“Paul’s Case” narrates a story of a boy, Paul, who suffers from an incurable psychological illness. His lack of maternal love, along with his father’s indifference towards Paul’s struggles, fuel Paul’s “imperative desire to show himself different” from the people around him. He desires to prove to his neighbors that he deserves more respect and attention. Therefore, Paul strives to assert a sense of superiority whenever he interacts with other people. At school, he wears a red carnation on his shirt to make him stand out from the rest of his classmates. At the theater, he crafts stories of exotic trips to Naples, Venice, and Egypt to gain admiration from his coworkers. Everywhere he goes, he tells lies in order to “be noticed and admired.”
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Therefore, Paul decides to steal “nearly two thousand dollars in checks and nearly a thousand in bank-notes” from “the firm of Denny & Carson’s” to escape to New York. He utilizes the money to pay for his stay in the Waldorf. As he journeys through the various rooms in the luxurious hotel, he feels as if he “were exploring the chambers of an enchanted palace, built and peopled for him alone.” As he submerges himself in “undulating repetitions” of the music from the orchestra in the evening, he finds it “all-sufficient” to once again alleviate his feeble psychological condition. Paul continues to live in his “fairy tale” world until Denny & Carson’s reports his theft in the Pittsburgh Newspaper eight days later.
The news of his theft immediately seizes Paul back to reality, forcing him to face his inescapable fate. His “hopeless, unrelieved years...[his] yellow-wallpapered room, [and] the damp dish-towels… all [rush] back upon him with a sickening vividness.” All the memories of Cordelia Street serve as a sphinx-like “tide” that washes him over, suffocating him and questioning his motive to live. Noticing that he no longer has any money left to sustain his opulent state, Paul despondently leaves the hotel. He knows that he will never have the opportunity to attend the concerts or experience an affluent lifestyle
Therefore, Paul decides to steal “nearly two thousand dollars in checks and nearly a thousand in bank-notes” from “the firm of Denny & Carson’s” to escape to New York. He utilizes the money to pay for his stay in the Waldorf. As he journeys through the various rooms in the luxurious hotel, he feels as if he “were exploring the chambers of an enchanted palace, built and peopled for him alone.” As he submerges himself in “undulating repetitions” of the music from the orchestra in the evening, he finds it “all-sufficient” to once again alleviate his feeble psychological condition. Paul continues to live in his “fairy tale” world until Denny & Carson’s reports his theft in the Pittsburgh Newspaper eight days later.
The news of his theft immediately seizes Paul back to reality, forcing him to face his inescapable fate. His “hopeless, unrelieved years...[his] yellow-wallpapered room, [and] the damp dish-towels… all [rush] back upon him with a sickening vividness.” All the memories of Cordelia Street serve as a sphinx-like “tide” that washes him over, suffocating him and questioning his motive to live. Noticing that he no longer has any money left to sustain his opulent state, Paul despondently leaves the hotel. He knows that he will never have the opportunity to attend the concerts or experience an affluent lifestyle