Detailed summary of Paul's Case
Characters in Paul's Case
1. Paul
Paul, a tall and thin boy with emotionally brilliant eyes is the protagonist (मुख्य पात्र) of the story.
2. Paul’s Father
Paul’s father is an unnamed widower (विधुर). He considers himself as a mentor (परामर्शदाता) for Paul.
3. Charley Edwards (चार्ली एडवर्ड्स)
Charley Edwards is a young actor in a Pittsburgh (पिट्सबर्ग) theatre who allows Paul to hang out backstage.
4. The Soprano (सोप्रानो)
She is a German singer. She seems to be a highly romantic figure to Paul but in reality, she is a middle-aged woman.
5. The Drawing-Master
He is one of the faculty members. He is the one who talks about Paul’s deceased mother in the story. He is also worried about Paul.
6. The English Teacher
She is one of the faculty members. She is aware that Paul hates all the teachers including her.
Settings:
‘Paul’s Case’ takes place in Pittsburgh, and New York City during the winter season in the early twentieth century. The author, Willa Cather (विला क्याथर), uses a small town located in Pittsburgh as the main setting where Paul lived with his father and sisters. Later in the story, Paul traveled to New York City where he lived a luxurious life.
Theme:
The theme of “Paul’s Case” is that if we want to become rich and successful, we must work hard for it instead of just imagining it. Paul’s father and other people of Cordelia (कर्डेलिया) Street believed in the values of hard work. They believed that they could be successful only through hard work. Even though Paul shared the same desires, he wished to achieve all of them without any hard work and determination. In the story, the author mentions that there were boys like Paul, and they were almost in the same condition as Paul, but with hard work they became successful. However, Paul had no understanding of the relationship between work and money. In the end, Paul’s obsession (मनलाई ग्रस्त पार्ने कुरो) with money and failure to understand it led to his death.
Summary in one sentence of Paul's Case:
In the story, “Paul’s Case”, a young schoolboy named Paul having a great desire to live a luxurious life went to Newyork City after stealing a large sum of money from his job and when he found that his father was on his way to find him, he committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.
Detailed Summary of Paul's Case:
The story, “Paul’s Case”, is written by Willa Cather. Willa Cather is an American novelist and story writer famous for her novels about life on the Great Plains, a broad region of flat land in North America. In the story, Willa Cather presents the life of a young boy named Paul who struggled to adjust at home and at school. Paul was a tall and narrow-shouldered boy with emotionally brilliant eyes, frustrated by his dull and middle-class life. In Pittsburgh, Paul lived with his father and sisters on Cordelia Street, a part of a middle-class community. Even though he lived on Cordelia Street, he felt uncomfortable with the people living there as they tend to remind him of his own dull life.
In the beginning, Paul went to a meeting with the faculty members and the school principal of Pittsburgh high school complained about his aggressive manner in class. Due to this reason, he had also been suspended from his high school. Paul showed this behavior because he preferred his usher job (a person who shows people to their seats, especially in a cinema or theatre or at a wedding) for Carnegie (कार्नेगी) Hall in Pittsburgh.
After the meeting, Paul went straight to Carnegie Hall for his usher job where he always worked with great enthusiasm. Then, the concert began in Carnegie Hall and Paul started to enjoy the social scene while losing himself in the music. After the concert, Paul became depressed as he wanted to continue listening to the music. Then, Paul followed the lead singer to her hotel and started to imagine himself as a part of her luxurious world. He returned home very late that night so he entered through the basement window to avoid any conflict with his father. He stayed up all night imagining what might happen if his father mistook him for a burglar and shot him. Even though his father saw himself as a mentor for him, he was unimpressed by a tired man who always worked hard.
Paul wished to become wealthy but he lacked the energy and determination for that. Instead of working for his dreams, he used to escape his dull life by visiting Charley Edwards, a young actor who allowed Paul to hang out backstage. Besides Charley, he also had good relations with other actors and actresses in theater. As Paul was obsessed with the theater, he considered it far superior to his normal life at school and at home. Later on, Paul explained to his teachers that ushering job was more important to him than his schoolwork. When his father heard this, he forbade him from going to school and Carnegie Hall. Then, he sent Paul to work in an office and made Charley promise not to see Paul again.
Shortly after starting a new job, Paul stole a large sum of money from his job, which he was supposed to take to the bank. Then he took a train to New York City where he bought several expensive things, rented a room at Waldorf Hotel, and explored the city. Then he started to live a luxurious life in New York City. However, on the eight-day in New York City, after spending most of his money, he found that his theft had been discovered and reported by the Pittsburgh newspaper. He also found that his father had paid the stolen amount and was headed to New York City to find him.
The next morning, he woke up and looked at the gun he purchased on his first day in New York City. He considered shooting himself to avoid returning to his old and dull life in Pittsburgh. In the end, he took his own life by jumping in front of a train.
The story explores that we should always be honest with ourselves. However, Paul did not realize this and created a false character of a wealthy young man, which he could not sustain (सहनु). This ultimately led to his death. 