Have you ever picked up a magazine and found yourself wishing that you had the figure of the model on the front cover? Have you ever experienced the shattering feeling of not fitting in? Why does this happen? Some people always desire to fit in, despite the cost. Others are repelled in various directions by things considered in vogue. The latter is a situation Willa Cather created when writing "Paul's Case." She suggested that the molds society creates for its individuals are many times ill fitted. Trends, fads, and also a lack of variety are common results. Because individuality is an essential part of man's nature, the molds that society creates are often deadening. This theme is embodied in the story through an adolescent named Paul who boldly defies all conventional standards established by his teachers, by his father, and even in the very town he lives in. These standards bring out the opposite of the desired effect on Paul, and in his death, he makes a statement about how the lack of individuality has crushed him. The need for individuality is a driving force in Paul throughout this story.
It is evident that Paul wants to be unique when his teachers are discussing him. Paul's English teacher claims that once when she "had stepped to his side and attempted to guide his hand, Paul had started back with a shudder and thrust his hands violently behind him" (198). This example is an early indication of society's desire to conform and Paul's refusal to become another one of society's robots. In another instance, when the principal questioned Paul about an impertinent remark he had made, Paul shrugged it off as a habit of his. "The Principal asked him whether he didn't think that a way it would be well to get rid of" (199). It is in examples such as these and diction such as "guide his hand" and "get rid of" that Cather portrays the attitude of society towards Paul. Paul despised his teachers, for it was their job to mold young minds to be acceptable in the eyes of the public.
