What is the problem in A Retrieved Reformation?
The conflict that is struggled with throughout most of the story is whether or not Jimmy/Ralph will choose to become a new man and live a ‘straight life’ as it is put at the beginning. At first he does not choose to and immediately goes back to his criminal ways.
What is the story A Retrieved Reformation about?
Lesson Summary Henry’s ‘A Retrieved Reformation’, Jimmy Valentine proves that even a cold-hearted criminal can change, but in the end, one’s past always catches up with them. Jimmy is released from prison after being caught robbing banks and starts robbing again within the first week.
What causes Reformation in Jimmy Valentine?
He wanted to be worthy of this lovely girl, and he knew that she would despise him if she found out he was a criminal with a prison record. So he changed his name to Ralph Spencer and became a legitimate businessman. That was the second way Jimmy changed.
What happened at the end of A Retrieved Reformation?
The reader expects the story to end with Jimmy being led off too prison in an ironic ending similar to that of O. Henry’s “The Cop and the Anthem,” in which Soapy decides to reform completely and is then arrested for vagrancy and sent to jail on Blackwell’s Island.
What values you learn from the story Retrieved Reformation?
The moral of “A Retrieved Reformation” is fairly simple. It can be stated as “Crime does not pay” or as “Honesty is the best policy.” When Jimmy falls in love with Annabelle Adams and decides to go straight, his life improves almost miraculously.
What is the original title of the story Jimmy Valentine?
A Retrieved Reformation”, The film is based on the 1903 O. Henry story “A Retrieved Reformation”, which was turned into the 1910 play Alias Jimmy Valentine by Paul Armstrong.
Where did the story A Retrieved Reformation come from?
The story was originally adapted and recorded by the U.S. Department of State. In the prison shoe-shop, Jimmy Valentine was busily at work making shoes. A prison officer came into the shop, and led Jimmy to the prison office. There Jimmy was given an important paper.
Where was a Retrieved Reformation in the prison shoe shop?
A Retrieved Reformation N THE PRISON SHOE-SHOP, J IMMY V ALENTINE was busily at work making shoes. A prison officer came into the shop, and led Jimmy to the prison office. There Jimmy was given an impor- tant paper. It said that he was free. Jimmy took the paper without showing much pleasure or inter- est.
When was a Retrieved Reformation by O Henry published?
“A Retrieved Reformation” was published in 1909 in O. Henry’s book of short stories, Roads of Destiny. It features several of the narrative elements for which O. Henry’s short stories are well known. The surprise ending is especially characteristic of O. Henry’s tales, as are the story’s numerous gentle ironies.
What was the tone of A Retrieved Reformation?
His unlikely reformation is “retrieved” by the detective most determined to arrest him. The tone of the story, with its gentle humor and sentimentality, is representative of much of O. Henry’s work. Although Jimmy Valentine has no intention of abandoning his life of crime, love magically transforms him in an instant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5URa8mCpoo