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….
Tag: O. Henry
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…
The Gift of the Magi – Analysis
It would be difficult to find a reader of short American fiction who does not have at least an acquaintance with O. Henry’s story “The Gift of the Magi.” This story, penned for the Christmas edition of a weekly magazine, is essential O. Henry. It is as synonymous with his name as its technique of…
The Gift of the Magi – Literary Devices
Point of View In “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry uses a folksy narrator to tell the story of Jim and Delia Young, a poor young couple who buy each other special Christmas gifts, which ironically cancel each other out because Delia sells her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch, which…
The Gift of the Magi – Themes
Love Love, generosity, and the various definitions of wealth and poverty are central themes in “The Gift of the Magi,” in which a poor, loving young husband and wife sell the only valuable things they own to give each other special Christmas gifts. Delia Young sells her beautiful hair to buy Jim a platinum watch…