Symbolism: Paul

             Green can imply jealousy. It can also suggest freshness, lushness, vegetation, a section of a golf course, or in its simplest sense refer just to the color. How an author chooses to employ the use of a word can denote countless emotions and sentiments to a reader because of the shared cultural experiences that we are all born into and brought up with. This is why symbolism is such a significant and effective device in literature. Used correctly symbolism enriches a story by giving a deeper insight into characters while allowing the reader to relate to abstract concepts in a clearer, more universal understanding.
             Willa Cather makes use of brilliant symbolism to capture the peculiarly tragic title character of "Paul's Case". The décor of Paul's bedroom alludes to specific aspects of his being. The "horrible yellow wall-paper" that hangs in his room stands for his true cowardly self, the self that slept in the cold rat ridden basement for fear of his father (Charters 266). His hatred of the yellow wall-paper is really a hatred of himself, which ultimately culminates in Paul's act of suicide at the end of the story.
             Another aspect of Paul's bedroom that is symbolic to his life is the picture of John Calvin, the founder of Presbyterianism. Calvin spoke of predestination, the principle that God preordained all things that will happen in this life and the next. Paul has been predestined to live out his depressing life on Cordelia Street and not the glamorous life of the theatre. Paul does escape for a period, but only to retreat back when the means of his departure ran out. His eventual realization of his unchanging position in life is one more reason why Paul ended jumped in front of the train.
             The Nigerian born Chinua Achebe also makes use of symbolism to expatiate the knowledge of his characters. Throughout Things Fall Apart Okonkwo is associated
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