"Paul's Case"

"Paul's Case" discusses the curious behavior of a kid who enjoyed the finer things in life. He despised the normal everyday middle class life and adored the life of the rich and famous. Paul liked to march to his own tune and eventually kills himself to escape from having to go back to his hometown. He comes off as possibly being homosexual as well.

The opening two paragraphs were very ironic. Everything seemed to contradict other words or what is normally accepted. It begins with the suspension hearing and he is described with words like "suave" and "smiling" when he should feel ashamed and scared. His clothes were not pristine but he looked "dandy" and his smile was mischievous. It describes Paul with the words "hysterical brilliancy" and says his eyes made it seem as though he was addicted to belladonna, but they glittered too much for that to be true. In addition he wore a red flower. Paul immediately comes off as someone who doesn't respect authority and is different than normal, unique.