AFTER 20 YEARS

By: William Sydney Porter, a.k.a. O. Henry

CHARACTERS:
 Bob- main Protagonist in the story. The narrator describes the 38-year-old Bob physically
in a flash of matchlight as having ''a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little
white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarfpin was a large diamond, oddly set.'' Bobs
character is identified as actually being a wanted criminal in Chicago by the same of ‘Silky’
Bob.

 Jimmy Wells- a policeman. Is in this sense seen as a protagonist, as the story is centered
around Bob and his best friend Jimmy. Jimmy believes in the law. He prizes the law so
much that he turns in a friend he grew up with. He is also not a hard man. He does not take
pleasure in bringing his friend to justice so he has another patrolman make the arrest. He
also softens the blow by writing a personal letter to his old friend explaining the situation.

 Other Patrolman- The final character who walks into the story is another patrolman.
Bob originally believes this man to be Jimmy because he calls out to Bob by name.
However, this is just part of his trick. This man is cloaked in mystery by being ''submerged''
in an overcoat with the collar turned up. The only other physical description the reader gets
is that he is taller than Jimmy. In other words, taller than the first patrolman.

Setting: