Paul's Case

The word pot was originally means a metal or earthenware-cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid. But now it is a street name for marijuana. All language is metaphor.

In the story Paul's Case there is a flower metaphor throughout the whole story. The flower metaphor mostly deals with Paul's life, personality, and death. Three examples of flower metaphors are the red carnation in front of the faculty, flowers in the glass case, and the withering red carnation.

In the beginning of the story, Paul has a meeting with the teachers of his school
because he was misbehaving. For the meeting Paul shows up wearing a red carnation. The narrator states, "His clothes were a trifle outgrown … but for all that there was something of the dandy about him… a red carnation in his buttonhole." This shows his total disrespect for authority because he is going to get disciplined; and the teachers thought this "was not properly significant of the contrite spirit befitting a boy under the ban of suspension." The flower he wore shows that he does not care about school or his teachers.

In the middle of the story, Paul goes to the park to go walk. It is snowing and he sees whole flower gardens blooming under glass cases. Usually, flowers do not grow in the