In the short story "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather Paul is a teen who is unhappy at school and with his life. The only thing that makes him feel alive is to be at the theater where he works as an usher. His father wants him to grow up and maybe become a clerk for one of the "iron kings" in Pittsburgh. Paul's father continues to try and impress upon Paul this ideal by reminding him of the young man who lives near them on Cordelia Street. Patrick doesn't want this life and his father doesn't have a clue how to get Paul to do what he wants him to do. When Paul does get a job for a company in town as an assistant, he steals the money from a daily deposit and runs away. His father pays back the money and goes to New York after his son.