Cather's characterization of Paul, his imagination is theater. His imagined life is the theater that he has built with glitter and effects in a dream world that not only gave him comfort, but and also sustained him. The author uses Romance, alluding to Paul's idealized view of reality. He got a feeling of excitement from his escapades influenced by his deep desire to be at the Carnegie Hall where he revealed a "vivacious and animated" persona liberated by his environment and music. Theater at Carnegie Hall was true representation of the theater in his mind, the dream, the theater where music and art were the entrance to this portal of Romance. He lives for his weekends at Carnegie Hall and the theater, and school to him is trivial. Cather perfectly paints the picture of Paul's dream by writing; "the stage entrance of that theatre was for Paul the actual portal...
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