Book Nook Cafe discussion

What's this? Our Group read of a short story

Short Story: Paul's Case

Author: Willa Cather

When: we will begin the discussion around October 20

Link to Story:. As with all our short stories this month, they can be found online. Here is the link for this short story.

http://cather.unl.edu/ss006.html

If you prefer to listen to the story you can at this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnvx7...

You also can open the first link and read along with the reader at the second link.

Here is the text with a MP3 file
part 1
http://www.manythings.org/voa/stories...

part 2
http://www.manythings.org/voa/stories...

Synopsis:
"Paul's Case," by Willa Cather, is a short story centering on the psychological state of a teenager.

This short story was written by Willa Cather around 1905 when she was living in Pittsburgh; it is the only one of her stories with that city as a background. During her time there she taught in a high school and she said the story was based on experience with two boys in her classes. It also has connections to her own background of growing up in a small town in Nebraska where she hungered for a broader life experience.

Discussion questions -- Questions may contain spoilers so read the short story first.

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

1.Could Paul's suicide have been prevented? If so, how? What, if anything, could have been done to help Paul? Can you relate to Paul? Why or why not? Are you like him or have you ever met anyone like him?

2.How do you think Paul's father reacts to Paul's death? What about Charley Edwards?

3.Willa Cather wrote "Paul's Case" with very few dramatic incidents. Most of the story is told without any description of action. Why might that be?

4.What is the dark secret that Paul is hiding? Does it matter if we know, or is the story more effective if the secret remains a secret?

5.Why is Paul so willing to cut all ties with his family? Why doesn't he care about his family?

6."Paul's Case" was first published in 1905. In what ways are its themes still relevant? Or irrelevant?

7.Which relationships seem to be a source of pleasure for Paul? Of pain?

8.What, finally, does Paul want out of life? Why does he think that theft is the only way to attain it?

http://www.shmoop.com/pauls-case/ques...
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1...Imagine that you are among the teachers who meet with Paul (paragraphs 3-9). What action would you recommend to resolve the problems he causes?

2...Do you sympathize with Paul? Explain your answer.

3...Which of the following statements is probably true?
•Paul's father is too strict with his son.
•Paul's father is too lenient with his son.
•Paul's father is a typical parent who tries to do his best.

•Concerning the relationship between Paul and his father, the narration presents only Paul's side of the story, not his father's. Therefore, it is not possible to evaluate the father's treatment of his son.

4...If Paul had developed an interest in sports, would he have been an observer or a participant?

5...Do today's public schools deal effectively with problem students like Paul?

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net
================================Discussion Questions

1.) Describe Paul's personality as Cather sets it forth in the open paragraph of the story. Is this someone we like and admire?

2.) Why do Paul's teachers have so much difficulty dealing with him? What does the knowledge that Cather was a teacher in Pittsburgh at the time she wrote this story suggest about her perspective on Paul's case?

3.) What techniques does Cather use to establish the reader's sympathy for Paul? What limits that sympathy?

4.) Contrast the three worlds -- school, Carnegie Hall, and Cordelia Street -- in which Paul moves. Why does Cather introduce them in that order?

5.) What is the effect of Cather's capitalizing the word Romance?

6.) Discuss the three decorations that hang above Paul's bed. What aspects of American culture do they refer to? What do they leave out?

7.) Explore the allusion embedded in the name "Cordelia Street." (Cordelia is the name of King Lear's faithful daughter.) Why does Paul feel he is drowning there?

8.) Discuss Paul's fear of rats. Why does he feel that he has "thrown down the gauntlet to the thing in the corner" when he steals the money and leaves for New York?

9.) Explicate the paragraph that begins "Perhaps it was because, in Paul's world, the natural nearly always wore the guise of ugliness." To what extent does this paragraph offer a key to the story's structure and theme?

10.) Describe the effect of the leap forward in time that occurs in the white space before we find Paul on the train to New York. Why does Cather withhold for so long her account of what has taken place?

11.) What is admirable about Paul's entry into and sojourn in New York? What is missing from his new life?

12.) Why does Paul wink at himself in the mirror after reading the newspaper account of his deeds?

13.) On the morning of his suicide, Paul recognizes that "money was everything." Why does he think so? Does the story bear him out?

14.) What is the effect of Paul's burying his carnation in the snow? of his last thoughts?

15.) Analyze the story as an attack on American society.

16.) Cather's story is punctuated by several recurrent images and turns of phrase. Locate as many as you can and take note of their contexts. What does this network of internal connections reveal?

http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/stankey/E...
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- If you feel that Paul had been unjustly treated by parents, teachers, or society at large, explain the injustice.

- If, on the other hand, you feel he suffers from a defect of character, define it.

- What is the connection between Paul's fascination with the theater and his crime?

- Why is his father's repayment of the stolen money 'worse than jail' ?

- Does Paul repent at the moment of his death? If you think he does not, how do you interpret the end?

Norton Anthology.

Definitions


auf wiedersehen: Goodbye in German.

barrel organ: Organ operated by turning a crank.

cab: Horse-drawn carriage.

faggot: Fagot, a bundle of twigs or sticks.

tabouret: Upholstered footstool or small table.
toilet: Act of dressing or grooming one's hair; dressing table.

traces (44): Chains or straps connecting the harness of an animal to a wagon or another vehicle that it pulls.

Faust- Opera by Charles Gounod 1818-1893

Character list:

Paul - The protagonist and antihero of the story. An idealistic, lying, suicidal young man, Paul fits in nowhere and looks down on nearly everyone he knows


Paul’s Father - An unnamed widower. Paul’s father, in Paul’s view, is simply a potential disciplinarian. However, Cather portrays Paul’s father as a deeply generous man who provides for his children and looks after their well-being

Charley Edwards - A young actor in a Pittsburgh theater troupe. Charley Edwards allows Paul to hang out backstage, help him with his costumes, and observe rehearsals

The Soprano - A German singer. To Paul, the soprano seems to be a highly romantic figure, when in fact she is a middle-aged mother. This gap between perception and reality is typical of Paul, who idealizes what he does not understand

The Drawing Master - One of the faculty members. The drawing master defends Paul to the other teachers, positing that he is disturbed rather than simply rude. He makes the only mention of Paul’s dead mother in the story and worries about Paul’s physical weakness.

The English Teacher - One of the faculty members. The English teacher is keenly aware of the contempt Paul feels for her and the other teachers. She knows that he has a “physical aversion” to her that he cannot control, and this knowledge hurts her feelings. She spearheads the attack against Paul during the meeting.

The Young Clerk - A twenty-six-year-old man held up as an example by Paul’s father. The clerk embodies everything Paul wants to avoid in his own life.

Thank you for all the prep work you do, Alias!

You're welcome.

I read the story last night and thought it was pretty good. I do like the way Cather writes.

I may listen to it again on the audio and follow along.

I'll read this one over the weekend. Looking forward to it!

Susan wrote: "I'll read this one over the weekend. Looking forward to it!"

I am going to try also....

It's a quick read. We also have the audio links you if you prefer that. One is a youtube video. The other one you can listen to on a devise.

Something about the story, the general feeling I got from it, reminded me of Catcher in the Rye.

Oh I didn't even notice the mp3. Maybe I'll do that if I don't get to it this weekend. Then I can listen in the car.

Alias, there is something of Holden in Paul, i agree. And not. :-) It's a sign of excellent writing that Cather managed to stir us with Paul's story, to the point where a reader can understand his yearning for another life.

Cather had her finger on many pulses here. By that i mean she depicted his pleasures well, the teenage life of the time, the end & leading up to it, too. Some of the observations are ones i was under the impression psychologists realized only in the last 40-50 years. Maybe i'm wrong and DEB only realized it this late. Hmmm.

More tomorrow or so.

Just finished it and it made me sad. I can see the similarities with Catcher but felt this was much darker. I've read it many times and never felt Holden was in trouble in the same way that Paul is. I always thought that Holden has the ability to get better and move on in life. Paul just seemed to be rocketing towards destruction, his thoughts defined by fear, lies and loathing. I was surprised to learn that suicide wasn't his original endgame, I had assumed that stealing the money and going to New York was a last hurrah before the end and it was his plan. When he thinks he might have to go back to Cordelia Street when her reads the paper I was a bit puzzled and couldn't figure out what he thought was going to happen afterwards.

I found it noticeable that Willa Cather uses his name a whole lot in the story. For me it served as a constant reminder that he was a person, complex but human, and even though it was in third person, the repetition of his name pulled me closer into his story and made me empathize with Paul. I also found the subject matter very current and relevant because (in the UK at least) the highest risk group for suicide is for young men with undiagnosed but curable mental health issues. They think this is because the pressure of life and societal norms about men being strong, silent and responsible providers. I feel these are a few of the reasons Paul felt his life was unliveable - he thought he needed money to have an existence worth having, and that his father and society wanted him to imprison himself in a boring, family producing, bread winning life.

Great story though, my favourite so far!

These stats are for the United States

Suicide Rates by Age

In 2010, the highest suicide rate (18.6) was among people 45 to 64 years old. The second highest rate (17.6) occurred in those 85 years and older. Younger groups have had consistently lower suicide rates than middle-aged and older adults. In 2010, adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 had a suicide rate of 10.5 (Figure 3).

more at this link
http://www.afsp.org/understanding-sui...

Soph wrote: "Paul felt his life was unliveable - he thought he needed money to have an existence worth having, and that his father and society wanted him to imprison himself in a boring, family producing, bread winning life.
..."

It seems to be hinted that Paul is homosexual. Do you think that played a large part in his feeling of not fitting in?

This is from UK Net Doctor. I guess the 60-75 group is to do with terminal illness? So when you take that away the young men's risk is quite startling. I wonder why UK and the States is so different on this? The age group that's highest for the US isn't even mentioned here as a problem.

Young men are a particularly high-risk group, although suicide rates increase with age and are highest between 60 and 75 years old. There has been a large increase in younger age groups and some decline in the suicide rates in the elderly.
Psychiatric illness. Up to 90 per cent of people who take their own life have a psychiatric illness, with 70 per cent having some symptoms of depression, if not a clear depressive illness. Overall, 10 to 15 per cent of people with depression, schizophrenia or alcohol problems will commit suicide.
Social isolation: the risk is higher in those who are divorced, widows and widowers. The lowest risk is in those who are married.
Rates are higher in the unemployed than the employed.
Some employment groups have high rates, including university students, doctors, dentists, vets, lawyers, farmers, policemen and insurance agents.
Previous episodes of deliberate self-harm.
Recent loss, eg bereavement (this includes pets), separation or redundancy.
Being an immigrant.
Long-term physical illness.


Read more: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/f...
Follow us: @NetDoctor on Twitter | NetDoctorUK on Facebook

I did wonder about the suggestion of a homosexual element, but in my head the story felt more complex than that. It's my personal interpretation but I thought of Paul as a more nuanced character than just hiding that one secret to explain all his behaviour. Academics like to make things so one note sometimes! :)

Soph wrote: "I did wonder about the suggestion of a homosexual element, but in my head the story felt more complex than that. It's my personal interpretation but I thought of Paul as a more nuanced character th..."

I think question #4 speaks to your point.


4.What is the dark secret that Paul is hiding? Does it matter if we know, or is the story more effective if the secret remains a secret?

I agree the story is better with this element hinted at. It gives the story another layer.

Then there is the fact that at the time this story was written, I don't think this was something discussed openly.

Cather herself is a lesbian. I wonder how you think that impacts the story.

I found this online--

"Cather commented that art was something not extraneous to life, but ‘must spring out of the very stuff that life is made of’. Yet the ‘stuff’ of her own life, and those for whom she felt the ‘deepest affection’ both in her life and in her work, have traditionally been ignored or overridden. This tension between same-sex desire and growing awareness of the building momentum of homophobia in the early twentieth century is evident not only in Cather’s public rebuke of Oscar Wilde in one of her columns in 1895, but also in her short story ‘Paul’s Case’ (1905), one of her most often republished and frequently taught stories. Cather herself taught English in a Pittsburgh high school from 1901 to 1906 which coincided, in part, with her 12-year relationship with Isabelle McClung. By concealing her relationships with the women she loved, including Louise Pound, McClung (whose later marriage devastated Cather) and Edith Lewis, with whom she shared a 40-year relationship, Cather also concealed, as Lillian Faderman notes, the ways in which these women contributed to and nourished her creative abilities"

more can be found at this link
The link is from Illinois University so it is fine to click on

http://www.uis.edu/lgbtq/willacarther/

Good comments about the story. Soph, you make a great point about the use of Paul's name by the author. It helped bring him closer to "real" in our minds. I missed that aspect of the story.

What drew me to Cather's artistry here was the way readers could feel grunginess of his life, the things which repulsed Paul. An example would be how Paul "scrubbed the greasy odor of the dish-water from his hands with the ill-smelling soap he hated." Then, followed it up with violet water.

Several of Cather's books are about the way art calls to some humans. She often uses music as the art but this is the first time i recall the person not even considering that he could be the creative force. Indeed, it didn't seem to interest him one bit, only the money to frequent art events called to him. It is a fascinating portrayal because of that fact.

I thought Paul's planned end of the escapade in NYC was to be suicide, too. When i realized otherwise, i had to reconsider Paul in his entirety and am still unsure what i think. The story illustrates an industry in achieving his own goals, including a sort of discipline to amass the funds. The fact that he appears to have not considered what he would do after that week has me wondering something, but i'm not sure what.

I'm not doubting his ability to achieve goals, as Cather showed us he did such, even if he had to hide them, such as the violet water. I don't think he was stupid, so why hadn't he thought beyond the glory of that one week? I suppose it was just the depression that allowed him to only think of that goal, akin to a gambler as they ply their "trade". Or is it all just that he's a teenager, in the same way Holden Caufield was?

Imo, the story also illustrates how a parent faced with such a child has a large challenge on their hands. The father cared for his son, took notice of his school work and in the end even paid off the debt Paul accrued by his thievery. What was a parent to do? Today (& even in Holden's time), we would hie the kid to a psychologist or psychiatrist. Back then? I don't know.

Welcome, Mhoira !

Thanks for joining in and sharing your thoughts.

I agree it's a sad story. I think he was young and everything can get blown all out of proportion.
When you are young you lack the long term perspective.

Do you think Paul was bullied ?

I didn't notice bullying. Did i miss something? He teased with the other ushers & they pushed him to the floor but i thought it was all in fun. Was there something else or were you just wondering. He seems as though he might have been a good target, particularly given the fact he lied to classmates about potential travels & such.

Mhoira mentioned the story might be an attack on how we treat people when they are acting out their feelings. I'm not sure if it's that or an attack on how people don't know how to handle someone who has different expectations that most of us. Paul just wants to enjoy the theater, not perform; basically what he wants is to be wealthy, very rich. Most of us do but realize we have to work for it. That grubby part Paul doesn't want to experience. He is at an age where most young people are figuring out the manner to develop that wealth. Not Paul, he just wants the rewards. How would we handle it? Lectures, probably!

Cather has one of the teachers attempt to express it best, after the meeting with Paul. "His teachers were in despair, and his drawing-master voiced the feeling of them all when he declared there was something about the boy which none of them understood." It was that lack of understanding that i think is the crux of the problem as far as adults in his life go. How to help before understanding it, is the question, i suspect.

Madrano wrote:"His teachers were in despair, and his drawing-master voiced the feeling of them all when he declared there was something about the boy which none of them understood...."

No, I didn't think he was bullied.

Though I wonder if he felt he was an outsider because of the things he enjoyed and liked. His teachers, family and friends thought him odd. When one is a teen often they feel as no one understands them. Imagine how Paul felt? He is homosexual and his wants and dislikes are not what the average kid longs for. If fact, he probably doesn't know what he wants in life. Who does? He resorts to a magazine to guide him. Also we have to recall the time period. Being gay was not as acceptable as it is today. He probably had no one to talk with.

The things he dreamed of and wanted were not what a "typical" boy wants. He dreamed of going to the theater. He wore a flower in his lapel and like to dress up. He longed for NYC. He wanted fresh flowers in his room. And the fact is these things do cost a lot of money. And while money is not everything, it is the key to theater, fine dining etc. He wanted a more refined life. A life that he really didn't understand as he was copying it from a magazine. That is all he had as a guide. A magazine. There was no one in his life he could talk to. It's kind of sad when you think about it. I guess I was more sympathetic towards Paul.

As to the end, I do think it shows that Paul didn't really think things through. I thought he clearly regretted his final action. The sudden epiphany, shows that he didn't think the theft and running away through. I think teens often do this. They think in the moment and not the long term consequences. Add to that the story states he had "depression". Something I am sure he was not being treated for.

He was in emotional pain and he thought he would enjoy this one final act and then end it all. He would show them! He didn't realize that things change and with time and maturity the pain would hopefully pass. He didn't know his dad paid back what he stole. An act the shows maybe that he does love his son and wants to help. People in Paul's situation, he was probably clinically depressed, often don't realize how many people do care. This realization came to him unfortunately too late. Sad indeed.

Anyway, this is just one interpretation of the story. I look forward to hearing yours. :)

5.Why is Paul so willing to cut all ties with his family? Why doesn't he care about his family?

Perhaps he thinks his family doesn't care about him or understand him.

I think he cares for his family. He is depressed and hurt and maybe feeling a bit under attack with his teachers seemingly ganging up on him.

1.Could Paul's suicide have been prevented?

That's hard to know. Though I think if the school and his teachers were more understanding and offered guidance and help that could have been a major step towards avoiding Paul's suicide.

Also it mentions Paul had depression. I don't recall it being said that he went for treatment for this medical issue. If not, that also could have helped. Though I don't know if the time when the story was set what medicines or psychiatric help might have been available.

7.Which relationships seem to be a source of pleasure for Paul? Of pain?

The theater where he works seems to be one place where Paul shines. When this outlet is taken away from him he starts down the road to his ultimate death.

"The upshot of the matter was, that the principal went to Paul's father, and Paul was taken out of school and put to work. The manager at Carnegie Hall was told to get another usher in his stead, the doorkeeper at the theatre was warned not to admit him to the house, and Charley Edwards remorsefully promised the boy's father not to see him again."

"I happen to know that he was born in Colorado, only a few months before his mother died out there of a long illness".

I would think the school would have a bit more sympathy for him losing his mother at a tender age.

Then to take away the only thing he enjoyed, ushering at the theater, was the last straw. I don't see why the principal felt compelled to do this.

5...Do today's public schools deal effectively with problem students like Paul?

I am not involved with schools today. Though I would think with guidance counselors and such people are much more aware of Depression are on the lookout for it. Though as with anything, schools that are better funded are probably better at intervention.

1.) Describe Paul's personality as Cather sets it forth in the open paragraph of the story. Is this someone we like and admire?


Here is the opening paragraph

=============
IT was Paul's afternoon to appear before the faculty of the Pittsburg High School to account for his various misdemeanors. He had been suspended a week ago, and his father had called at the principal's office and confessed his perplexity about his son. Paul entered the faculty room, suave and smiling. His clothes were a trifle outgrown, and the tan velvet on the collar of his open overcoat was frayed and worn; but, for all that, there was something of the dandy about him, and he wore an opal pin in his neatly knotted black four-in-hand, and a red carnation in his buttonhole. This latter adornment the faculty somehow felt was not properly significant of the contrite spirit befitting a boy under the ban of suspension.
=================
The description made me like him. It was clear he was poor and was trying his best to look good. Even if others didn't understand his dress, he was being his own person. Even if that person didn't fit in with the norm.

Alias, I think your responses to the questions illustrate the vast difference between education & psychology today & then. Schools were preparing students for their future in practical, measurable ways. The psyche had little to do with the process. Therefore the principal probably wan't as out of line as we think today. Indeed, from their vantage, they were being thorough in requesting refusal to allow Paul to even enter the theater.

I think it was unfortunate that Paul's dream ended with being wealthy, not the necessary work to achieve it, with the subsequent pleasures. Pointing this out to him might have been useful but it doesn't appear he shared that angle/dream to others. How could they help? Then, being a teenager, he (& probably many back then) didn't know how to handle his dream. Heck, most people would want that easy life.

In some ways it was a communications failure, or lack therein. At least as far as we know, that is. Perhaps he'd been told all the reasonable sides of the issue & he dismissed them. Cather doesn't really tell us.

Madrano wrote: "Alias, I think your responses to the questions illustrate the vast difference between education & psychology today & then. Schools were preparing students for their future in practical, measurable ..."

Very true. And we have to throw into the mix the angst he must have felt being homosexual during that era. It's a lot for a young person to shoulder.

Even today, I hasten to add.

I finally read the story and I'm not sure there is much I can contribute - you have all articulated my observations very nicely!

There are similarities with Holden - feeling different (better?) than those around him, frustrated, lonely, etc. - but I think Holden was better able to work through his feelings. He talked with people and, even though they may have thought he was crazy, he was able to reach out in a way that Paul was not. He also had an intellectual curiosity that Paul seemed to lack - Holden wanted to know why and how, whereas Paul, it seemed to me, wanted to experience something.

Paul reminded me more of the Neil Perry character from Dead Poets Society. He hadn't necessarily planned suicide, but was so isolated and in a desolate, gray/black/dark place that it seemed a way out. Neither could see that, given a little time, they would have more freedom to choose. The fathers in both cases were trying to bring that discipline that they saw as essential to life - unfortunately, both picked exactly the wrong approach.

I think Paul felt so isolated and invisible and misplaced - except at the theater - that he couldn't find a foothold. I don't think he was bullied in the sense of being picked on; I think he was ignored or perhaps only acknowledged when mocked in some way. He had courage in dressing and acting the way he did - he did not try to become someone else. The subtext of homosexuality and trying to deal with those feelings in an unfriendly environment must have been very challenging for him.

I really enjoyed this story and Cather's writing - I'd give it a 4/5. There is always so much in her writing, even though her books are not huge tomes. I always come away "feeling" something in addition to thinking about the characters and plots.

I enjoyed reading your comments, Susan.

I haven't seen Dead Poets in such a long time. I have to rent it again one of these days.

I thought it did seem as if he had planned his suicide. But in the second between the train and his death he realized his mistake. This is what made the story so sad for me.

"The sound of an approaching train awoke him, and he started to his feet, remembering only his resolution, and afraid lest he should be too late"

As he fell, the folly of his haste occurred to him with merciless clearness, the vastness of what he had left undone. "

What I meant by "hadn't necessarily planned suicide" was that he didn't seem to spend a long period of his life focused on ending things. I think he was trying to play along but when essentially everything that he loved was taken from him, he didn't have another soft place to fall. A week took him from a tolerable position to a hopeless one.

So, it was planned in the sense that he knew when he came to NY - "The thing was winding itself up ..." - but there was a certain spontaneity about it as well - somewhere in between planned and impulsive. It was more of "I have no place to go and I can't make it better" - a sadness and emptiness that is particularly poignant because he is so young and hopeless (at exactly the wrong moment). Hard to describe and perhaps I'm not seeing something.

It was very sad to see that, once he leaped and couldn't take it back, he may have seen a bit of hope. Had that moment come seconds earlier, perhaps he wouldn't have acted hastily.

Sorry, I misunderstood. I understand now and agree with you.

It's quite sad, but understandable in his case. He had no one to turn to. As you noted so well, he "was so isolated and in a desolate, gray/black/dark place that it seemed a way out." The pain of such hopelessness and despair must be so great. I think the author captures that feeling really well.

Even with all the medical advances since the period that Cather wrote in, according to wiki, Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.
There were 38,364 suicides in 2010 in the United States--an average of 105 each day.

Susan, I agree with your comments. The observation about Cather's writing is on target for me, too. Her writing seems so natural yet full of observation and moments we tend to take for granted or ignore. With her words such instances gather meaning for ourselves, as well as the characters. Nothing seems elaborate or labored and yet we realize she has deliberately led us to her intention.

Regarding the suicide, I cannot say I fully agree or disagree. It seems logical in one way, yet with an eye toward his age and lack of experience, it seemed inevitable. Toward the end, on the train, I think, it occurs to him there were other, more "reasonable" things he could have done for his life with that money. The very fact that crossed his mind led me to believe killing himself wasn't planned from the onset.

I've really enjoyed reading these stories together. Thanks for all the planning & sharing that went on, folks! I hope we'll do this again sometime.

I appreciate your comments as you travel, deb. :)