Analysis Of The Story The Cop And The Anthem

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Analysis of the short story “The Cop and the Anthem” by O Henry Plot The plot of the short story coincides with the story. The events are arranged in a chronological order. The structure of the story is simple and clear. The author leaves out the falling action in order to make a surprise ending for the reader (O’Henry is a master of short novels with unexpected ending). This short story has a flashback “… for he had known it well in the days when his life contained such things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars…” - author gives the reader a hint that once Soapy had a home and family and he did not have to think where he could find a shelter in order to survive in winter. Setting The action takes place in late autumn, in night New-York City. It’s 19th century. The protagonist is tramp Soapy. The setting places the character in a recognisable reality. The effect of verisimilitude is very strong in the short story. It is achieved by author’s wide usage of toponyms (New York City, Madison Square, Vesuvian Bay, Palm Beach, Riviera, Mediterranean, Broadway and Fifth Avenue, Hartford ), some proper names (Caesar, Brutus, Jack Frost), names of food (a bottle of Chablis, Camembert). The author wanted to create realistic background to the events in the story. The setting evokes the mood of the society of that time. Such realistic background helps the author to emphasize a gap between poor and rich people. As a result, an unequal society is revealed. The description of dying nature and wintry weather (…A dead leaf fell in Soapy's lap… At the corners of four streets he hands his pasteboard to the North Wind) is used to portray the inner state of protagonist, his solitude. Soapy’s life is compared with dead leaf blown by cold wind. It helps the author to evoke the reader’s compassion on Soapy. Conflict
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