Paul is a boy—and, eventually, a young man—who is prone to extremes. He acts in ways that those around him would call pathological. He dresses outlandishly and, perhaps most importantly within the medium of literature, he is prone to extreme, emphatic, and emotional statements. One such hyperbolic statement follows, in which Paul laments what he considers the abject horror of returning to Cordelia Street:
It was to be worse than jail, even; the tepid waters of Cordelia Street were to close over him finally and forever. The gray monotony stretched before him in hopeless, unrelieved years; Sabbath school, Young People's Meeting, the yellow-papered room, the damp dishtowels; it all rushed back upon him with a sickening vividness.
This instance of hyperbole gives the reader insight into Paul’s personal relationship with Cordelia Street. Undoubtedly, jail would be much worse than living at Cordelia Street—at the very least, Paul would have some freedom of choice and movement while living at Cordelia Street. Instead of approaching this situation logically, or making plans for the long term, Paul remains caught in the tragedy of the moment. He views residing in this street as a horrific fate, choosing rather to die than face the illusory freedom of a dreary and unremarkable middle class life.
