At the turn of the century the name O. Henry
was synonymous with the short story as a form.
And for many readers still, the notion of what a short story is derives
from the kind of trick or twist ending associated with such O. Henry stories as
"The Gift of the Magi," that sentimental story about the poor young
couple--he who sold his watch to buy combs for her long hair and she who sold
her hair to a wig-maker to buy a chain for his gold watch. Not many O. Henry stories deal with serious
issues in a serious way; they are either sentimental or else they are comically
ironic. "The Cop and the
Anthem" is of the latter kind, but just because it does not carry a heavy
theme or a serious idea does not mean that it will not repay a close
study.
"The Cop and the
Anthem" illustrates the importance of point of view and ironic structure. The first thing a reader might notice about
this story is the language, riddled as it is with high-sounding esoteric
words. What kind of person says
"cognizant of the fact that" rather than "knew," or
"eleemosynary" rather than "charitable." The technique O. Henry uses here is to give
the storyteller language typical of the central character, Soapy, the bum, as a
way of mildly ironically mocking him.
The language makes Soapy sound important, and indeed the irony of his
character and situation is that although he is a bum, he acts as if he is of a
high social status.
Indeed the character of Soapy is
as important to this story as its ironic structure, in which every action that
he takes creates a reaction opposite to the one he wishes. The basic irony of the story is that as long
as Soapy is "free," that is, loose in the city, he is not free at
all, because of the coming winter.
However, if he were in prison, he would indeed be "free" to
enjoy life without fear. However, Soapy
does not want something for nothing; he is willing to pay for his room and
board by going to some effort to commit an act that, according to the law, will
get him in jail. He knows that what
society calls charity is not charity at all, but that he will have to
"pay" for philanthropy by being preached at and lectured to.
The additional problem, of
course, is that although Soapy breaks the law, he does not act like a
criminal. Moreover, although Soapy tries
to be a "crook" there are real crooks out there, such as the umbrella
thief, who thwart him, for he finds he cannot really steal from one who has
already stolen. Finally, there are
those, such as the streetwalker, who although they might not look as if they
were outside the law, are indeed criminals; one cannot violate the legal rights
of one who is outside the law.
Thus, Soapy seems "doomed to
liberty." Of course, a story with
an ironic, mocking tone such as this one, in which a bum who talks like a
gentleman tries to get himself thrown into jail but continually fails, can only
end one way. The ultimate irony of
course is that Soapy, who does not want something for nothing and who goes to a
great deal to get thrown into jail, finally does get thrown into jail for doing
precisely nothing.
Two different film versions of
"The Cop and the Anthem" provide an interesting contrast in treatment
that reveals how much the comic in this story depends on the character of Soapy
and the structure of the plot. One
version appears in a full-length 1952 film entitled O. Henry's Full House. Charles Laughton plays Soapy and David Wayne
plays the role of a companion invented to provide Soapy the opportunity for
dialogue that is essential for film, but not needed in the story, for Laughton
as Soapy talks like the narrator of O.Henry's story. (Marilyn Monroe has a brief part in this film
as the streetwalker Soapy tries to pick up.)
The second version is a more
recent one starring Robert Morse as Soapy.
The Laughton portrayal seems appropriate to the kind of character that
appears in the original story, complete with spats, bowler hat, and fancy
language. In the more recent version
Morse hams things up considerably; everything is exaggerated to the point that
the comedy is dependent more on individual slapstick scenes than on the tight
organization of the plot in the original story and the Laughton version. Morse's Soapy is not as elegant or dignified
as Laughton's. Whereas Laughton's Soapy
is quite knowledgeable about the quality of the food, the wine, and the cigar,
Morse's Soapy is obviously not aware of these nuances. Thus, one version of the story depends on the
comic effect of incongruity of character and ironic reversal of events, whereas
the second version depends more on slapstick, keystone cops chases and silent
movie piano music in the background.
Tomorrow: Joyce,
"Araby"
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