In this paper, I shall attempt to illustrate situational dramaturgy at work in an early twentieth-century play, Armstrong’s Alias Jimmy Valentine (premi `ered at the Studebaker Theater, Chicago, 25 December 1909), and the film adaptation of it directed by Maurice Tourneur for World Film in 1915. Armstrong’s play derives from a short story by O….
A Retrieved Reformation – Analysis
As a short story writer, O. Henry is credited with creating new archetypical fiction characters, employing surprise endings and plot twists, and using language creatively, especially puns. Many of his short stories, including ‘‘A Retrieved Reformation,’’ also demonstrate the author’s prowess with symbolism. Though his stories are often brief, the symbolism he utilizes make them…
A Retrieved Reformation – Setting
Criminals as Celebrities In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, certain criminals became celebrities in American culture primarily through news accounts of their escapades but also through such media as dime store novels, stage plays, and even early films. Such criminals and their violent acts became part of the American mythology and helped define…
A Retrieved Reformation – Literary Devices
Protagonist and Antihero In ‘‘A Retrieved Reformation,’’ Jimmy Valentine is both the protagonist of the short story and an antihero. The protagonist is the central character of the story and also serves as a focus for its themes and incidents. An antihero is a central character in a fictional work who does not possess traditional…
A Retrieved Reformation – Themes
Power of Love One of the primary themes in ‘‘A Retrieved Reformation’’ is the power of love. Jimmy is quite content to make his living robbing banks until he sees young Annabel Adams. As O. Henry writes, ‘‘Valentine looked into her eyes, forgot what he was, and became another man.’’ Jimmy’s feelings for Annabel inspire…
A Retrieved Reformation – Characters
Agatha Adams Agatha is the five-year-old niece of Annabel Adams. Agatha is accidentally locked inside the new safe and vault while playing with her sister May at their grandfather’s bank. Jimmy uses his safecracking skills to save her life. Annabel Adams Annabel Adams is the daughter of Mr. Adams, the owner of the bank in…
A Retrieved Reformation – Summary
When ‘‘A Retrieved Reformation’’ opens, Jimmy Valentine is working in a shoe shop in prison. He is called into the warden’s office, where he learns that the governor has pardoned him. Jimmy expected the pardon much sooner because of his numerous friends on the outside. Because he is pardoned, he only had to serve ten…
An Outpost of Progress – Essay
‘‘An Outpost of Progress’’ may rightly be viewed as a less masterful attempt to explore the themes and setting that would later prove critical to the success of Heart of Darkness . However, the story offers insight into Conrad’s later work because of its relative lack of ambiguity and unmistakable narrative voice. It is also…
An Outpost of Progress – Themes – Colonialism
Civilization Versus Savagery The descent of Kayerts and Carlier seems to reflect the notion that there exists in every ‘‘civilized’’ person a potential for savagery that is kept at bay by the comforts of modern society. The men are described as ‘‘two perfectly insignificant and incapable individuals, whose existence is only rendered possible through the…
An Outpost of Progress – Irony – Literary Devices
Omniscient Point of View ‘‘An Outpost of Progress’’ is told through an omniscient, or ‘‘all-knowing,’’ point of view. With an omniscient narrator, the reader can be given insight into the thoughts of many different characters, rather than just a single viewpoint character. For example, the story begins by providing a glimpse of the world through…