The Cop And The Anthem Analysis
The Cop and the Anthem This short story written by O. Henry and published in 1904 follows a man, named Soapy, through a day in his life near the beginning of winter. The goal, find a place to live for the winter. The man is homeless, knowing that shelter for the winter is a must or the harsh cold will likely kill him. A plan starts formulating that involves getting arrested so that winter can be spent locked in an island prison on Blackwell Island, NY. Allowing him to have a nice warm bed, three solid meals per day, and not be forced to shower or conform to the ways of the outside world. The story is set in lovely New York City where Soapy spends nine months of every year living on a park bench in Madison Square Park. Soapy wanders through
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The theme for this is “you can’t go home again”. This theme is utilized by many authors including Thomas Wolfe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The idea that a person has done too much of something awful, like winters in prison; or that a person has experienced too much sadness leads some to believe that there is nothing left for them. Another way of looking at that is the past can follow someone, even when they run the other way. Hawthorne shows this in his short story Wakefield. “Amid the seeming confusion of our mysterious world, individuals are so nicely adjusted to a system, and systems to one another, and to a whole, that, by stepping aside for a moment, a man exposes himself to a fearful risk of losing his place forever. Like Wakefield, he may become, as it were, the Outcast of the Universe” (Hawthorne, N., 1835.) Soapy was experiencing a similar moment, coming upon a church, listening to the beautiful anthem coming from inside. The realization that he can have it all: job, family, place to live that is his own. The plan begins to formulate in his mind and he is joyful. Then the most ironic portion of this story comes to fruition. “Soapy felt a hand on his arm. He looked quickly around in to the broad face of a cop. … Three months on the Island, said the Judge to Soapy the next morning” (Henry, O, 1904). The joy turns quickly to sadness as the realization that you can in fact never go home again comes
The theme for this is “you can’t go home again”. This theme is utilized by many authors including Thomas Wolfe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The idea that a person has done too much of something awful, like winters in prison; or that a person has experienced too much sadness leads some to believe that there is nothing left for them. Another way of looking at that is the past can follow someone, even when they run the other way. Hawthorne shows this in his short story Wakefield. “Amid the seeming confusion of our mysterious world, individuals are so nicely adjusted to a system, and systems to one another, and to a whole, that, by stepping aside for a moment, a man exposes himself to a fearful risk of losing his place forever. Like Wakefield, he may become, as it were, the Outcast of the Universe” (Hawthorne, N., 1835.) Soapy was experiencing a similar moment, coming upon a church, listening to the beautiful anthem coming from inside. The realization that he can have it all: job, family, place to live that is his own. The plan begins to formulate in his mind and he is joyful. Then the most ironic portion of this story comes to fruition. “Soapy felt a hand on his arm. He looked quickly around in to the broad face of a cop. … Three months on the Island, said the Judge to Soapy the next morning” (Henry, O, 1904). The joy turns quickly to sadness as the realization that you can in fact never go home again comes