Paul’s Case Comparison

As with almost any written story and movie there are differences, some

major and some minor. This is the case with "Paul's Case". The movie

has a few new scenes in it, yet the text goes into more detail of what

makes Paul tick.

Now in both the movie and story Paul starts out at school for a

confrontation by his teachers. Paul appears smug in both scenarios.

He also was behaving like a somewhat different young boy with his red

carnation on his button hole. This demeanor added to his smugness. He

bowed a theatrical bow when dismissed and ran with a feeling of

lightheartedness to Carnegie Hall where he served as an usher. In both

the text and the movie he went up to the art gallery and got lost in

the moment and was just about late for work. The text states that Paul

teased some of the other boy ushers and they called him crazy and

knocked him down and sat on him. This was not in the movie. The rest

of the events at Carnegie Hall remained consistent between the movie

and the text. Paul had to seat his teacher and then he sat himself and

seemed to drift away in his own state of mind while listening to the

show.

In the text after the concert was over Paul was restless and irritated.

He followed the carriage of a performer and day dreamed about walking

inside the hotel, basically living in her footsteps. Suddenly the wet

rain filling up his shoes brought him back to reality. This was a

skipped scene in the movie. Both the movie and text show the next

scene where Paul is heading home and dreading it all the while. He

can't bear the thought of seeing his father at the top of the steps in

his nightgown asking him where has he been. He breaks in by the cellar

and sleeps by the furnace. The next morning they went to church and

then Paul sat on the stoop of his house. This is where the text

mentions the fact that he has sisters. The movie has no mention of the

stoop or the sisters.

The text and movie also show the scene where Paul asks his dad for cab fare to go study with a friend. The exception is that in the text Paul

has prepared dinner for his father. Paul actually wants to go to the

theater. His dad gives in and Paul is on his way. Paul watches the

play from backstage, takes a flower afterwards, and dreams of going to

New York. The next day at the school, in the movie, Paul is with 2

boys and they tear up his picture of Charlie Edwards. He just walks

away.

Paul goes to the music hall and they won't let him in. He also goes to see Charlie and he tells him that his father asked him not to speak to

Paul anymore. This is in the movie and text. In