Prompt Four
In the short story “Paul’s Case”, fathers are represented negatively by the way the narrator, Paul, describes him. A strong parent and child relationship starts with acceptance and never ending love. Paul is constantly being disapproved of by his teachers, peers, and so called “theater friends”, and his own father does not give him the love and support he needs to properly develop. Paul is referred to as a “case” because no one understands his strange behavior, his father agrees with everyone and does not try to understand his son or give him support.
Paul’s confidence is misunderstood by everyone around him. His teachers specifically cannot stand the type of attention Paul receives, but they are the ones drawing that attention to him. Paul’s teacher’s felt that “his whole attitude was symbolized by his shrug and his flippantly red carnation”. Even when Paul does not speak and barely moves, his teacher’s are still offended just by a flower he wears. The color red symbolizes being provocative and mischievous. However, the red carnation represents admiration, …show more content…
He carefully plans his escape to New York; making sure his father will be out of town long enough to get what he truly wanted from the city. He steals two thousand dollars and blows most of his money on a “street suit”, a “frock coat and dress clothes”, “new shirts”, and “silver mounted brushes and a scarf pin”. Paul lives for the finer things in life, he loves the elegance that all his new items brought him. Paul “had a curious sense of relief” when he entered New York. He felt a certain freedom being away from Pittsburgh and his father, but this newfound joy was only temporary because eventually his whereabouts would surface. “On the eighth day after his arrival in New York, he found the whole affair exploited in the Pittsburgh papers”. Paul knew his fantasy was over, reality was setting in that his father would soon drag him
In the short story “Paul’s Case”, fathers are represented negatively by the way the narrator, Paul, describes him. A strong parent and child relationship starts with acceptance and never ending love. Paul is constantly being disapproved of by his teachers, peers, and so called “theater friends”, and his own father does not give him the love and support he needs to properly develop. Paul is referred to as a “case” because no one understands his strange behavior, his father agrees with everyone and does not try to understand his son or give him support.
Paul’s confidence is misunderstood by everyone around him. His teachers specifically cannot stand the type of attention Paul receives, but they are the ones drawing that attention to him. Paul’s teacher’s felt that “his whole attitude was symbolized by his shrug and his flippantly red carnation”. Even when Paul does not speak and barely moves, his teacher’s are still offended just by a flower he wears. The color red symbolizes being provocative and mischievous. However, the red carnation represents admiration, …show more content…
He carefully plans his escape to New York; making sure his father will be out of town long enough to get what he truly wanted from the city. He steals two thousand dollars and blows most of his money on a “street suit”, a “frock coat and dress clothes”, “new shirts”, and “silver mounted brushes and a scarf pin”. Paul lives for the finer things in life, he loves the elegance that all his new items brought him. Paul “had a curious sense of relief” when he entered New York. He felt a certain freedom being away from Pittsburgh and his father, but this newfound joy was only temporary because eventually his whereabouts would surface. “On the eighth day after his arrival in New York, he found the whole affair exploited in the Pittsburgh papers”. Paul knew his fantasy was over, reality was setting in that his father would soon drag him