Flowers In Paul's Case: A Study In Temperament

Layers of illusions are burned away and all Paul has left is reality. In Willa Cather’s tragic short story “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament,” the flowers capture the reality world Paul departs from. For instance, critic Sherry Crabtree asserts that the red carnation symbolizes Paul’s alienation from the world of Cordelia Street (Crabtree 206). Crabtree observes the patterns of how the flowers reveal Paul’s negative outlook on life. On the other hand, some critics claim that the flowers capture the fantasy world Paul envisions. For example, author of short stories Edward Pitcher claims that the flower in Paul’s lapel portrays his world of illusions with his “own sense of color and need for embellishment” (Pitcher 547). What Pitcher fails

In the short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth’s roses are a very significant symbol. The importance of Miss Strangeworth's roses to the overall text is that they assist in portraying Miss Strangeworth's character and aid in developing a deeper understanding of the theme. The roses help portray Miss Strangeworth’s character because at the beginning, the rose garden is absolutely perfect for Miss Strangeworth, and this can be seen when Miss Strangeworth returns home from Mr. Lewis’s shop, “Miss Strangeworth stopped at her own front gate, as she always did, and looked with deep pleasure at her house, with the red and pink and white roses massed along the narrow lawn,” (3). Miss Strangeworth’s “deep pleasure” shows how content Miss Strangeworth is with her roses. The perfection of Miss Strangeworth’s roses is very

In this excerpt from “The Beet Queen”, by Louise Erdrich, Mary and Karl Adare give the impression as diverse characters. The passage explores their retorts to their surroundings in the environment and of their perspectives around them during the time of depression. Erdrich uses literary devices such as tone, imagery combined with juxtaposition, selection of detail, and point of view to convey the impact from the environment.

Flowers symbolize so many things in society nowadays. People receive and give flowers on several different occasions. Flowers are symbols of love, sadness, apologizes, excitement, passion, and many others. Flowers also play a big role in the story “Paul’s Case” written by Willa Cather. The main character, Paul, often gives special meaning to the flowers present in the story. That being said, the flowers in the story represent who Paul is. They represent the beauty in dismay, but most importantly they symbolize Paul.

“Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.” (Lee 278). When it comes to the topic of flowers, most of us will readily agree that they represent development, growth, beauty and happiness. For instance, Roses are known for signifying love and deep passion while Lotus flowers are known for purity of the heart. Nonetheless, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee utilizes flowers to symbolize the strength and character that women of Maycomb possess.

Fight or flight; the instantaneous human reaction to any adverse predicament. It is one’s choice to battle or flee that speaks to one’s most deep-rooted fears and desires.

Wordsworth and Muir express their fascination with nature using imagery and mood. In “Calypso Borealis”, John Muir states that he finds himself “glorying in the fresh cool beauty and charm of the bog and meadow heathworts, grasses, carices, ferns, mosses, liverworts displayed in boundless profusion” (Muir). The words “boundless profusion” appeals to the sense of sight and helps us imagine the scene and all the bountiful natural beauty of the place. The image shows Muir’s relationship with nature because it demonstrates his overwhelming, nearly spiritual, experience with nature. In the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, Wordsworth also uses imagery to expresses a similar experience. In the first stanza he describes “A host, of golden daffodils; /beside the lake, beneath the trees, /Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” (Wordsworth Ln 4-6). Words such as “host”, “golden”, “Fluttering” and “dancing”, all appeals to the reader’s sense of sight, hearing, and smell. It brings us into the scene. These images show Wordsworth’s relationship with nature because he personifies this flower allowing him to relate it and become one with nature.

The blossoms symbolize peace. When Joby is on the ground next to his drum after everything was over the blossoms indicate that there is peace. The blossoms can indicate the sadness or the calmness someone feels after a tragical event. When the general tells Joby that he will lead the soldiers into battle, Joby will have to be brave and fearless. When the blossoms fell it meant that Joby was calm or the setting was calm.

Symbolism can be identified in the short play, “Naked Lunch” written by Michael Hollinger (2003). The play opens and the characters Vern and Lucy are sitting at a dining room table. Hollinger describes flowers on the table, “There is a small vase with too many flowers in it, or a large vase with too few.” (pp. 823) A bottle of wine has been open and the couple is having dinner. Vern had put in a lot of effort preparing dinner. He had cooked steak and corn. The flowers set the stage for this awkward dinner date. You can envision the vase of flowers not looking quite right on the dinner table. The flowers symbolize the awkward circumstance of their dinner date and the couple’s relationship. Lucy was slowly eating her corn during dinner as Vern

The main point of this story, Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, is how the people that society look down upon see things from different points of view. An example of this is the main character, Paul, who society looks down upon, as they consider him blind, however, he often sees what others do not and has excessive knowledge of the world around him. Even though he sees everything, he does not say what he knows and others do not ask him, for they believe he has no knowledge of the problems. After moving to Tangerine, he sees his brother doing horrible things and his parents none the wiser. His friend suffers at the hands of his brother and consequently, ends up dying, and afterwards, Paul feels much guilt for the words unsaid. Since many people look down upon Paul, he notices facts and clues society does not, however, he fears saying something, in which causes his friend to end up dying

E.M. Remarque portrays death gradually enveloping the body of Franz Kemmerich in his novel “All Quiet on the Western Front”. Paul stands by his friend Kemmerich’s side as death works its way through his body, to not only comfort him during his final hours, but also to retrieve his expensive boots. Paul was detached from natural emotions, as he was not mournful or depressed while at his old friend’s death bed, but instead felt that letting go of his companion was only “a bit difficult” (25). As soldiers in the war these boy’s emotions became altered, and made abnormal. After watching his friend die, Paul ran to Kimmerich to “give him the boots” (28). The “lace-up boots” (24) were an emblem for the soldier’s unnatural detachment from their emotional self, and their inability to feel emotional pain at the sight of death.

The definition of a lie is; "an intentionally false statement." Paul is lied to numerous times in Tangerine about very serious and important topics. Paul is a twelve year old boy who is legally blind, due to his brother,Erik, who sprayed him in the eyes with white spray-paint. Paul was blinded by Erik, and he doesn't remember it because he was really young, his mom and dad lied to him about what happened to him so that he wouldn't hate his brother. In the novel Tangerine, the author, Edward Bloor utilizes symbols like sand, muck fire, and lightning to exemplify the truth behind the lies.

“Paul's Case” by Willa Cather is a complex story, with a variety of symbolism, as well as a few underlying messages. Cather creates a selfish, yet artistically appreciative main character that dislikes his own social class and confuses the readers. Paul is a young teenage boy, who works as an usher and loves the opera and art. He has a deep longing to belong to the upper class, and he steals money from his father to achieve this dream. Unfortunately, when he realizes that he cannot sustain this way he takes his own life. Paul has a fascination with flowers, especially the carnation, although he loves to surround himself with all types of flowers. The red carnation within in “Paul's Case” has a unique meaning and a greater purpose which Cather

Setting refers to the location of a story in terms of place, time, physical and social environment and functions to highlight the qualities of the protagonist. Willa Cather’s short story, “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament,” takes place during the Winter of 1905 in both Pittsburg and New York City. The diverse settings of Pittsburg, New York City, Paul’s school, Carnegie Hall, Paul’s house on Cordelia Street and the Waldorf Hotel, greatly affect the behaviour of the main character, Paul. Paul, a suspended high school student in Pittsburgh, is frustrated with his middle-class life and the people around him not understanding his love of beautiful things. He moves through his world, never truly fitting in anywhere or ever feeling comfortable

Detailing the deceit within the small fictional town of Sweet Water, Willa Cather’s A Lost Lady warns of the ignorance of the subjectivity of man’s perspective. Written when the nation was embroiled in turmoil from the aftermath of the world war, A Lost Lady mirrors the literary conflict of the time between romanticism and realism. Redefining the argument between viewing the world in terms of ideals and flaws into one over the view of women, A Lost Lady critiques the belief in the idealistic true woman through the shattering of a young man’s worldview as he grows up. Depicting the male narrator Neil’s discovery of the flaws of his perfect woman, Mrs. Forrester, A Lost Lady utilizes the crumbling of a romanticized outlook of life to strengthen its