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A slight tremor in his hands is the only hint of nervousness. He has spent the night trying to avoid being seen by any businessmen from Pittsburgh, who might have recognized him from his job at the firm of Denny & Carson. Paul's delusions suggest a personality disorder that keeps him from finding any value in things unless they are romantic or glamorous. After the interview Paul heads to his job as an usher at Carnegie Hall. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Paul The protagonist and antihero of the story. An idealistic, lying, suicidal young man, Paul fits in nowhere and looks down on nearly everyone he knows. There are multiple possible explanations for Paul's character struggles. Paul’s mother died shortly after his birth, and he has been reared by his father, who seems distant and preoccupied with money and hard work. Something unmentionable happens between Paul and the Yale student, who spend a night out on the town together in New York. However, this path doesn't ultimately lead Paul to freedom or acceptance. After Paul was forbidden from the theaters and concert halls, he began plotting his escape from his life. For instance, when Paul is riveted by the soprano at Carnegie Hall, the author describes her as "by no means in her first youth and the mother of many children." However, when Paul is forbidden to return to Carnegie Hall, Charley agrees not to see him anymore. One of the faculty members. The fact that, “Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. He is "very thin, with high cramped shoulders," and when he sleeps his face is "drawn and wrinkled." “Paul’s Case” was written in the context of a number of literary movements at the turn of the twentieth century, but naturalism—which sought to portray everyday life realistically while also study the effect of environment on individual characters—was particularly thriving. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. Paul steals money from his job and goes to New York City. While trying to make his desperate decision, Paul reflects that "he could not remember the time when he had not been dreading something." Course Hero, "Paul's Case Study Guide," July 26, 2019, accessed October 18, 2020, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Pauls-Case/. Writers like Edith Wharton, Stephen Crane, and Theodore Dreiser attempted to examine social issues like gender inequality, the negative effects of industrialization, and the uglier aspects of the American Dream. Paul, a student at Pittsburgh High School, stands in front of the school faculty. He reveals that he bought a revolver at the beginning of his trip, but after reflection he decides not to use it. Here's where you'll find analysis of the story as a whole. It could also be a reference to some trauma regarding his mother's death or his father that Paul has repressed. Teachers and parents! Everyone in the neighborhood is out after church, still wearing their best Sunday clothes. Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders. He makes the only mention of Paul’s dead mother in the story and worries about Paul’s physical weakness. The narration gives little description of Paul's father because Paul himself is uninterested in his father. Eyes on the Prize  My Antonia was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize the first year the prize existed, though it didn’t win. A young actor in a Pittsburgh theater troupe. 5 In New York City, Paul enjoys the life of his dreams. their favorite book is like when acted out on the screen. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our. Paul's adventure is doomed from the beginning, because he seems to have no plan for when the stolen money runs out. in-depth analysis of Paul. 9 Paul goes to a set of train tracks outside New York City. The narrator says only that they part on bad terms, without explaining why. (Society and Self, Critical Representations in Literature). “Paul’s Case,” the only short story Willa Cather approved for anthologies, opens with a young boy called before his high school principal and teachers. But in other ways it is Paul who yearns after the greatest excesses of the Gilded Age as represented by the wealth and splendor of New York City. As an usher, Paul attends a concert at Carnegie Hall. Instead, Paul goes to the theater to watch an actor acquaintance named Charley Edwards rehearse. “Paul’s Case” was written in the context of a number of literary movements at the turn of the twentieth century, but naturalism—which sought to portray everyday life realistically while also study the effect of environment on individual characters—was particularly thriving. Paul's attraction to beauty, flowers, theater, and music could all be symbolic of a traditionally feminine or romantic side of his character. Paul's character flaws create a situation that seems to have no out except that of death. It’s also important to note, given the heavy implication in “Paul’s Case” that Paul is gay, that sodomy (sexual acts between men) was a crime in every American state during this time, and would continue to be for many more decades. Copyright © 2016. Indeed, Paul has a fantasy life that, while not protecting him from the reality of “Sabbath School picnics, petty economies, wholesome advice as to how to succeed in life,” nevertheless makes his existence bearable. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Paul was a misfit and was unable to accept the drab reality of his daily life. He sits down to rest alongside the tracks and is woken up later by the sound of an approaching train. He finds this life and a confrontation with his father so unbearable that he creeps into the house through the basement and sits awake all night. At the museum, he teases the Venus de Milo with a hand gesture, makes a face at Augustus Caesar. July 26, 2019. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our. Find the quotes you need to support your essay, or refresh your memory of the story by reading these key quotes. Paul superimposes his own assumption of ugliness and dreariness onto everything around him that is part of his everyday life. Paul's Case the Movie vs. Paul's Case the Short Story Essay 932 Words | 4 Pages. He is bored with school and hates his shabby room at home and his middle-class neighbors and the street where he lives. However, his superficial display of wealth and polish reflects a deeper and more complex concealment of his true character. The soprano also lives (at least in Paul’s mind) a life of glamour and beauty that Paul craves. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." His death seems less tragic than inevitable. He had been suspended a week ago, and his father had called at the Principal's office and confessed his perplexity about his son. Though Paul's father wants Paul to follow in the clerk's footsteps, Paul is uninterested in the life of a clerk. After standing in the rain and watching her enter the hotel, Paul takes a streetcar back to his neighborhood. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The drawing master defends Paul to the other teachers, positing that he is disturbed rather than simply rude. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. By the time Paul goes to New York City, it is now a snowy January. After leaving the cab, Paul flounders in the snow along the tracks, feeling increasingly clearheaded and simultaneously feverish. Paul could be experiencing an extreme sense of repression because a deeply buried part of himself is socially unacceptable in his community.

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