Comparing The Man Who Was Almost A Man And Paul's Case
“The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright and “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather both have protagonists who desire a life distinct to the one they currently live and use a train as a means to gain it. The train symbolizes being brand new and starting a life they have always wished for. Dave and Paul are the same in a lot of ways. Both of them wanting their life to be bigger and better than what they are used to and will go to extreme measures to get what they want. “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright is about a teenager, Dave Glover, who is trying to break free from childhood and enter the world of adulthood. Dave wrestles with the tension of wanting to be an adult yet being viewed as a child by the adult community. When thinking …show more content…
They have the desire to run away in order to achieve a life they imagine is better suited for them. The train in both of the stories is a symbol of renewal. For Dave he uses the train almost as a rebirth into a new life where he can be a man, where as Paul uses the train to finally be able to live that lavish lifestyle he has always wanted. However, for Paul the train is what helped him achieve death when he saw that he will not be able to have the life he desires as well. Paul chose to use the train as a way out so he won’t be forced to return to the same monotonous life he had before. “He had a feeling that he had made the best of it, that he had lived the sort of life he was meant to live” (Cather). Paul commits suicide to preserve those last moments, ironically realizing once the train hits him that there was so much more for him to experience. In “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”, Dave constantly tries to prove to everybody he is a man. When he finally purchases the gun he feels liberated, “Nobody could run over him; they would have to respect him” (218). However, when it was time to man up and accept the consequences Dave chose to run. He used the train as an escape, hoping to find what he has been searching for. Dave and Paul could not face their problems head on and took the easy way out. Dave deciding to skip out of town when he did not get what he wanted and Paul committing suicide when he found out he could not live the life he
Short Story Paul's Case
1302 Words | 6 PagesPaul was beginning to feel the pressure; he knew he would soon have to return to Pittsburgh and settle back into his monotonous life “...and it was a losing game in the end, it seemed, this revolt against the homilies by which the world is run” (Cather). Paul thinks about the flowers he saw on his first day in New York. He compares his own short, but elaborate, escape with the short life of the beautiful flowers on his journey back to Cordelia Street. While dosing off on an overpass, Paul is awakened by the sound of an approaching train. When the time is right, Paul jumps from the overpass and “falls back into the immense design of things,” ending his life (Cather).
Tangerine Friend Quotes
729 Words | 3 PagesHe wouldn’t tell his parents that Erik was a bully. After a while in the book Paul’s confidence had grown to enrage, determined, and a little bit Fearless. He had new friends at school and his confidence grows when he stands up for Theresa when Joey gives attitude about Theresa walking him around. At the end of the book Paul’s confidence changes dramatically. Paul went from a wimpy, Troubled and Anxious little boy to a Brilliant, Cool, and Fearless boy.
Analyzing O Brien's The Things They Carried
575 Words | 3 PagesPaul is in the middle of a war, his mother is dying, his friends are dying, death surrounds him, and he has firsthand killed a man to protect himself and his hiding place. Mentally, he has experienced more stress and trauma than most of the people his age. His transition from reckless teenage years
Coming Of Age In Trouble, By Gary D. Schmidt
527 Words | 3 Pages“Sometimes, we need to be hurt in order to grow. We must lose in order to gain. Sometimes, lessons are learned best through pain”(SoraTemplates). In fact that’s what Chay and Henry had issues at school, family, and peers. Henry a fourteen-year-old and his brother had a dream to hike Katahdin Mountain.
Insanity In All Quiet On The Western Front
556 Words | 3 PagesIf you keep reading this it shows how Paul slowly comes to realize that his friend has truly died with him thinking his friend has died before slowly coming to know the
Comparing The Works Of Chris Mccandless And The Hunger Artist
989 Words | 4 PagesHis entire trip was a journey for him to find himself, and I think his bigger journey is when he left home and decided to travel and survive without giving notice to anyone. He felt misunderstood by his parents, and maybe he thought by leaving and surviving on his own that would somehow show them how he thinks and feels. He also had pent up feelings about his parents from the past that maybe he was trying to work through by leaving. Despite the fact that he dies, his ultimate goal was to convey some sort of art in fleeing with no money or job and attempting to survive on your own as a young adult. People hear his story and want to do what he did.
Forgive Me Leonard Peacock Analysis
425 Words | 2 PagesHe knew that suicide wasn’t the option, that he had a whole future in front of him. Life is like a person who wants to beat you up, succeeding many many times. But then we learn how to
All Quiet On The Western Front Effects Of War
1264 Words | 6 PagesFor example, when he was in training, he was physically pushed to limits that he couldn’t reach, and despite being hghly frustrated with the punishments he would receive, he did not overreact when his good friend Kemmrich had his leg amputated and was dying despite neglect from the doctors that Paul felt could have saved
Joyce Carol Oates 'The Man Who Was Almost A Man'
1444 Words | 6 PagesBe Careful What You Wish For For Connie and Dave to desire to be mature and free is one thing, for them to get it and end up not wanting what they wished for is another and not knowing what to do with it is also another thing as well. Connie the main character in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, and Dave the main character in “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright have similar hungers but have been put in different circumstances to want such liberation. Connie, age fifteen craves to be mature though at home she acts pure, “she wore a pullover jersey blouse that looked one way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home” (Oates page 5). Connie has a two-sided personality a brat at home and a loose goose at night. Not very close to her family members, she sort of ignores them and does her own thing and she also has very little conversation.
Crystal Stars Have Begun To Shine Poem Analysis
708 Words | 3 PagesCan people be fully mature? Many teeangers and adults think they are mature and can control many things. Here are two literary works that show how people are not fully mature as they thought. A short story “Crystal Stars Have Begun to Shine” by Martha Brooks and a poem “12 years old” by Kim Stockwood deal with the maturity of people.
Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front
702 Words | 3 PagesPaul was a young soldier who did not have much to go back home to besides his family, but many other soldiers had families of their own. We saw Paul go through many challenges if it being watching his friend die, going back home, or killing his enemy. Paul was by his friends side the whole time that he was dieing. Paul friend Kemmerich had got his foot amputated and had died from all the bleeding and pain. In the novel we saw at the hospital how poorly the patients got treated and how quickly they got kicked out.
Hamlet Self Respect
1234 Words | 5 PagesThen his life was flipped and he had to make some hard decisions, an he became very troubled. He walked around depressed and if suicide wasn't
Identity In Ernest Buckler's The Locket
1724 Words | 7 PagesHe knows there’s more for him outside the farm and despite what his family believes he’s compelled by every whistle of a train to go beyond what he knows to find belonging. But, the family’s opposing views of what “home” truly is only pushes David further into a state of confusion over his identity. Thus, the relationship between David and his family
Literary Techniques In All The Pretty Horses
618 Words | 3 PagesEvery book has things that make the read so enjoyable. In All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, he uses techniques that make the book so enjoyable. It’s a story with two sides. For example, the book is a huge love story between John Grady Cole (main character) and Alejandra daughter of the owners of the ranch. The other side of the book is that there's too much death that goes along with the love.
Dorcas's Story Of Paul
317 Words | 2 PagesIn summarization of Acts chapters 8-15, many people were saved and became believers even after they were well known for their sorcery or persecution of Christians such being the case of Saul who later became Paul. Also another interesting aspect of these chapters deals with and discusses how many signs and miracles were performed by the apostles as well as how Dorcas was raised to life again by Peter, Dorcas’s story is especially interesting since she was very much so mourned by others because of how generous she was as well as kind to everyone especially those in need as seen in the widows who showed Peter the clothes that Dorcas worked on for them. Also, there is a large portion of the texts and passages explaining how the Gentiles were also
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