this essay describes the settings in Paul's Case by Willa Carter

The setting of a story is something that can easily be taken for granted. Setting is defined as the environment in which characters live and move. However the setting can also hurt the character as they try to survive their surroundings. An example of this downfall would be the short story "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather. The multiple settings in this story from school and living on Cordelia Street, working at Carnegie Hall, to staying …

…beyond just words; the settings help you to identify and relate the surroundings to how the boy feels and react. In the end Paul chose death over his drab lifestyle back on Cordelia Street. This surrounding was unfortunately the one that killed him. The idea of going back to a life of hopelessness, despair and plainness was too much for him. His infatuation with the theater allowed him to live forever in a single moment.