The Society and Its Responsibility in Willa Cather's Paul's Case - Book Report/Review Example

The Society and Its Responsibility in Willa Cather’s “Paul’s Case” Life is a gamble. There was never a day that ended without adversity. In fact, adversity is inevitable; it can be found everywhere. With adversity, people learn to resolve issues and accept defeat. With it, philosophers have come up with theories about life and the world. Scientists have perfected their inventions after realizing mistakes and experiencing adversities. Politicians come in adversities with their critics before they are able to decide wisely about effective state laws. Adversity helps people to decipher the good from evil. In Willa Cather’s short story titled, “Paul’s Case,” the school officials avoid adversity to give comfort to the majority. Merely dismayed by Paul’s mannerisms, the teachers get rid of him and fail to assist him in his disability, thus lead him to a complete destruction. Paul’s dropping out of school should make everybody’s life peaceful. Without Paul in school, the teachers can deliver their lessons without any distractions. The English teacher will have no worries about guiding students when writing on the board, and the drawing teacher will never have to see that same smile of insolence that Paul displays. His teachers can expect that without Paul in school, things will go handy. No one will serve as a threat; everything will be peaceful. There will be no hassles, no adversity. The school’s decision to dismiss Paul is its way of getting rid of its social responsibility. The school officials choose to dismiss Paul instead of trying to remedy his case. They make Paul’s insolence an excuse to deny their responsibility to society. The meeting conducted at the beginning is just one way to establish the school’s effort to save Paul from failing. However, the arrangement that afternoon where Paul should “appear before the faculty of the Pittsburg High School to account for his various misdemeanours” (Cather 7) is in itself nerve-cracking. From the set up itself, readers can infer the merciless treatment of the faculty. Just imagining the boy appearing before his teachers and answering their accusations could actually make one feel greatly discriminated. In the said meeting, the teachers only stare and get disturbed by the red carnation on Paul’s shirt. Their disturbed thoughts signify their inability to judge fairly; what more to care for the boy? Only the school principal shows concern for Paul yet he is not powerful enough to convince the teachers or to order them to do something to help Paul. Without Paul in the Carnegie Hall, the shows will go on. It will be as busy as ever with some guests arriving a few minutes before the show. The guests who arrive will be ushered in by the boys who are Paul’s colleagues. They will find their way to the lobby and have a nice time but they will leave without feeling the warmth and hospitality that Paul used to provide. They will not encounter the boy that the theatre people have rejected in their utter belief in what his teachers say about him, despite their positive observations of Paul. The father is partly at fault for the crime that Paul commits. Although he is bound by law to abide by the state’s orders, the end decision to withdraw Paul from school should not be as abrupt as it is. Paul’s father should have appealed for the boy’s right for education. He should not just follow people’s orders especially if it concerns the welfare of his son. Importantly, he is accountable for whatever the boy does; reason why he volunteers to repay what Paul steals. He also lacks communication with Paul, and it can be surmised that he does not know much about his son. From the very beginning, the readers see his detachment to the issue as he only calls up the school to confess “his perplexity about his son” (Cather 7). Thus, it is questionable why he wants Paul to imitate the near-sighted youth, the one referred to as “his father’s dearest hope that he would pattern.” The disparity between Paul and the other guy further illustrates his father’s questionable knowledge of him because if he knows Paul deeply, he will refrain from hoping that his son will be like the youth with thick glasses. In trying to discern what Paul really needs, a clear assessment of his case is necessary. In an article, Herring claims that Paul is a representation of “turn-of-the-century adolescence” (87). Herring cites a report by child psychologist G. Stanley Hall whose study of male adolescent published in 1904 describes the ambivalence of adolescents, some of whom were homosexuals. For Herring, Paul is guilty of nothing but “bad manners” (Herring 88). For him, Paul’s negative behaviors are all part of becoming adult in the turn of the century. In his article, Pitcher confirms Herring’s claim, saying that Paul is “the product of a process of change that began in the sixteenth century, accelerated in the nineteenth, and perhaps reached its culmination early in the twentieth century” (543). For him, Paul’s decisions are typical of people in the story’s setting Nevertheless, a close analysis of Paul’s subconscious will help determine his case. Taking into consideration his behavior in the story, Paul can be assessed as a case of borderline personality disorder (BPD). According to an online article about BPD by psychologist Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, a person with BPD has “very quick shifts in mood.” In the story, Paul seems concerned about his studies as he claims he wants to come back to school but this is just a lie because after the confrontation, he even whistles on his way down the hill to the Carnegie hall, “looking wildly behind him, now and then, to see whether some of his teachers were not there to writhe under his light-heartedness” (Cather 9) Paul’s BPD case includes paranoia. His constant fear that someone might be watching him, evidenced by his mannerism of looking sideways, confirms his paranoia. Paul’s BPD is further confirmed towards the end of the story. According to Pedneault (ibid.), BPD patients engange in “risky and impulsive behaviors, such as going on shopping sprees, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or abusing drugs, engaging in promiscuous sex, binge eating..or suicide.” These are all evident in Paul when he goes to a hotel in New York. Paul’s suicide at the end of the story seals in the truth about his BPD. He behaved peculiarly even at this time, as he had on his lips “a frightened smile; once or twice he glanced nervously sidewise, as though he were being watched” (Cather 25). Paul’s mannerism of glancing to see if he is being watched also shows that he is not acting or thinking normally. The reason behind Paul’s BPD is basically the absence of a mother figure. Pedneault reports that according to research, “many people diagnosed with BPD have experienced childhood abuse or neglect, or were separated from their caregivers at an early age.” Paul lost his mother at an early age, and this must have made a big impact on him. The loss of a mother, the insolent smiles, the wild imagination and suicide altogether illustrate Cather’s idea of BPD in the story. Literary critics attempt to explain Paul’s case. According to Saari in his review of the story, Paul has a “narcissistic personality disorder or NPD” (Saari 389). Saari accounts Paul’s vanity, his fear of being watched and his lying about travels to Naples, Venice, Egypt as evidences of Paul’s NPD. Likewise, Paul’s despise of his “ugly sleeping chamber, the cold bath-room, with the grimy zinc tub, the cracked mirror, the dripping spigots…” (Cather 12) confirm his inability to face reality and narcissism. Furthermore, his dreams of spending night in a New York hotel, of seeing grandiose concerts and fabulous shows add up to Saari’s claim of narcissistic personality disorder. As regards the reason for the suicide, Saari argues that Paul’s idea of the terror he makes in stealing the money of his employer is enough to drive him crazy and lead him to commit suicide. Further to his dilemma, Paul experiences a dead end that leads to his submission to death. He could not find a way to escape the crime he commits or the insurmountable anger of his father, hence he commits suicide. However, his needs are easily identifiable. Everything that Paul wants “is to see, to be in the atmosphere, float on the wave of it…be carried out…away from everything” (Cather 16). In sum, Paul just wants to rid of his reality, hence he tends to prefer things he does not possess. With this idea, the next question is, what is it in Paul’s reality that he tries to escape from? Based on Freud’s Pleasure Principle that human beings tend to avoid pain, Paul could be getting rid of the pain caused by his mother’s death. Hence, the drawing master relates the peculiarity of Paul’s smile to the death of his mother, saying, “theres something sort of haunted about it. The boy is not strong… I happen to know that he was born in Colorado, only a few months before his mother died out there of a long illness. There is something wrong about the fellow” (Cather 9). To escape pain, Paul resorts to daydreaming. His wishes are suppressed, and this reality does not help to balance his thoughts. When he finally realizes that his illusions are impossible, he relents to suicide. In one way or another, the presence of psychological disorder must have contributed greatly to the perception and suicidal act of the boy. The many symptoms of psychological disorder in Paul’s case all the more illustrate the responsibility of his environment to him. With all the observations they have, Paul’s teachers should realize that he is among those students with special needs. However, considering the time of authorship, it can be inferred that teachers do not have the capability to determine Paul’s case. Even the principal who is supposed to have handled a number of cases before he gets to his position should guide him to identify the peculiarity and sensitivity of Paul’s case. With the turn of events, readers see a further exploration of how incompetent and misguided school officials are in terms of handling special cases of students. The teachers who impugn Paul can be characterized as discriminating. They should not be merely driven by what they see or hear but what they feel about the boy. The drawing master, in particular, possesses the instinct that there is something peculiar about Paul’s behavior. However, he lacks the wisdom to determine Paul’s case. This inability to address issues that concern their profession points the finger back to the teachers who are all incompetent in child rearing. Specifically, instead of dismissing Paul and letting him render service in the community, they should give Paul a special treatment to find out the reason for his behavior. Instead of dismissing Paul and disqualifying him to further attend school, the school officials, especially Paul’s teachers, should have addressed his learning difficulties more profoundly. The drawing teacher, seeing Paul fall asleep on his drawing board, should have investigated why Paul seems too tired. From there, he will realize that Paul is working at night, which is not healthy for a young student like him. The drawing teacher’s observation of Paul’s “blue-veined face…drawn and wrinkled like an old man’s” (Cather 9) should have led him to determine why Paul seems sarcastic in his ways. He would have learned that Paul only needs family affection in order to change. However, to the readers’ dismay, the drawing master is too numb to care for his student. Similarly, the English teacher should be able to identify the violence in Paul’s personality as the latter vexingly refuses her help. Nevertheless, she gives more importance to her pride, hence fails to see Paul’s needs as a learner. Unfortunately, the two teachers portrayed in the story are teachers concerned with the arts. Both of them are non-technical people. Therefore, if they themselves fail to understand and give Paul a chance to prove himself and explore his talents, readers cannot expect other teachers to do the same. In sum, the teachers’ discrimination and lack of knowledge in handling students with special students devoid them of the chance to harness Paul’s talent. As such, they fail to educate and take their part in the social responsibility. The teachers and the father are to blame for Paul’s suicide. If they only assume the responsibility they have on Paul and the society, they will realize that after all, Paul’s case should not be as difficult as it has been. Paul, like everyone, is the state’s responsibility. People make up a society, thus the latter should give importance to every individual, especially people like Paul who have a tendency to be disruptive. Moreover, the society should give importance to Paul because despite his weaknesses, he is talented. With the way he serves the people in the theatre, he proves to be worthy of life and trust. If Paul only receives proper guidance, love and care, not to mention proper dwelling, he would have been a productive citizen or even a successful theatre manager. However, the society he lives in is too judgmental; it is too unloving. Even the people at the theatre, who are supposed to negate all the accusations of the school officials, are easily swayed by the judgment of the latter. Considering this, readers may conclude that the story attempts to attack the social system in which Paul lives. In sum, the story depicts how the society ruins an individual. The reluctance of school officials to take up their responsibility, the unsympathetic gesture of people at the theater and the unfelt parenting of his father all contribute to the tragic end of Paul. Works Cited Cather, Willa. “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament.” Paul’s Case and Other Stories. London: Sovereign Classic, 2014. Print. Herring, Terrell. “Willa Cathers Lost Boy: Pauls Case and Bohemian Tramping.” 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. Pedneault, Kristalyn. “Borderline Personality Disorder.” 2015. About.com. Web. Pitcher, Edward. “Willa Cather’s Paul’s Case and the Faustian Temperament” 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. Saari, Rob. “Paul’s Case: A Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web.   Read More