Willa Cather

Willa Cather
Willa Cather’s stories were somewhat alike to me. There were some aspects that I could see appearing in both stories. For example, the theme of music was seen in each story. In the first story Clark takes his Aunt Georgiana to the Symphony Orchestra in the city and then in “Paul’s Case”, Paul actually works at Carnegie Hall. I like this similarity because I love music myself. Music is something that everyone around the world can relate to and can have a conversation about. It is something we use to break the ice with another, something we all like. Both of the stories also deal with getting out of routine. Aunt Georgiana spends her time before the concert worrying about whether she let her daughter know to use the freshly opened kit of mackeral or if she left directions on how to feed a weakling calf. But then when the music starts she becomes completely engrossed and emotionally attached the music that swirls around her. She becomes a different person as she takes in a new surrounding. When everything is done and over with, she doesn’t want to leave. There comes a realization that she must go back to what her life was and leave this unbelievably wonderful moment behind.
In the second story, “Paul’s Case” there is also a breaking away of the norm. He goes about his normal everyday activities but breaks it up with different faces. He has some sort of mental instability and it eventually catches up with him. It is sad that in the end he gets his change through death. I like how the stories contrast one another with the way they end. On one hand you have change that comes with happiness and a very emotionally dizzying moment. The on the other hand you have change that is dealt with death.