A) Faust (p.493) --Kennedy tells us only that it is a "tragic grand opera." Expand on his note. What is Faust noted for? In what other forms does the story appear? Faust was a man who was not happy with its own life and who essentially was willing to sell his soul for more. He wants a grand life filled with glamour, although also a man who has attempted suicide. It is the story of a man willing to ultimately, and symbolically, sells his soul to the devil for what he desires ("Paul's Case"). "Faust" comes to be a metaphor of Paul's life, Paul is a lad that resembles Faust. He thinks his current life is filled with ugliness and commonness, he desires to have a life of grandeur and luxury, he is so fanciful where always imagining those finest things are happening on him. Finally he "accomplished" his dream; he stole $1000 from Denny & Carson's for his trip to New York, the place he always wants to go.
English: Horatio Alger
Alger, July 1852
Paul StangHowever, as the theft has been made public and he doesn't want to go back to Cordelia, so he kills himself by jumping onto a railway track.
In my opinion, this is an allusion. The reason why Cather mentioned Faust in the early paragraphs is because starting from that point, Paul is going to become the other Faust, which will do anything for what he desires.
B) "Cordelia Street" (496) --Who was Cordelia? What does her sad life symbolize that might be important in Cather's story? Cordelia is the daughter of Shakespeare's King Lear, she always remain honest and true, she refused to flatter his father just so she would get an inheritance, finally she was banished by Lear with given nothing ("Paul Case"). Cordelia is a symbol of Paul's...