In this story from William porter (aka O. Henry), safe-cracker Jimmy Valentine gives up his life of crime for love. He changes his identity, builds a successful business, and becomes a model citizen. Unfortunately, police detective Ben Price is hot on Jimmy’s trail. The title reflects Price’s decision to let Jimmy “retrieve” his “reformed” life after witnessing him risk it all to save a child. Themes: love, reform, redemption and identity. Love succeeds in reforming Jimmy where the justice system had failed. Redemption comes with Jimmy’s potential sacrifice. A possible moral: there is a Ralph Spenser (good side) in everyone. More…
Archives
Hearts and Hands
As with many O. Henry stories, in Hearts and Hands things may not be as they first seem. An attractive, refined-looking young woman is returning East by train after spending time in the ‘Wild West’. She greets a handsome young man she knows, only to see that he is handcuffed to a roughly dressed, glum-faced companion. One of the men is a marshal, the other a criminal being escorted to prison for counterfeiting. Themes include understanding and compassion, deception, appearance vs. reality (beware of judging people by appearances), crime and justice, the lure of the West. More…
The Romance of a Busy Broker
This title of this humorous but unlikely story by William Porter (aka O. Henry) might be a clever play on words. The setting is the office of Harvey Maxwell, a busy New York stockbroker, over the space of a single morning. When Harvey sits down at his desk, it is as if he changes from a man into a machine. He puts everything else out of his mind. It is a bad day on the stock market and, when things get quieter at lunchtime, he realizes that he has forgotten something more important than making money. More…
The Gift of the Magi
Have you ever thought long and hard about what would be the prefect Christmas gift for someone you love? This story by William Porter (aka O. Henry) is one of the most famous Christmas stories of all time. It tells how a poor couple each sell their most valuable possession in order to buy a Christmas present that they feel is good enough for the one they love. The irony is that neither can use the precious gift the other has bought them. Themes (see analysis): love, sacrifice, wisdom, beauty, generosity, and value. More…
The Last Leaf
This story by William Porter (aka O. Henry) is one that most who read it never forget. Two young women trying to make a living as artists share an apartment in New York City. One of them becomes very sick, and believes that she will die when the last leaf falls from an ivy plant on the wall opposite her window. An unlikely figure (an old, alcoholic, failed artist who rarely has a nice word for anyone) helps to save her. However, his act of kindness comes at a very high cost. Themes: friendship, defeatism vs. hope, compassion, sacrifice, art. More…
After Twenty Years
This story by O. Henry shows how keeping a promise to a friend can sometimes have adverse consequences. Two boyhood friends lose touch after one of them decided to “go West” to make his fortune. When he left, the two made a solemn promise to meet again outside their favorite New York restaurant in twenty years. Both kept the promise, and it is likely that after the meeting both regretted the way it went. Themes include friendship, honor (keeping one’s word), loyalty vs. duty, time and change, crime and justice. More…
The Green Door
This story by William Porter (aka O. Henry), provides a mix of adventure, mystery, romance and humor. By day, Rudolf Steiner lives a normal life working in a piano store. By night, he walks the streets looking for adventure. One night, adventure calls in an unusual way. A man is standing outside a building distributing cards promoting an upstairs dentist’s office. The card he hands to Rudolf contains the words: “The Green Door”. Rudolf goes inside and knocks on the only green door he can find. This leads to a series of events that could change his life forever. More…
Mammon and the Archer
Mammon is a biblical term for great wealth. In this story by William Porter (aka O. Henry), a self-made millionaire is initially of the belief that money can buy anything. When his son falls in love with a woman from an aristocratic family, he learns there are two things his money can’t buy: love and family recognition among New York High Society. Fortunately for his son, it is able to buy the young man enough time to allow the archer to do his job. Themes include money vs. love, pride, new vs. old money, upper class etiquette, superstition, deception. More…
A Municipal Report
W. S. Porter (aka O. Henry) wrote over 600 short stories, of which some critics consider this to be one of the best. The plot involves what happens between the unnamed narrator, three main characters, and a torn dollar bill that keeps coming back to its original owner. The characters: Azalea Adair, a self-educated, gentle lady of the old South; Major Caswell, a cruel husband who treats her badly; and Uncle Caesar, a kind African-American man with a royal bearing who tries to help Azalea. Themes: pretense, pride, change, domestic violence, loyalty, self-learning and the power of imagination. More…