The correct answers are:
1)C. as a new place of his dreams
Paul is a nonconformist boy who feels that living in Cordelia´s street is almost unbearable for him. Working at Carnegie Hall in Pittsburgh as an usher, he feels happy and free to be the person he really wanted to be. He really admires the theatre company’s members as he desires to lead their life. For this reason, he decides to go to a New York to have a different but a long-awaited life style.
According to this excerpt, In the author description of Paul´s perception of the city, it is possible to recognize Paul´s is amazement of each corner of the city. He believes that NY is the perfect city of his dreams and that everybody is happy to live there.
2)c. simile
Simile is a literary device which consist of a comparison between two or more things through the use of the words "like" or "as".
In this particular fragment, Willa Cather makes a comparison between the exciting feeling of happiness and realization Paul experiences and the falling of snowflakes which whirl in the air.
3)Lines 22-23 offers example of Simile as it was stated in the previous question.
4)a. He is imaginative.
Paul lives in an idealistic word where he can be a different person from he really is. He wants to lead the life of famous people as he thinks their life are prefect in contrast to his experiences at school or at home. He believes that he has changed his life just by staying in an expensive hotel and buying fine clothes, but it is just a temporary and absurd solution to his problem.