Willa Cather
In Willa Cather's "Paul's Case," the author uses symbolism and imagery to stress the disillusionment of teenagers and how it can eventually lead to death. Symbolism is relating symbolic meaning or significance to events, relationships, or objects (put source hear). In Willa Cather's essay, the teenage disillusionment of Paul can show the symbolic relationship between the red carnation that adorns Paul's suit, and Paul's dream for beauty, happiness, and belonging. We read that "Paul found the schoolroom more than ever repulsive,"(Cather 355) and that "he could not bear to have
We can see the symbolic relationship between the story of Faust and the story of Paul. "It was only one splendid breath they had," (Cather 360) and Paul felt "it had paid indeed" (Cather 360). Faust is an opera (originally a German poem) about a man who wants money and power and a sense of belonging. the other pupils think, for a moment, that he took these people seriously;"(Cather 355). usually attributed to insolence"(Cather 549) lead us to believe that Paul finds himself better than everyone in his town, and those thoughts probably led to his decision of going to New York City to be "among his people" (Cather 358), to be among "the flowers, the while linen, the many-colored wine-glasses, the gay toilettes of the women, the love popping of corks," (Cather 358). IN the beginning of the story, we recall that after his meeting with the faculty of his school about his suspension, Paul was "whistling the Soldiers' Chorus from Faust" (Cather 350). As if signifying the end of his dream he "took one of the blossoms carefully from his coat and scooped a little hole in the snow, where he covered it up" (Cather 361). He sells his soul to the devil to live for just a few years in his dream. He "sells his soul to the devil" when he steals the money from his employers. Paul wants to be beautiful, and in his mind money is beauty. Paul's " flippantly red carnation"(Cather 549) and his "conscious expression,. His dream dying, he begins to wilt like the carnations on his jacket, "their red glory over" (Cather 361). Like Faust, Paul wants money and a sense of belonging.
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Acceptance Essays
