The Dominant Element and Central Idea in Willa Cather's Short Story "Paul's Case" (Essay Sample)

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Analyzing Short Stories: Paul's Case by Willa Cather
Short stories do always have various elements that define them. The elements explain more about the contents of the short stories. There are, however, those stories that have single dominant elements that help in identifying the central ideas in the story. Such an element dominates the other others too much that one might think that they the story is solely about it. In Willa Cather's short story, Paul's Case, there is a dominant element that presents itself.
First, the single dominant element in the story is alienation. The element especially occurs when Paul alienates himself from other people especially through the exhibition of contempt. It comes due to his personal individualism and being an aesthete according to the fancying he undergoes. He happens to believe that the people who are around him such as the teachers, neighbors, fellow colleagues, and the father lack sophistication. The element also exhibits when Paul ignores completely his schoolwork and goes ahead by taunting his teachers. He also pretends to his fellow students that he associates with the theater performers hence traveling throughout the world. This demonstrates his dislike for the life around him (Pickering 203).