"Paul's Case" by Willa Cather

"Paul's Case" is a short story written by Willa Cather in 1905. It is about a boy in his late teens who is forced to cope with a society that he does not want to fit into. We learn about his struggle to be a nonconformist which eventually leads to his suicide. So, does Paul have a case? Well, that is for each individual reader to decide. Paul fights many internal and external battles throughout the …

…today. Paul's battles against the society that he lived in led to his suicide. His story teaches a valuable lesson. The lesson is to be yourself, whatever that may be. Paul's problem was he didn't let life unfold, and he took it into his own hands by taking his life, a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If Paul's final decision was different he still could have been the artist that he aspired to be.