Analysis of the Causes of Isolation in Girl and Paul's Case

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An Analysis of Two Short Stories: Girl and Paul's Case
Isolation is the underlining theme in both the short stories "Girl" and "Paul's Case." Jamaica Kincaid constructs the subtle isolation from its causes to effects to target the psychological connection of people with society. Willa Cather portrays an evident individualist weaving the tragic story from the grounds of alienation to its products, unveiling the same human aspects as Kincaid differently. Both authors, Kincaid in "Girl" and Cather in "Paul's case," portray the central character to accentuate their struggle to overcome isolation stemming from their social contacts and resulting in their tragic life death.
"Girl" by Kincaid consists of a mother's advice for her daughter to fulfill her stereotypical social and cultural responsibility as a girl. The mother is so strict in guiding her daughter that she does not care about her responses, reactions, desires, and confusion. This indifferent attitude produces alienation in the girl from her mother, which is visible in her silently listening to the set of instructions. She interrupts only on two occasions, once to ensure that she is already socially careful, "but I don't sing benna… in Sunday School", and another time to reveal her confusion, "what if the baker… the bread" (Kincaid). It shows that she attempts to build a bond of trust and understanding between her mother and her but fails. There is no third incident when she responds or interrupts while listening to whatever her mother says, which symbolically exhibits the girl's failure to assert herself. She is emotionally hurt, damaging her mentality and breaking her passion for fighting for freedom (Hembrough 1). The daughter mutely accepts her restricted role in the home, relationships, and society, alienating her from others and begins internal, emotional damage to her personality.
"Paul's Case" by Cather portrays a teenager with flippant behavior. The boy had lost his mother when he was born. In the absence of a mother's love, the inadequacies of life contribute to a man's isolation. Paul is isolated, frivolous, and timid from the inside as "the dark places into which he dared not look" (Cather). He appears to behave like everybody is his enemy from his childhood, whether family, classmates, teachers, or friends. However, arts and music solace him like opera, theatre, acting, and studios and attract him to become like them. This isolation leads him to depression with significant symptoms like he does not like the life around him, hates the uniformity of his life, lies about everything, and searches for ways to escape. After all, his theft of a signif...