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23 pages 46 minutes read

O. Henry

After Twenty Years

O. HenryFiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1906

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Important Quotes

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“The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show, for spectators were few.”


(Paragraph 1)

The opening lines of the short story introduce almost everything the reader needs to know about Jimmy, one of the main characters: he is a police officer, and he does his job very well and humbly. He does not perform his work for other people’s approval, thus making it clear to the reader his loyalty to his occupation—a loyalty that will be challenged and will prevail later in the story.

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“‘It’s all right, officer,’ he said, reassuringly.”


(Paragraph 4)

This is the first verbal interaction between the policeman and the man from the West. The policeman, later revealed to be Jimmy, cannot see the man’s face as of this moment. We discover later that, in this moment, Jimmy was probably excited to see that his friend kept his promise to meet him there in 20 years. The man’s quick reassurance to the officer that all is well is a hint to the reader that he is stressed around policemen, foreshadowing his continual run from the law.

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“The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow.”


(Paragraph 6)

The reader finds out later from Jimmy’s note that this is the moment when Jimmy realizes his friend is the infamous “Silky” Bob, as he recognizes his face from wanted posters. The reader does not know this yet, but the fact that the man has “keen eyes” and a prominent “little white scar” is a sign of his rough, lawless life.

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“His scarfpin was a large diamond, oddly set.”


(Paragraph 6)

Bob wears a large diamond as a scarfpin and it is one of the first things noticeable about him. Not only does this information tell the reader that the man is wealthy enough to wear his own riches, but it also tells the reader a bit about his personality: he is an egotistical man who flaunts his wealth because he wants others to see it, in direct contrast to the policeman, who does his job excellently whether people see him or not.

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“Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together.”


(Paragraph 7)

This is Bob’s first description of the friend he is waiting for. The language is very positive; Bob describes Jimmy as not only a best friend but “the finest chap,” implying that anyone would love Jimmy. The reader finds out that they weren’t just friends but were so close that they felt like brothers, thus solidifying their loyalty to each other in a familial way.

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“We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made.”


(Paragraph 7)

As Bob tells the story of his and Jimmy’s promise to meet back in 20 years, the reader finds that the story poses a philosophical conversation regarding whether change and time is equated with success. However, Bob is soon to realize that even though an individual may not change their spots, so to speak, they can still find their own success without it making them unethical.

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“Did pretty well out West, didn’t you?”


(Paragraph 12)

At this point, the reader does not yet know that the policeman is indeed Jimmy. In the first read, it seems like the policeman is simply making an observation, an observation that the man must be very pleased with, as that is exactly why he flaunts his wealth: for it to be noticed as a sign of his success. Once the reader is aware that this is Jimmy, this question takes on a bigger impact: Jimmy already knows that this man is “Silky” Bob, so this is more of a sad question. He is realizing that when they parted 20 years ago and his friend went out West to find his fortune, he took it rather than earning it. He realizes that his friend is not the same man he used to be.

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“Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man’s nose from a Roman to a pug.”


(Paragraph 30)

Just as Jimmy realizes that the man from the West is not the same man he used to know (his best friend turned wanted criminal), Bob discovers that the man he thinks is Jimmy is actually a completely different person who looks nothing like Jimmy. This quote is a comment on the themes of change and time: time can change a man’s fortunes, but not so much that their prominent features are unrecognizable.

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“It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one.”


(Paragraph 31)

The tall man, now revealed to be a police officer, responds to Bob’s declaration that time cannot change the size and shape of a man’s nose, arguing back that time can indeed change something much more important: their conscience. This is a sign to the reader that Bob used to be a good man. After all, he was best friends with Jimmy, who the story has proved to be loyal and moral. Bob’s journey West inevitably turned him into a criminal, but it is up the reader to imagine when that change took place and what caused it.

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“You’ve been under arrest for ten minutes, ‘Silky’ Bob.”


(Paragraph 31)

In this quote, Bob’s Wild West nickname is revealed. He was referred to as “Silky” Bob, resembling other infamous, popular outlaws like Buffalo Bill. No one needs to describe Bob’s crimes to the reader, because the reader fills in the details with their own knowledge of the lawlessness of the Wild West and the wanted men that run it.

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“Chicago thinks you may have dropped over our way and wires us she wants to have a chat with you.”


(Paragraph 31)

Bob’s egotism shows throughout the story: he flaunts his wealth, he brags about his fortunes repeatedly, and he puts down Jimmy and any New Yorker for not being as successful as he is. Here we find him humbled: he was so confident that he would escape from the eyes of the law yet again that he underestimates the power of far-reaching communication like wiring and the power of the New York City police force, made up of people he had just referred to as unsuccessful.

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“Now, before we go on to the station here’s a note I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at the window. It’s from Patrolman Wells.”


(Paragraph 31)

As soon as the officer says “Patrolman Wells,” it becomes clear that the officer that Bob had been speaking to was, in fact, his friend Jimmy. This creates a sense of tension, suspense, and irony as the story develops Jimmy’s motives and feelings for Bob.

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“His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished.”


(Paragraph 32)

The narrative never shows how Bob reacts to the note from the man he called his brother and best friend. All the reader has is that Bob’s hand went from “steady” to “trembled,” his egotistical swagger faltering, continuing his humbling experience.

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“Bob: I was at the appointed place on time.”


(Paragraph 33)

In contrast to the beginning of the story where Jimmy does his best even when no one is watching, he also needs Bob to know that he kept his promise. He could’ve chosen to not write the note, and not tell Bob that he had betrayed him. However, that would mean leaving Bob thinking that Jimmy hadn’t kept his promise, leading him to either think that he had lost a friend or that Jimmy had died.

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“When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn’t do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job. JIMMY.”


(Paragraph 33)

Jimmy continues to explain himself to Bob, another sign of his loyalty to a wanted man, challenging the reader to question their own stereotypical perceptions of outlaws. The story seems to argue that outlaws are humans with friends they love, and they too deserve to be treated with dignity and care.

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