Paul’s Case
School
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Why do Paul’s teachers have so much trouble dealing with him, and what frustrates
them?
How do his classmates see him?
How would students react to a classmate who “bid [them] goodbye, announcing that he
was going to…Naples, to California, to Egypt” (p. 243)?
Carnegie Hall
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How do the other ushers treat Paul? Why?
Can you understand why they actually “sat on him”?
Why does seeing his English teacher at the concert upset Paul?
How is the “peculiar intoxication” that Paul indulges in as he listens to the music a key to
his personality?
Cordelia Street
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Why does Paul feel he is “drowning”?
Discuss the decorations that hang above Paul’s bed. What aspects of American culture
do they refer to, and what do they omit?
What is revealed by Paul’s thoughts of his father on p. 239: “Then again, suppose…stay
his hand”?
New York
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Describe the effect of the leap in time that occurs in the white space before we find Paul
on the train to New York.
Why does Cather withhold for so long her account of what has taken place?
What is admirable about Paul’s entry into and sojourn in New York?
What is missing from his new life?
Why does Paul wink at himself in the mirror after reading the newspaper account of his
deeds?
All Groups
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Why does Cather introduce us to Paul in the order above? How does each setting
introduce another piece of the “Paul Puzzle”?
On the morning of his suicide, Paul recognizes that “money was everything.” Why does
he think so?
Does the story agree with him?
What is the effect of Paul’s burying his carnation in the snow? Of his last thoughts?
Literary Analysis: “Paul’s Case”
A) Read the prompt below and refer to the entire text of “Paul’s Case” as
you complete the chart and visual interpretation.
Prompt: The following paragraph offers a key to the story’s theme.
Analyze how Cather uses literary techniques such as point view,
characterization, symbolism, and setting throughout the story to convey the
story’s theme.
“Perhaps it was because, in Paul’s world, the natural nearly always
wore the guise of ugliness, that a certain element of artificiality seemed to
him necessary in beauty. Perhaps it was because his experience of life
elsewhere was so full of Sabbath-School picnics, petty economies,
wholesome advice as to how to succeed in life, and the inescapable odors of
cooking, that he found this existence so alluring, these smartly clad men and
women so attractive, that he was moved by these starry apple orchards that
bloomed perennially under the limelight.”
B) Complete the AEC chart:
 Make an assertion about the theme.
 Provide evidence and commentary for the literary devices.
C) Create a visual interpretation of the text:
 Choose an image from creativecommons.org that
accurately conveys each device from the chart (point of
view, characterization, setting, symbolism, and theme).
 Design a flyer on smore.com by creating text and image
boxes for each device. Use the images you found from
Creative Commons. For the text, explain 1) how the
author uses each device in the story to elucidate the
theme and 2) how the image you chose conveys the
device.
Assertion (Remember the six principles of a theme statement):
Evidence
Point of View
Characterization
Setting
Symbolism
Theme
Commentary
“Paul’s Case” Literary Analysis Rubric
4
The commentary
accurately and
thoroughly explains
how the author uses
each device in the story
to elucidate the theme
as well as how the
images convey each
device.
3
The commentary
accurately explains
how the author uses
each device to
elucidate the theme as
well as how the
images convey each
device.
2
The commentary
either does not
accurately explain
how the author uses
the devices or does
not explain how the
images convey the
devices.
1
The commentary does
not accurately explain
how the author uses
the devices, nor does it
explain how the
images convey the
devices.
Text:
Written
Expression
and
Mechanics
The written expression
of the commentary is
stylistically mature, and
mechanical errors are
minimal.
The written expression
shows some maturity,
and mechanical errors
are not distracting.
Written expression
and mechanical
problems are
distracting in some
areas.
Written expression
and mechanical
problems negatively
affect the quality of
the product.
Visuals
The visuals accurately
and profoundly convey
each device from the
chart.
The visuals accurately
represent the devices,
but they do not convey
a profound experience.
The visuals may be
accurate, but they
superficially address
the devices.
Either visuals are
missing, or they do not
convey the devices.
Citations
The images are
accurately cited in
MLA format.
The images are cited
in MLA format, but
there are errors.
The images are cited,
but not in MLA
format.
The images are either
not cited, or they are
incomplete.
Text:
Content (x2)
Grade Conversion:
20 = 97-100
19 = 94-96
18 = 91-93
17 = 88-90
16 = 86-87
15 = 84-85
14 = 82-83
13 = 80-81
12 = 78-79
11 = 76-77
10 = 74-75
9 = 72-73
8 = 70-71
7 = 68-69
6 = 66-67
5 = 64-65