Symbolism In Paul's Case

The symbolism in "Paul’s Case" is portrayed through the weather, as well as through flowers. The different kinds of weather portray the cold world around him that is trying to overtake him, while the flowers represent himself and his desire for beauty and riches, and his attempts to thrive in his world. After Paul goes to Carnegie Hall, admires the Schenley, and walks home, it is raining -- “The moment he turned into Cordelia Street he felt the waters close about his head.” (238) Here, the water of the rain symbolize reality, as it entraps him in his reality, with him unable to escape. This symbol is further developed when Paul is in New York, and discovers that his father had found him out. He realizes that”...the tepid waters of Cordelia

Tub survives in the end, finding warmth in the kindling of his friendship with Frank, but Paul does not, succumbing to the cold and whithering away in the cold. The symbolism in “Hunters in the Snow” is more spread out, however, while the symbolism in “Paul’s Case is more centralized.” The snow in “Hunters in the Snow is spread out throughout the book, and pervades throughout all of Kenny, Frank, and Tub’s travels. The freezing snow outside is contrasted with the warmth on the inside, where Frank and Tub are able to derive warmth by being inside and by bonding with each other. Cold and warmth interact with each other and contrast each other, contrasting the cold world around them and the warmth that Frank and Tub derive by opening up to each other. “Paul’s Case” uses symbolism throughout different parts of the story. First, it is raining in Pittsburgh, portraying how reality is drowning Paul, making him feel that he cannot escape his world. Next comes the snow in New York, that is finally able freeze him to death, as he stumbles upon the realization that he and his dreams cannot flourish in such a cold world. The flower, all the while, is spread throughout the story, and is associated both with himself and his dreams. His teachers first admonish him all the more harsher for the red carnation’s presence, it is said that he yearns for “fresh flowers,” he orders for flowers to be brought up to his hotel room in New York, he walks past thriving flowers behind a glass window in New York, and he finally buries a red carnation right before his death. The weather of this story comes in two distinct phases of rain and snow, while the flower is present throughout the story. The symbolism is centralized in that the flower is only meant to represent Paul and his dreams, and is constantly reinforced through the whole story, while the weather