Paul's Case

A detailed Summary of Paul's Case

The most difficult part of a person's life is often their teenage years. This is a time when people experience many changes in their emotions and thoughts. This is illustrated in Willa Cather's short story "Paul's Case." Paul was drawn to stealing money and skipping town (and ultimately his suicide) because of his religion, Calvinism, the boredom of his lower middle-class town and life, and the inability of his teachers, and his dad to keep him involved in something that was important to him.

The narrator of "Paul's Case" indicates that Paul is a Calvinist. In describing Paul's bedroom she indicated his (or more notably his parents) Calvinist beliefs "and over his painted wooden bed the pictures of George Washington and John Calvin." Calvinism is a protestant religious sect based on the doctrine of predestination. This doctrine states that certain people are elected by God to salvation, while others are rejected by him and consigned to eternal damnation. The religion also believes that people do not possess free will. Belief in these principles can have many serious implications on the character of a teenager. The doctrine of predestination probably instills a feeling that nothing he does matters in the g

Paul seems to be naturally drawn to things that are new, and bright, and nice. The narrator expresses his "shuddering repulsion for the flavorless, colorless mass of every-day existence; a morbid desire for cool things and soft lights and fresh flowers." His lower middle-class lifestyle does not naturally bring these things to him. In a physical sense he has nothing new, his house is dingy and leaky, "his upstairs room and it's horrible yellow wallpaper, the creaking bureau with the greasy plush collar-box, and over his painted wooden bed..." This most likely gave him a sense of forever wallowing in an old, ugly house that hadn't even changed the ugly yellow wallpaper in years and years. The bed also serves as a kind of metaphor for the events in Paul's life. The bed is wooden, which could be very beautiful and classy which Paul would adore, but instead it has been painted over and made ugly and bland. His boring, dingy, house stands in great contrast to his job at Carnegie Hall. The author makes a point of him not just working at any theatre or art gallery, but that he works at possibly one of the greatest and most well respected centers of culture and art in the world.

In all, though it was Paul's choice to do what he did, he was pushed in to it by many outside influences. The hopelessness given to him by his religious beliefs, the boredom of his everyday surroundings, life, and people, and his lack of involvement in any type of community that he was inter

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 996
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English