it's an ironic and funny

The Cop and the Anthem is a short story written by American writer O. Henry. It’s a funny story with an ironic ending. The protagonist of the story is Soapy who started to try to have a shelter, a jail, to get through the cold winter. He did everything he can to get an approach to jail where he could stay through the winter. He went to a restaurant, ordered a sumptuous meal without paying, walloped the show window of a shop, molested women and even stole. To our surprise, police did nothing after Soapy did those illegal cases. On the contrary, police showed kind of mercy to Soapy in some point. Failure to enter the jail disappointed Soapy so Soapy went to a church where he heard a piece of anthem and was moved. Soapy decided to give up the way he lived before. The most ironical part for me is the ending of the story.

When Soapy stood on the street and considered the plan for his future, a policeman tapped him on the shoulder and asked him what he was doing. When Soapy answered “Nothing,” his fate is sealed: he has been arrested for loitering. In the magistrate’s court on the following day, he is convicted of a misdemeanor and is sentenced to three months in Riker's Island, the New York City jail.

There is a detail in the story impressed me most. Soapy was arguing with a man about the procession of an umbrella while a policeman ignored them to help a wealthy women crossing the road to avoid a car two blocks away hitting the woman. It a dark society where everyone considered nothing but money.

2016-06-01

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