At first glance, Paul’s case might appear to be the opening “case”- Paul’s meeting with the principal and trying to come back to school. In a sense, this case is like a small court case. But by looking furthr into the story, we as the audience can find a much deeper meaning to the title. A synonym we might use for case could be “plight”. Paul’s plight is his struggle to attain the standard of life that he observes and loves, the glamorous world of celebrities, represented by Carnegie Hall (where Paul works). Paul is stuck in this miserable situation with very poor living conditions and a tough family life. Yet, he feels and wants to be a part of the upper class. He achieves this temporarily whenever he works as an usher. He also achieves this shortly before his death. A main textual support for this deeper meaning is found on page 241: “It was at the theatre and at Carnegie Hall that Paul really lived; the rest was but a sleeping and a forgetting. This was Paul’s fairy tale, and it had for him 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.” Through the use of striking imagery and effective similes such as in this quote, Willa Cather depicts Paul’s Case as one of finding self meaning and place in life.