- Published: November 14, 2021
- Updated: November 14, 2021
- University / College: Université Laval
- Language: English
- Downloads: 7
Throughout the course I have been reading short stories by O. Henry like “ The Cop and the Anthem, ” “ The Gift of the Magi, ” “ A Retrieved Reformation, ” and The Last Leaf. ” The theme in each story is different because in every story they talk about something different. The theme in “ The Cop and the Anthem” is live life calm and peacefully. Then the theme in “ The Gift of the Magi” is carrying for your love person. Next the theme in “ A Retrieved Reformation” live your life calm and responsibly. Finally the theme in “ The Last Leaf” is regret fullness and carrying for some one. In “ The Cop and the Anthem” and “ A Retriever Reformation” they kind of have the same theme because in both of the stories the characters were inspire to change like Soapy was inspire to change his life and much like Jimmy Valentine was after meeting Annabel Adams. Also in “ The gift of the Magi” and “ The Last Leaf” there theme relates because the characters sacrifice a valuable possession like to buy one another a gift for Christmas and the other it shows a character willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for a very sick friend. Those themes could apply to many people because the things that happen in the short stories I read by O. Henry could happen in anybody’s life because they aren’t non-fiction. O. Henry wants to give a good message to people by putting a love story like “ The Gift of the Magi” where Della and Jim are a great couple who sacrifice there more valuable possession for one another because they really love each other. Sometimes he gives a lesson like to don’t do that because living or doing that won’t let us be a great person in our lives or even be someone in the world. In “ The Cop and the Anthem” Soapy is the main character who is a poor old man that doesn’t have any luck and he is homeless. He use to live in the Madison Square Park and slept on a bench. Soapy wanted to go to jail because it was going to be time of winter and it will be starting to get cold so he rather spend three months in jail.