Essay Questions

What constitute the “various misdemeanors” Paul must account for before the faculty of his high school?

What is interesting about the complaints made against Paul’s behavior by the faculty of the school is their lack of specificity. In fact, they cannot seem even to agree on a simple overall descriptive term to account for his behavioral problems. Officially, he has been charged with “disorder and impertinence” but this is just technical terminology intended to account for what is really at the bottom of his behavior that has become so deeply stuck in the craw of his teachers: his manifest contemptuous attitude toward them. The real problem with the faculty regarding Paul’s misdemeanors is that not even that he possesses a strong feeling of contempt towards them—something that very likely is shared by other students—but that his manner of showing is so fiercely defiant.

What makes “Paul’s Case” a more appropriate title than “Paul’s Story” or something else less clinical?

Although this is the story of a young man named Paul and thus it would certainly be appropriate to title it in such a way, the subtitle indicates that it is intended to be read as something more. “A Study in Temperament” carries with it connotations not related so much to simple narrative as to a scientific investigation. While’s Paul’s story is not written in the form of a social science research paper and takes instead a much more convention narrative approach, it is impossible to deny that the most significant aspect of that narrative is not the events which occur, but the psychological state of mind the central character. Whatever potential psychological diagnosis might be applied to Paul is never flatly asserted, but is instead portrayed. The story is a classic example of the directive to burgeoning writers to “show, not tell.” Cather does not tell the reader what Paul’s particular “mental case” is, but rather provides a wealth of information which allows the reader to draw inferences and make their own diagnosis.

Is Paul an example of a “flat” or a “round” character?

The primary distinction between a flat and round character is that the rounded character either actually does change over the course of a story or at least indicates the potential for change occurring. A flat character, by contrast, remains essentially exactly the same at the end as at the beginning, demonstrating little or no capacity for emotional or mental growth. The story contains only one indication that Paul has undergone any significant sort of transformation and even it is ambiguous at best: “But now he had a curious sense of relief, as though he had at last thrown down the gauntlet to the thing in the corner.” This would under certain circumstances be a very strong signifier that Paul is capable of the kind of change that would implicate him as a round character, but ultimately his only decision is to kill himself. This suicidal tendency seems in keeping with the delineation of his character throughout as despondent, out of sync and incapable of fitting into the conventional expectations of the rest of society.