After Twenty Years is written with the third person omniscient point of view. This allows the writer to see the action of the story from each character's view point.
The conflict of After Twenty Years lies in the question of loyalty. Bob assumes that Jimmy is loyal to him, despite the fact that he is now a criminal. Jimmy, however, views truth and loyalty to his job as more important.
Bob waits for Jimmy at an agreed time and location twenty years after they last met. A police officer speaks to him, and then moves on. A man whom Bob thinks is his old friend appears, but after a brief time, Bob realizes that this man is not his friend Jimmy. The man then arrests Bob, a wanted criminal, and gives him a note. The note is from the police officer who is Bob's friend, Jimmy.
After Twenty Years is a story about loyalty. Bob assumes that Jimmy is loyal to their friendship but Jimmy's loyalty has changed. He is now loyal to the police force.
O. Henry's short story ''After Twenty Years'' was published in 1906 in the story anthology The Four Million. The author, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, was a prolific and very popular writer during his lifetime. At one point, he was writing a story a week for newspapers, while writing stories for magazines at the same time.
O. Henry's colorful life helped inform his writing. He was initially trained as a pharmacist in Texas but was later accused of embezzling money at the bank where he then worked. He fled to Honduras to avoid prison but returned to the U.S. when his wife became seriously ill. He turned himself into authorities and spent three years in prison where he began to write stories. After his release, he moved to New York and made a living by writing short stories. He died at the age of 47.
The story ''After Twenty Years'' was written in New York City and has a trick ending, which means that the ending is unexpected. These endings are a hallmark of O'Henry's work.
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A police officer is on the beat late one night in New York City. He notices a man (whom we later find out is named "Silky" Bob) standing in a dark doorway. The officer approaches him, and "Silky" Bob explains that he is waiting for his friend, Jimmy Wells. Twenty years ago, the two men had agreed to meet on this date at a restaurant right where Bob is waiting. Bob explains that he and Jimmy Wells grew up together like brothers in the city and that Jimmy was one of the most loyal and solid friends you could wish for. He further explains that he went out West and made a big success of himself. In the course of the conversation, Bob lights a cigar, and his face is visible. After a little more conversation, the officer wishes Bob well and leaves him.
A pocket watch like the one Bob consults.
After around twenty minutes have passed, a man in an overcoat walks towards Bob and asks him if he is Bob. Bob becomes very excited and asks if this man is Jimmy Wells. The new man allows Bob to think he is Jimmy Wells, and suggests that they go to a restaurant to catch up since the one that they had agreed to meet at is gone. During the walk, Bob talks about all he has achieved in the twenty years since they last met. When they pass by a brightly-lit drug store, Bob suddenly looks closely at the man in the overcoat and realizes that this isn't Jimmy Wells at all. The man tells Bob that authorities in Chicago had alerted them that Bob might be in New York and that Bob is now under arrest. He gives Bob a note from Jimmy Wells, who was the police officer. In the note, Wells explains that he came to meet Bob, but recognized him as a criminal wanted in Chicago. He also says that he couldn't bring himself to arrest his old friend so he got someone else to do it.
Dearborn Street, Chicago around 1900, where Bob probably spent some time
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There are three characters in ''After Twenty Years.'' They are "Silky" Bob, Jimmy Wells, and the arresting officer.
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''After Twenty Years'' is a story about loyalty and friendship, arrogance and self-absorption, and trust.
"Silky" Bob says that Jimmy Wells was a loyal and true friend when they were growing up. By this, Bob means that Jimmy was loyal to him. However: the story shows that Jimmy's loyalty has changed. He is now loyal to his job as a police officer. Jimmy's friendship with Bob takes second place to his loyalty to his job. O'Henry presents this situation but he does not moralize about it. In other words, he neither says it was a bad thing that Jimmy turned in his old friend nor a good thing. It is just what happened. Readers are left to decide for themselves.
Bob's arrogance and self-absorption lead to his arrest. It is clear that he is a known criminal (Chicago authorities are looking for him), and yet he talks freely about his life. He doesn't ask the man he thinks is Jimmy any questions about his life. He is only interested in himself. If he were more guarded about his previous movements, he might not end up under arrest.
''After Twenty Years'' is also a story about trust. Bob trusts that Jimmy will show up, and he trusts that the Jimmy of his childhood will be the same Jimmy now.
O'Henry has several themes in ''After Twenty Years.''
''After Twenty Years'' is written with a third person omniscient point of view. This means that the writer sees everything that is going on, and does not adopt one character's voice or viewpoint.
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''After Twenty Years'' is a story about two old friends who meet after twenty years, but things don't turn out as expected.
''After Twenty Years'' tells a story of friendship and loyalty that have changed over the years. However, O. Henry does not tell readers what to feel about this. He just presents the story. It is up to the readers to draw their own conclusions.
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Sometimes, one of the most difficult lessons for us to learn as we get older is that people, including ourselves, change. Although we might be able to recognize the physical features of people we once knew, some of their other qualities could very well be altered beyond recognition - especially after 20 years.
In this short story by O. Henry, the two main characters - policeman Jimmy Wells and outlaw 'Silky' Bob - learn this lesson all too well. At one time, the two had been as close as brothers. However, once Bob left to pursue his fortunes in the West, the two eventually lost touch. Nevertheless, they had promised to meet each other in 20 years, to the hour, after their last dinner together at the same spot in New York City.
Twenty years later, Bob's waiting outside where the restaurant once stood when he and Jimmy parted ways; the latter, who's now a policeman, comes upon him while he's walking his beat. After hearing Bob's story about the friends' pledge to meet up again and watching him light up a cigar, Jimmy recognizes it's Bob. He also realizes his old friend is a fugitive from Chicago, whom he'd seen earlier on a police bulletin. At that point, Bob isn't aware that the policeman is Jimmy, who goes about on his patrol, leaving the outlaw to wait for his friend.
After a few moments, another man appears. At first, Bob thinks he is Jimmy. Although Bob can't see the man too well in the dark, he begins to notice that some things are off about him. Eventually, the man reveals that he's a plainclothes officer taking Bob under arrest. Before he does so, he hands Bob a note from the patrolman, who turns out to be his former best friend and betrayer, Jimmy.
Despite its surprisingly short length, O. Henry's 'After Twenty Years' has three different thematic elements woven into the plot. Let's take a look at them.
Many of us probably know what it's like to feel compelled to do something out of friendship. Maybe it's working for no money, listening to long stories, or traveling hundreds of miles after 20 years. Bob clearly values the bonds of friendship that were forged between him and Jimmy all those years ago. However, it seems some of the knots may have come loose over the years that tied Jimmy to Bob.
Loyalties to people and ideas can sometimes be difficult to maintain, especially when they're split between a person and an idea that might be close to our hearts. Keeping their 20-year appointment to the minute, Bob's loyalty to Jimmy is obviously unwavering. However, now that's he's a policeman, Jimmy's loyalties to Bob and to the law are put to the test when he discovers his old friend is a wanted fugitive.
Whom would you trust more: a police officer who arrested his best friend, or someone who would allow his once closest companion to escape? Despite what we might think, it's clear that Bob isn't able to trust Jimmy when it comes to keeping him out of jail. Actually, by the end of the story, it doesn't seem that Bob's able to trust Jimmy about very much at all.
Jimmy Wells proves his 'impressiveness' as a policeman not only in the way he walks his beat, but also in his unwavering obligation to the law. Just as Bob's loyalty to their friendship never falters - even after 20 years - Jimmy's loyalty to the code of his profession doesn't appear to change. However, the loyalties to his oldest friend certainly have.
Bob's prompt appearance at the location and time he and Jimmy had agreed on is probably the best evidence for the extent of his loyalty to their friendly, almost filial, bond. In fact, he trusts Jimmy to the point of naiveté. Out of trust for 'Jimmy's' word, Bob initially goes so far as to believe the plainclothesman posing as Jimmy, when he tells him that 'I grew a bit after I was twenty.'
Nevertheless, it seems that Bob isn't really able to trust Jimmy to honor any commitment to their friendship, not even when it comes to remembering their appointment. It appears that Jimmy doesn't recall their scheduled meeting and seemed surprised as he 'suddenly slowed his walk' upon finding his friend along his beat. Even if we forgive Jimmy for having forgotten their agreement after 20 years, he still should've let Bob go once he knew who he was, right?
Although our first reaction might be to think that Jimmy should've let Bob escape because of their friendship, our next thoughts as citizens should be that the officer did what he had to do. If we're to trust the police, we have to know they're going be loyal to no people or other ideas, except those written in the law. As a result, some of us, like Bob, might have to give up our claims to individual freedoms and friendships, so that society as a whole may be safer. However, as Jimmy's admission of his inability to take Bob in himself demonstrates, it's not without remorse that police officers sometimes sacrifice the happiness of themselves and their loved-ones for the greater good.
O. Henry's short story, 'After Twenty Years,' focuses on the reunion of two old friends: Jimmy and Bob. Through their brief encounter, the two explore the themes of friendship, loyalty, and trust. Bob's punctuality in keeping his meeting with Jimmy perhaps best demonstrates his loyalty to their friendship. However, Jimmy's foremost loyalties ultimately lie with the law, but he shows remorse for having to betray his friend's trust by admitting that he couldn't arrest Bob himself.
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