Analysis Of Paul's Case By Willa Cather

In “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather, the story begins with a tense atmosphere as a young 16 year-old boy, named Paul, enters the principal’s office, who seems to have every intention to cause a reaction among his teachers, who made the complaint about Paul’s ongoing bad behavior at school. He entered with an attitude opposite of what he should have when getting questioned by the principal of Pittsburg High School, to account for his various misdemeanors. His demeanor is shown in the following quote:

Paul entered the faculty room, suave and smiling. His clothes were a trifle outgrown, and the tan velvet on the collar of his open overcoat was frayed and worn; but, for all that, there was something of the dandy about him, and he wore an opal pin

One such quote that supports the claim of third person omniscient is found in the 19th paragraph where the author describes how Paul feels; “Paul stopped short before the door. He felt that he could not be accosted by his father to-night, that he could not toss again on that miserable bed”(Cather). This quote depicts Paul’s emotions towards his father as fear. Third person omniscient allows us to better understand the motivations of every character, which can also explain the events of the plot as it develops throughout the

“I didn’t mean to be polite, or impolite, either. I guess it’s a sort of way I have of saying things, regardless”(Cather).

Paul as a character can be described as a dreamer, who is so lost in the glamour and glory of a rich life that the world around turns gray without any sense of reality. Often because Paul is lost in his own fantasy world, that he does not behave in ways acceptable to society. When Paul comes face to face with reality, which causes his mind to collapse, that Paul begins to despair and commits suicide:

There came upon him one of those fateful attacks of clear-headedness that never occurred except when he was physically exhausted and his nerves hung loose. ...He saw everything clearly now. He had a feeling that he had made the best of it, that he had lived the sort of life he was meant to live(Cather).

Paul’s character relates to the central idea because he is an example of a person who was not accepted by others and fell down on a dark path of no