In most fictional writing, there are various issues that are common. The themes have a sharing of different stories or literary works. On other hand, other stories do have entirely different themes. .
In Paul's Case by Willa Cather, the theme of materialism is evident. The story is about a student who wants to lead a flamboyant and luxurious life. He is more obsessed with materialism than anything else. He becomes reluctant attending classes and does not wish to interact freely with his fellow students. He eventually runs to New York and later commits suicide. He had a desire of having a lot of money which eventually made him steal some. Throughout this story, the more dominant theme is materialism and extravagance. Paul has embraced the theme and made it be an attribute of most young people. Every young person toady tries all means to emulate their favorite celebrities in various fields such as music, sports, politics and others. Most of the young people in the world today are more drawn to sports and music celebrities. They want to put on expensive clothing and operate expensive electronic gadgets among many other material things (Cather 88). The same theme dominant in Paul's Case is also present in The Necklace by Guy de Maupassants (Cather 88). In the story, Madame Mathilde, who is an ordinary woman, has a great liking for material things. The material things are in terms of clothing and jewelry. These things are what most women today fancy most. She mounts pressure on her husband to provide for her the clothing and the ornaments. Her husband receives a low payment but due to the pressure from his wife; he decides to borrow a gown and a necklace from a friend so that they can attend a party. During the party, the borrowed possessions are lost. After this incident, Madame Mathilde uses her life savings to buy new ones at very outrageous prices. Due to the act, they live in abject poverty thereafter.
