Paul’s Case by Willa Cather is a short story full of temperament lessons. It is a narration of a few months’ events in Paul’s life. Paul is a student at Pittsburg High School, who prefers theater and music to class. The story begins when Paul is suspended from school; he meets his principal and teachers, complaining of his defiant character in class and his physical confrontation towards his teachers (Cather). Paul’s life is seen as a success outside class, in art rather than school.
The narrator states about Paul being an attendant in Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Hall. This is evident when Paul happily arrives at the hall in his uniform, and at the hall’s entrance, he becomes a hospitable and smiling model assistant. Paul speaks outrageous lies to his friends in school about the individuals at the theater company. He does this to prove his superiority in outdoor activities to his fellow students. Temperance is encapsulated as one of the themes evident in Paul’s life which are developed by literary elements such as irony and symbolism, and both internal and external conflicts revolving around his life.
Paul is an interesting character whose unique nature renders him worth studying. He is in a direct conflict with reality of life. The story begins when Paul feels he is in a particular social class, but he is confused about why his life does not reflect who he thinks he could be. For instance, Paul feels he is a wealthy member of society, but he cannot match his feeling with his life on Cordelier Street (Cather). External conflict is evident as he collides with his teachers because of his bad traits including violence and carelessness He also disagrees with his father when he takes him out of school involuntarily and gives him a job. The external conflicts help to build on the theme of temperance because in all the situations which he was in conflict he managed to control himself and made appropriate decisions.
Internal conflict is also evident when Paul finds it difficult to stay in class and opts to go for other luxurious things that he cannot afford. Paul finds it uneasy to cope with the average dynamics of life. He cannot stand the aroma of food when he cooks. He is captivated by beauty and fiction, not as a result of superficiality, but a mime of his insurgency on how he perceives nature and reality (Cather). In conclusion, internal conflict is apparent in Paul’s fight against reality and his obsession with artificial beauty. Despite being pressured by the internal conflicts he can exercise some moderation in his life. For example, despite hating school he does not conform to the idea of dropping out and getting a job; this reveals temperance.
Paul’s Case story is dominated by irony and symbolism among other stylistic devices. When Paul appears before the school faculty to account for his misdemeanors, he gives an expected response which makes him the luckiest individual at the time. The principal questioned him on why he was at the faculty, and Paul responded politely that he desired to come back to school, which is quite ironic (Cather). He also wanted to portray his superiority by addressing others as if he was better than them, and yet he was ashamed of his actions. The author applies symbolism in Paul Case to show character of some people in the society who display characters that do not match their feeling or internal confidence.
Finally, Paul’s Case story is an exciting narration full of lessons that are fit for adolescent and young people. Paul is frustrated with the boring middle-class lifestyle which he leads. Similar to other teenagers, he desires a luxurious life that compels him to launch out for other moneymaking duties (Cather). The story is the epitome of temperance illuminated by irony, and symbolism, among other literal elements as well as Paul’s encounters of internal and external conflicts.
Work Cited
Cather, Willa. Paul’S Case. Classics. Web.