1.3 The Cop and the Anthem
O’Henry (1862-1910) William Sydney Porter,
an American writer is better known by his pen name O’Henry. He was a voracious
reader since childhood. He started a humorous weekly, ‘The Rolling Stone’ and
when the venture failed, he joined the ‘Houston Post’ as a reporter, columnist
and occasional cartoonist.
The story, ‘The Cop
and the Anthem’ is one of O’Henry’s well known stories. To describe his style
of writing, people have often used the term ‘smile with tears’ which implies
his twisted way of thoughts and endings in almost every story.
Std 12th English The Cop and the Anthem
In this story the main
character, Soapy, is a vagabond and a person with criminal background. He makes
different plans to re-enter the prison as he has no shelter to protect himself
from the severe winter. The story` ends in an unexpected way. O’Henry has
depicted Soapy’s futile attempts to get arrested in a very humourous vein.
‘The Cop and the Anthem’ is about freedom and confinement. Initially Soapy feels that there is freedom (from miseries and worries) in confinement (prison). The notes of anthem transform him from within and he resolves to work hard. Soapy faces the irony of fate as the moment he realizes the real freedom lies in a virtuous life, he is taken into confinement.
"सारे शिकु या,पुढे जाउया" या उपक्रमांतर्गत
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