Summary Of Paul's Case By Willa Cather

Many people often long for an escape from the mundane, repetitive tasks of a normal life. They want the chance to travel to beautiful, faraway places, to feel the grandeur of wealth, or to experience the fame of a celebrity. Willa Cather showcased these desires beautifully through her characterization in the story “Paul’s Case”. Paul was a boy who was constantly looking for these escapes form his boring life on Cordelia Street, especially in the form of the arts, primarily music. Without question, Paul’s life and city offered very little excitement for a young boy. For entertainment, every Sunday, most of the inhabitants of Cordelia Street—the Pittsburg street which Paul lived on—would simply sit on their porches and watch the children playing

First, he was employed as an usher at Carnegie Hall. This allowed him to happily enjoy the music played (179). Besides this, he spent the majority of his available time at a small theater with a local thespian named Charlie Edwards. Here, again, he enjoyed simply listening to the music and watching the actors practice and perform (182). These two activities brought great joy to Paul. “It was at theater and Carnegie Hall where Paul really lived; the rest was but a sleep and a forgetting” (182). However, once these two options were taken away from him, Paul made extreme decisions to search for new escapes. First, Paul steals money and leaves for New York. While there, he experiences a life of grandeur and happiness. He attends several shows and performances, and even makes friends—something that had always been difficult for him. This experience was a perfect escape for Paul (186). However, this enjoyment, too, soon became threatened, so Paul took his final escape the boring life on Cordelia Street. To complete this, he commits suicide by jumping in front of a train. This acted as a final end to the boredoms and unhappiness of Paul’s life in Pittsburg (190). He had finally, and forever, found an