Identity In Paul's Case By Willa Cather

Today I will be discussing the prevalent theme in the novel of Paul's journey to reach maturity, the importance other characters whom he interacts with played in the development of his character and

"Paul's Case", by Cather, is a story in which Paul, an adolescent, is trying to find himself. Unlike Hemingway, Cather exposes the influence of a stable but cold environment to be detrimental to one's well being. Paul's dilemma begins with school, a place he is not fond of. His teachers have a strong disliking of Paul. This is seen at his readmittance inquiry "… they fell upon him without mercy, his English teacher leading the pack" (161). Paul's inner struggle is recognized by only one teacher, the drawing master. "The drawing master had come to realize that, in looking at Paul, one saw only his white teeth and forced animation of his eyes" (162). He also noted the time Paul had fallen asleep in class, "what a white, blue veined face it was; drawn and wrinkled like an old man's about the eyes, lips twitching even in his sleep" (162). This observation clues us that Paul is not a happy-go-lucky teenager; there is an inner battle going on.

Paul's Case is about a young, Calvinist man who did not feel that he belonged in his life. He lived on Cordelia Street in Pittsburgh, PA. Cordelia Street was littered with cookie cutter houses, suburbanite-like city-dwellers, and a general aura of despair. Paul's room was no different. Paul felt that his abusive father, uncaring teachers, and classmates who misunderstand him aren't worthy of his presence and company. One of the reasons Paul may not have fit in was because there is a chance that he was learning disabled.

Cordelia Street was a constant reminder of what society Paul was supposed to fit into. He did not want the typical American dream where he found love at a young age, got married, had kids, and worked the rest of his life to support his family. Every Sunday on Cordelia Street the families sat on their stoops conversing with one another. “The men on the steps- all in their shirt sleeves, their vest unbuttoned- sat with their legs well apart, their stomach comfortably protruding, and talked of the prices of things, or told anecdotes of the sagacity of their various chiefs and overloads.” (Cather 107). The commonness of that lifestyle made Paul very discontent, he believed his fate was to be rich and live with luxury. The people who surrounded

     Paul is the main character in Willa Cather’s short story titled, “Paul’s Case”. Paul is a very troubled young man who believes he is destined for greatness. He was always in trouble at school and was never content with being himself. Paul had a very troubling past where his father would constantly emotionally abuse him and was always looked down upon at school. Paul feels that his is stuck where he his and cannot control his own future. One symbol used in this story was Cordelia Street. This is the street that Paul grew up on and he talks about this street as being boring and common, much like his life. Paul has a real problem with his past and how to escape it. Because

Returning, he came to the realization that Cordelia Street is New York City; it’s Chicago; it’s San Francisco; it’s Seattle. No matter where Paul decided to travel to, he would face people and experience obstacles extremely similar to those of Cordelia Street. There would still be people who reapply their daily facade to satisfy one another, people who fall from their once proposed ambitions, and places that will be full of nothing but uncertainty, misery, and heartbreak. Cordelia Street is one place plucked from a multitude of disappointments Paul faced, and would continue to, no matter how desperately he attempted to convince himself

The antagonist of this story is Paul’s father who just wants his son to be normal. Through out the story, only one side of Paul’s father is shown. This means that Paul’s father is a flat character. Paul’s father is a strict man and expects more out of Paul. But more is easier said then done because of Paul’s deep depression that everyone sees but does nothing about. When Cather writes, “his father called at the principle…” on page one, this shows that Paul’s father does want what is best for him by calling the school to explain Paul’s behavior. Also, on page nine, Cather writes, “… the young man who was daily held up to Paul as a model….” This quote shows that Paul’s Father has it in

enters peoples houses and surrounds himself with what they have and for a moment he is able to pretend that what they have belongs to him. Paul creates a new identity for himself as

The only place Paul is able to escape his reality and unfulfilling life is at Carnegie Hall. Carnegie Hall is a haven for Paul and gives him the classy atmosphere of the arts that he lacks in his life. He has an usher job at Carnegie Hall and unlike his house and school, Paul enjoys going there to work. He is able to escape and be with the rich and attractive people that come to the hall.

Paul also openly criticizes conformity frequently throughout the story. Paul’s criticisms can be seen in his detailed observations of people and their routines. However, none of these criticisms compare to Paul’s hate for his home on Cordelia Street. Cather describes Cordeila Street, noting that all the houses are identical, as well as its inhabitants. Following the description of the street, Cather describes Paul’s hatred for his mediocrity plagued home is expressed: “Paul never went up Cordelia Street without a shudder of loathing… he approached it to-night with the nerveless sense of defeat, the hopeless feeling of sinking back forever into ugliness and commonness that he had always had when he came home”(Pg. 5). Later on in the story, while Paul is in New York and is contemplating his fear of being reprimanded for his actions, he constantly reminds himself of the painful existence that awaits him on Cordelia Street: “It was to be worse than jail, even; the tepid waters of Cordelia Street were to close over him finally and forever. The grey monotony stretched before him in hopeless, unrelieved years”(Pg. 13). Cather seems to use Cordiela street as a all-encompassing metaphor for conformist society; and Paul’s individuality and hate for Cordiela Street serves as the contrasting element, in turn becoming the most

The protagonist in Willa Cather's short story, "Paul's Case," is adolescent named Paul. Paul's problem is that he has trouble following rules. Paul has a problem with various kinds of authorities including his teachers, principal, and father. From Paul's perspective, his problem is society. Society does not conform to him and repeatedly makes attempts on him to conform to it. Paul is disgusted, repulsed, and bored by middle class life in Pittsburgh. Paul's real problem is that he lacks perspective. This is a young man that is ferociously hungry for life outside of a small town or small city, which is partially the reason why he steals $1,000 and flees to New York City. Paul does not have an appropriate outlet through which to explore and channel his exuberant and odd energy. It is only when he is committing suicide by throwing himself in front of an oncoming train that he is capable of imagining a life both outside of the life he left behind, but not so far outside in the margins of society that cannot be a contributing member of society. Paul craves new experiences that expand his horizons and challenge him in ways unknown to him in his life back in Pittsburgh. His lack of perspective keeps him from being available to the myriad of choices he has in life but does not yet see. Ironically, it is only when his life is about to conclude when he realizes how much he wants to live and do. These feelings are often expressed by people who have

When Paul describes his home, which is located on a “highly respectable street,” he is still disgusted with the uniformity of all the houses on the street; not one house is unique (Cather 375). Inside his standard home, he is particularly displeased with “its horrible yellow wall-paper, the creaking bureau with greasy plush collar-box, and over his painted wooden bed the pictures of George Washington and John Calvin and the framed motto, ‘Feed my Lambs’” (Cather 375). Paul uses only negative words to describe his house that a lot of people would have appreciated during that time period; he does not have anything he particularly likes about his house. According to critic David Carpenter, the way “that Cather puts these pictures on Paul’s walls to emphasize that uncreative, superficial, and life-destroying values perpetuated in the homes of Pittsburgh are essentially American values” (Hicks 1). Carpenter means Cather specifically put descriptions of those pictures on Paul’s wall because it accentuates how truly unoriginal, fake, and uniform Paul’s house is, at least through Paul’s eyes. He is so appalled with living such an ordinary life, living in an ordinary house, and gives insight to why he is jealous of the people who have the more lavish things in

Paul`s life is in chaos as he is attempting to uproot his entire life by creating a façade to appeal to the white upper-class. It is this façade, however, that gives Paul control in his life as he is finally able to belong to a family with the Kittredges. This imbalance in Paul`s life causes him to be an Other because he has changed his entire life to simply swindle wealthy whites.

Paul was never content with his house on Cordelia Street and was always dreaming about "movin' on up" while he worked at Carnegie Hall and watched the actors and actresses move about in their stately attire and live in the most luxurious of hotel suites. Because of this dream to get out of the area in which he lived, Paul hardly ever got along with his teachers and his father. The thought of taking full advantage of

Willa Cather introduces the audience to Paul who lives in two distinct worlds. The industrialized middle class neighbourhoods of Philadelphia. Contrasted by the beautiful world of theatre and art, at Carnegie hall. Paul feels trapped by the mundane existence of the middle class, and is drawn towards his idealized life. A life of quality and meaning, full of beautiful people and interesting things.