pauls case
...at they have little time to alleviate the pain and troubles of others. Lost potential: This theme is closely connected to the themes of determinism, connection between the land and the people, and isolation. As Starkfield is not a nurturing world, Ethan's curiosity and intellect have had few outlets. Both in his youth and in his old age, the disparity between his intellectual curiosity and the limitations of his environment is painful. By the time the narrator meets him, Ethan is not only the ruin of the man that he was, but the ruin of the man that he could have been. that it takes away options Pauls CASE Paul, a sensitive high school student, felt very frustrated with his home life and his family's expectations that he would grow up to work in a factory or the steel mills as his father and most of his neighbors did. He was not close to anyone in his family and had no neighborhood or school friends. Instead, he spent his evenings ushering at the symphony hall or backstage at a local theater. Paul dreamed of living the life of the...