Paul's Case

"Paul's Case"
by Paul Cather

"Everything was quite perfect; he was exactly the kind of boy he had always wanted to be". (Cather 210)

After reading "Paul's Case" it is clear that there is something mentally wrong with him. Whether it be from autism or tourettes, Paul has social and emotional problems. Among this I think that Paul has a big problem with society. You can see this is the way he regards school as useless and how he criticizes the men and women who are sitting outside on Sunday. These are activities that society deems normal and even encourages but Paul sees them as unecassary and stupid. He would rather be living his own life, away from his father and teachers and in an unreal world of actors and the theater. When Paul runs away from New York this is just what he gets. He is living by himself but the life he is living is fake, just like in theater, because the money he is living off of isn't his. In his life in New York he became the "boy he has always wanted to be."