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Paul, a young man seeking to become a part of the atmosphere called theatre, was

misunderstood in life and unfortunately, committed suicide. In the short story, Paul’s Case by

Willa Carter, Paul’s true feelings are captured with better detail in the story compared to the

movie. The movie fails to decipher Paul’s sense of loneliness, hurt, and afraid, in comparison to

the book that goes into tremendous detail.

The first episode that capture’s the misunderstanding between Paul’s and others is in the

beginning when he is asking for permission to return to school and the teachers were uncertain as

to whether to grant it. In the book, Carter explains obvious differences between Paul and his

schoolmates. His behavior was irrespective and disruptive. Paul was a student who did not have

the urge to learn; rather, he only went to school to please his father. He saw many of the things

that was being taught in a different view and that caused him to get into trouble a lot. Another

difference his teachers notice about Paul was the way he dressed. Paul always wore a red

carnation, which he did because he was attracted to bright color of it. To Paul bright colors was

an important element to the life he wanted. Another example that set Paul as different from his

schoolmates was the apparent teasing. Paul was not afraid to share his dreams to his peers and he

also showed them pictures of the theatrical life in which he wanted to be associated with. His

schoolmates thought of his dreams differently and did not agree with them. The life in school for

Paul only caused him to feel misunderstood which was portrayed in a more obvious mood in the

book.

A second episode that shows Paul’s sense of feeling afraid is the night he returns home

after working his shift at the theatre. Paul was struck by fear and did not have the courage to face

his father and the many endless questions. In the book, it shows that although he had found a

way to enter his house through the basement, he was still much too afraid because he knew if he
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made a noise, his father would storm down with a gun in his hand. Both in the book and in the

story, when Paul is sitting in the basement he is rambling to himself about what would happen,

but in the movie his voice is unclear and becomes hard to understand. This part was important

because it showed how afraid Paul was and the book did a better job of portraying his true

feelings.

Before returning home the night he was working at the theatre, he walks down Cordelia

Street and explains how everything looks the same. In this scene, Carte portrays Paul’s loneliness

and also his sense of feeling different. Paul yearns for color and life, but he thinks Cordelia

Street does not obtain that, since all the houses look the same with pale colors. In this scene,

Cordelia Street could be a symbol for the world, because Paul he feels in a world that is

discolored and boring. The movie does not show this scene, but if it had successfully it would

show Paul’s feeling of not belonging.

One scene that captures Paul’s hurt is when Carter describes why Paul does not feel as

though he no longer belongs in the world. Paul’s father had gone into taking away his happiness

which tore Paul apart. Paul’s father forbad him to be anywhere close to the theatre life, which

was successfully played out in the movie. But it did not capture the pain it had brought upon Paul

compared to book, where it describes it. To Paul, theatre was a reason to live, it was his escape

from the reality he truly despised, it was everything to Paul, and it had been taken away.

From multiple scenes, it is obvious the short story captured Paul in a more sympathetic

light because it used more detail. Through Carter’s descriptions, it was able to decipher his true

feelings of being misunderstood, of being lonely, and being afraid.