Write an essay on theme Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write an on theme - Essay Example ing repulsion for the flavorless, colorless mass of everyday existence† (Cather 453) and the boring classroom with "bare floors and naked walls," (Cather 458) and the teachers in "dull gowns" with "shrill voices"(Cather 458) who felt that he was a little odd. The novel opens with a situation where Paul is suspended from school for reasons which the teachers cannot pinpoint. At the same time he has a somewhat ostentatious appearance with "something of the dandy about him"(Cather 448). The inner feeling of Paul makes him appear to be on drugs with dilated, unusually brilliant and large eyes. However, Paul is not on drugs but he lives in an altered condition of consciousness. The theme of the novel is surreal because the boy is not attracted to his life at home and school, instead he finds happiness in the theatrical environment where he holds the job of an usher and spends time on Sundays. The author has depicted several occasions that reveal Paul’s emotional fulfillment when he is engaged in the theatre setting. Cather says "It was very much as though these were a great reception and Paul were the host" (Cather 451). The author points out the happiness of Paul while working at the theatre by saying that "as though it were his greatest pleasure in life" (Cather 451). Paul’s eagerness to live a flashy lifestyle is depicted in the line which says; this was Paul’s fairy tale, and it had for him all the allurement of a secret love. The moment he inhaled the gassy, painty, dusty odor behind the scenes, he breathed like a prisoner set free, and felt within him the possibility of doing or saying splendid, brilliant things. (Cather 457) Paul visualizes real life at the theatre which is furnished with garish satins, diamonds and rhinestones. Paul views the setting of the theatre and the setting of his home and school to be at different extremes of the pleasant and unpleasant. Paul is depicted as a sensitive artist who loves the stage and the attractive