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Common Themes In Paul's Case

Decent Essays

Paul’s Unexpected Consequences After reading “Paul’s Case” which was written by “Willa Cather” and its movie, which was directed by Lamont Johnson, there was a common theme between both the movie and the book. This common theme dealt with wealth and how it affected our main character, Paul. It affected him in unexpected ways. These ways were both positive and negative and even had a long term effect on him. The common theme was how the pursuit of wealth can have unexpected consequences that are both positive, negative and could even last a lifetime. While Paul was seeking wealth either through his part time job at the theater as an usher or by taking his father’s check it led to an unexpectedly positive outcome. This was that Paul had a …show more content…

This quote allows the reader to see that Paul’s “new life” was quickly coming to an end and that he was going to be forced to go back to his normal life if he was not able to come up with a plan quickly. The possibility of having to go back to live with his father in his normal life may have clouded Paul’s idea of reality. Even though Paul unexpectedly experienced both positive and negative consequences on his quest for wealth, he also experienced a long term effect when he decided to take his own life. Paul made his decision when he realized that he didn't want to have to go back living in his small town and having to work at the theater. The idea of Paul ending his life was first brought to the viewer’s attention when the camera zoomed into Paul’s bag as he got off the train. The bag is left on the train which made the viewer start to wonder why Paul is leaving it. It now causes the viewer to question what is going through Paul’s mind and it also builds suspense. Another prime example that helped drive home the idea that Paul was about the make a decision that would have a long lasting impact on him was when he was getting a ride home from the train station from a horse and buggy. Instead of having the horse and buggy drop him off at his house, he tells the driver that he could drop him off in the middle of the woods and that

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