Willa Cather- Paul's Case

Shawn Bartee


Will Cather
Paul’s Case

“When the sympathy began, Paul sank into one of the rare seats with a long sigh of relief, and lost himself as he had done a Rico. It was not that symphonies, as such, meant anything in particular to Paul, but the first sight of the instruments seemed to free some hilarious spirit within him; something that struggled there like the Genius in the bottle found by the Arab fisherman. He felt a sudden zest of life; the lights danced before his eyes and the concert hall blazed into unimaginable splendor. When the soprano soloist came on, Paul forgot even the nastiness of his teacher’s being there, and gave himself up to the peculiar intoxication such personages always had to him.” (Cather, 204)



When I read this passage, I felt connected to this boy Paul. At times there are so many things going on in my life that I just want to get away maybe to another world, or to a second life. Sometimes I just listen to music and zone out, or play basketball, or even daydream. There are times in your life when you just feel like you need freedom, like you want to just fly away, and for some people music is there way of satisfaction, for others its reading or writing, or poetry, maybe even a sport. While reading the passage, I felt like I was one with Paul. The description the author used really captured how he was feeling at that time. I really like that passage just because of the way the authored had drawn me into it, how I connected to how, and because I can relate to it. I Paul was passionate about his music and I loved that about this passage. In order to love something, you have to feel some passion about it. I make you feel like nothing else can, you are relaxed and poised, free from all evil, and it just fills you heart with joy. That is how I feel when I play basketball, or write, and that’s what Paul exemplifies in this passage.