What is the lesson in the after 20 years?

What is the lesson in the after 20 years?

Perhaps the greatest moral lesson that the reader of O. Henry’s short story “After Twenty Years” gleans from its reading is the value that friendship should hold in one’s life.

What is the moral lesson of the short story After Twenty Years?

Another valuable moral here is that doing the right thing must take precedence over everything else. The two friends keep their twenty-year appointment; that should say something about the value of friendship. However, once Jimmy recognizes that his old friend is a wanted criminal, he must make a choice.

What is the most significant happening in the story After Twenty Years?

The most significant happening in the story is when Jimmy Wells sends a police officer in plain clothes to arrest Bob. What is the climax of the story “After Twenty Years”? Bob identifies that the man he is talking to is not his friend. Actually, the man is a police officer in plain clothes.

What is the symbolism in After Twenty Years?

Henry short story, “After 20 Years,” the diamond stickpin is a symbol. It’s a symbol of the wealth and affluence that Jimmy’s friend went off to seek and found. It’s also symbolic of the “diamond in the rough” philosophy. Both youth started out as a diamond in the rough.

What is the surprise ending in the lesson After Twenty Years?

In “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry, the surprise at the end of the story is that the police officer that serial criminal “Silky Bob” has been talking to is actually his old friend Jimmy Wells, the man he came to New York to meet after two decades.

Why was the note short in After Twenty Years?

So writing Bob a little note is his way of reconciling his friendship with his duty to enforce the law. He also wants Bob to know that his promise to meet outside the same place in twenty years’ time was every bit as important to him as it was to his friend.

Why is Bob called Silky Bob?

Bob was called ‘Silky’ Bob by the police because that was the only name they knew him by. Bob was called ‘Silky’ Bob by O. Henry because he wanted to avoid giving him a last name. If the wire from Chicago had contained Bob’s real last name, then Jimmy would know in advance that his old friend was the wanted criminal.

What is the conclusion of the story After Twenty Years?

A police officer stops and Silky Bob tells him the story. Later, another man approaches, and Bob assumes it is Jimmy. Finally he realizes that the man couldn’t be Jimmy because Jimmy’s nose was a Roman nose and this man had a pug nose. The ironic thing is that the police officer was Jimmy Wells.

What is the tone of the story After Twenty Years?

The overall tone and feeling of O. Henry’s “After Twenty Years” is somewhat somber and reminiscent. It follows the two men, Jim and Bob, whose lives have vastly diverged over time, and it chronicles their departure and how their lives have ended up going very differently.

Why did Jimmy betray Bob?

He had a difficult choice, so he decided to tell another cop who Jimmy was instead of arresting him himself. He told Bob why he did it in his note: Jimmy’s identity was more about being a cop than about being Bob’s friend. He could not live with himself if he let Bob go.

Where is Jimmy and Bob raised?

New York City
Plot. Jimmy Wells and Bob were raised in New York City and grew up as very close friends. Their paths diverged when Bob moved west to make his fortune and Jimmy stayed in New York as young adults.

How do you think Bob has become razor sharp?

Answer: By competing with some of the sharpest wits in the West to earn wealth, Bob became the razor sharp.

What is the theme of after twenty years by O Henry?

In After Twenty Years by O. Henry we have the theme of friendship, change, guilt and dedication or loyalty. Taken from his Selected Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Henry may be exploring the theme of friendship.

What is the moral lesson of after twenty years?

Another possible moral lesson intended by O. Henry in ” After Twenty Years ” is that once a man becomes an habitual criminal he can never trust anybody, not even his own best friend. This is the penalty any man or woman has to pay for leading a life of crime. They have to keep on the run.

What does the title “after twenty years” mean?

The title “After Twenty Years” has both a literal and figurative meaning. Literally, twenty years have gone by since the friends last saw each other. Figuratively, twenty years can change circumstances but also preserve bonds. Hover for more information.

What is the summary of after twenty years by O’Henry?

The story “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry’s revolves around the themes of love, trust, expectation, sympathy and sacrifice . It portrays the story of two old friends who made an appointment twenty years ago to see each other again in New York City. May 25 2019