Heredity or environmentAre human beings the product of nature or are they the product of the way they are raised? Do human genes determine the type of person one becomes? These are some of the questions that have continued to plague humanity. These questions have given psychologists, philosophers, and scientists material to work with. Willa Cather tries to answer some of these questions skillfully in her story Paul's Case. However, it offers no clear solution; this is according to the interpretations given by its critics. Loretta Wasserman in her book Willa Cather suggests that, a broad interpretation of Paul's case has been divided (Wasserman 24). She has been divided on the responses given by many critics of Willa's work. Many people see Paul's story as the critical narrative of a sensitive and inclined young man, crushed by a harmful environment. This is evidenced by the ugliness of his home area. Other people perceive the story as a study of harmful and pathological states. The moment Cather wrote her story had a great influence on her writing. Born in the second phase of the industrial revolution, she grew up in a time when new inventions helped in building large industries (Edward and Leon 13). Cather addresses the technological and aesthetic issue in her short story, Paul's Case. The story is set in Pittsburgh, a city characterized by the glamorous lives of steel kings like Carnegie (Edward and Leon 11). The wealthy steel kings were a vital focal point for Paul's aspirations. In the first part of the story we meet Paul through the perceptions of his teacher. We are able to learn that at school Paul is perceived as dismissive and immensely annoying (Marilyn...... middle of paper ...... and lack of human understanding. Paul thinks that all he needs is a environment change but he is wrong. Paul's perception of artistic life is far from the truth, it can only be described as a bad case (Carpenter 598). Despite all this, it is worth noting that Paul is a typical teenager who wants a life different from the one they were born into. The desire for a different life is part of the adolescent desire to have a better life. Many people believe that, to become the person they are destined to be, they must change their own at some point in life of people, there is a struggle in which one denies the obvious, such as the things that are vital to work, to achieve goals. Paul's case is a case study of a troubled young man who has genes that have need excitement to take advantage of changes occurring in the environment. Works Citednananaan
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