Paul’s Case is the story of a young man who struggles with his identity. Paul feels that he knows where he belongs, but his family and teachers refuse to support his choices. In the middle of Paul's Case, there is a switch in narration. At this point, the reader can identify with Paul and his problems. Paul struggled with both internal and external problems. His parents and teachers thought he was odd. How Paul felt, was miss understood.
In the beginning of the story, Paul seems to be a typical teenage boy, who caused problems in the classroom. As the story progresses, the reader can infer that Paul is rather withdrawn. He would rather live in his fantasy world than face reality. Paul dreaded returning home after the Carnegie Hall performances. He loathed his "ugly sleeping chamber with the yellow walls," but most of all, he feared his father. This is the first sign that he has a troubled home life. Next, the reader learns that Paul has no mother, and that his father holds a neighbor boy up to Paul as "a model". The lack of affection that Paul received at home caused him to look elsewhere for the attention that he craved. Which I am sure many of us can relate to.
The theater and Carnegie Hall was where Paul "really lived". To him, the rest of his life was but "a sleep and a forgetting". The moment Paul stepped into either one of those places; he felt he was in his element. He "breathed like a prisoner set free". Paul's life was so dull in comparison to his theater life, which he felt was his "secret temple". He truly believed that he belonged to the arts. This makes Paul's case so sad because no one believed in him. This is what caused him to flee to New York to be in a place where he would be accepted for his true self
Paul's train trip is where the change in narration occurs. Prior to this point, the author used an omniscient point of view. From this point on,