commit suicide. After much self-experimentation and time spent discovering his true identity, Paul would rather die than return home to his dull lifestyle. In his final moments, Paul proves content with his life, as he “lives out a basic human dream of unfettered self-indulgence” (Evans). Paul proves to not need the direction of his father and school teachers, but rather the guidance of his imagination.
Just like Paul, characters in the “A&P” such as Sammy and the three women defy society’s expectation in a small middle-class suburban grocery store.

Sammy’s experiences with the everday shoppers, describing them as “sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” along with the store “having bags of peat moss and aluminum lawn furniture stacked on the pavement”, exemplifies societies orderly fasion where everything remains the same. However, his mundane lifestyle immediately shifts when the three women enter the A&P, showing “the contrast between the usual customers at the A&P and these girls” (McFarland). Sammy represents a typical teenager stuck in a monotonous daily existence who allows himself to embrace rather than reject the teenagers who prove “different” or “progressive”. Sammy’s innocent description of the “long white prima donna legs” gives insight into his “youthful and unromantic descriptive powers” (Mcfarland). When approched for their lack of clothing, Sammy stands up for the girls and quits his job, in an attempt “to not only try to change his own love life, but also the “traditional” perspective” (McFarland). Although appearing heroic, his gesture reflects his selfish impulses to impress the girls. By using his “youthful and unromantic” charachteristics, he loses his job, and the attention of the

girls.