The people in the theater were just like Paul and they enjoyed the same pleasures. The stock theater is where he felt accepted because he was able to sit in on the rehearsals thanks to Charley Edwards. Performing in the arts is not what Paul enjoyed, he enjoyed the atmosphere that the theater and Carnegie Hall gave off. When he was kicked out of the theater, and essentially out of town, he lost his escape, but New York was another escape he always dreamt about. Accordingly, New York was full of luxuries which he looked up to, he wanted to be surrounded by the finer things in life. When Paul arrived in New York he talked about the silk underwear and expensive robe, both things that were not an option on Cordelia Street. All things considered, Carnegie Hall, the stock theater, and New York, were opposites of Cordelia Street and that is why Paul needed to escape to such places. In the end, Paul wanted to live, experience higher class living. He also wanted to be surrounded by people who were intelligent and who strove to become something. The theater and New York made him feel free from all of his past troubles on Cordelia Street, it would “free some hilarious and potent spirit within him” (pg