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Lecture by Uffaq Zahra
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After Twenty Years

by O. Henry

William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer.
(1862 – 1910) His stories are best known for their surprise endings. ... His first nationally known
short story, "The Miracle of Lava Canyon", was published before leaving Texas in 1897

"After Twenty Years" is a short story written by O. Henry, first published in his anthology, The Four
Million in 1906.
'After twenty years' summary
'After Twenty Years' is a short story by O.Henry about two best friends, Jimmy Wells and Bob, who
decide to go down different paths and make a pact to meet at the same place after twenty years.

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Bob leaves New York to go try his luck in the West and Jimmy decides to stay and becomes a cop.

The story opens with a cop walking around the deserted streets of New York in the evening, doing
his duty, and checking the locks of every establishment and business that he passes by.

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He finds a man standing in the doorway of a hardware store. The man has an unlit cigar in his hand.
On enquiring, he tells the cop that he is waiting for an old friend who he had promised to meet at
the very place 20 years ago before going West.
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He tells the cop that he is waiting for Jimmy Wells, his old friend, almost like a brother, with whom
he had spent the golden years of his childhood.

While talking to the cop, the man lights his cigar and in that brief illumination, the cop notices that
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the man has a pale face, a scar near his right eyebrow, and sharp eyes. The glint of a diamond on the
man’s scarf tells a lot about his riches, and when he pulls out his diamond-studded watch to check
the time, the cop comments that he must have done really well in the West.
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The man boasts that he has and wishes that his plodder friend has done at least half of what he has
achieved. He is sure that his friend - if he is alive, will definitely meet him as promised, no matter
what, for his friend is "the truest, stanchest old chap in the world."
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The cop goes on his way, the rain starts to fall and the man keeps waiting.

After a few minutes, a man arrives and introduces himself as Jimmy. Bob is happy to find his friend
and both men share pleasantries.

Bob notices that Jimmy has changed, in fact, was taller than he remembered. Jimmy says that he
grew a bit after 20.

Jimmy insists that since the old restaurant (where they had had their last meal together 20 years
ago) is not there anymore, they should go to some other place.

As they pass the street light, Bob looks at his friend's face and says that though 20 years can change
a man in many ways, it rarely changes the shape of a man's nose.

He asks if he is Jimmy.
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The other man says that he is not and that Bob has been under arrest for the past 10 minutes. He
tells him to come with him quietly and hands him a letter, which says:

“Bob: I was at the place on time. I saw the face of the man wanted by Chicago cops. I didn’t want to
arrest you myself. So I went and got another cop and sent him to do the job. JIMMY.”

'After Twenty Years' Literary devices & Critical Analysis

Genre
‘After twenty years’ by O. Henry is a short story.
Setting & Context
The story takes place in USA New York around 10 at night.
Narrator and Point of View

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The story is narrated by an unknown narrator in the third-person.
Tone
Somber and reminiscent.
Characters

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The story revolves around two friends, Bob & Jim, who meet each other after 20 years & things are
quite different from what they had imagined.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is an internal one that doesn't become obvious to the reader until the final lines
when the surprise ending of the story unravels.
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Foreshadowing [a warning or indication of (a future event)]
O'Henry uses foreshadowing at the end of the short story where he foreshadows the fact that the
person who talks to Bob at the end is not Jimmy when Bob says:
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"You've changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you were so tall by two or three inches."
(No other case of foreshadowing is used but the narrator provides a few hints now and then about
Bob being a criminal like 'the scar on his face', etc).
Climax
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This is the perfect example of situational irony where the climax is a surprise. In "After Twenty
Years," we discover that Bob is a criminal but only during the last few lines of the story.
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Themes in 'After Twenty Years'

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.
Friendship
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.
Loyalty
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.
Trust
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Whom would you trust more: a police officer who arrested his best friend, or a 'dirty cop' who
allowed 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.

'After 20 Years' Character Analysis

In the short story “After Twenty Years’ by O. Henry, there are only 3 characters. Each character plays
an important role, has different characterizations and as the story moves forward they develop and
evolve which makes them stand apart with strong identities.
Bob
Though it is a story of two friends, our first protagonist is Bob. The whole text centers on Bob as he
waits at the designated place to meet his friend after 20 years. In the initial part of the story, his
character is described through the help of his appearance that mostly indicates his wealth and gives

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us the impression that he is a hardworking man who has done well in the last 20 years. He emerges
as a loyal friend who has returned to meet his friend and to fulfill a promise even after a gap of 20
years. He comes across as a really good human who has not forgotten his old friend even after
achieving so much in life.

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But as the story progresses, it is revealed that Bob is not exactly the man we think he is. Instead of a
good scrupulous man, he turns out to be a wanted criminal who has accumulated all the wealth
through the wrong channels. His true identity is illuminated as the end of the story is reached – he is
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identified as ‘Silky Bob’ who is a wanted criminal in Chicago.
Jimmy
Our second main character is Jimmy Wells –the friend Bob is waiting for, who is now a policeman.
Initially, it is not clear that the policeman who first meets Bob is in fact Jimmy and we see him as the
antagonist, someone who leaves Bob waiting alone. We know more about Jim’s character indirectly
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through bob’s words –

“But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he’s alive, for he always was the truest, staunchest old chap
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in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door to-night, and it’s worth
it if my old partner turns up…. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he was.”
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The depth of the Jimmy character emerges as the story ends. It becomes clear that Jimmy is still a
good friend and a ‘truest, staunchest old chap’, someone who also values his duty as a policeman.
He identifies Bob to be the wanted criminal but decides not to arrest Bob himself. He chooses his
duty but since he sends someone else to arrest Bob and spares his friend the agony and the feeling
of betrayal prove that he still cares and cherishes the bond of friendship he shares with Bob.

The letter he writes for Bob tells deeply about his true character.

“Bob: I was at the place on time. I saw the face of the man wanted by Chicago cops. I didn’t want to
arrest you myself. So I went and got another cop and sent him to do the job. JIMMY.”
The tall man in the long overcoat
The third character is our antagonist. His name is not mentioned in the story and is referred to as the
'tall man in a long overcoat’. It is a flat character, except for his personality, attire, and height,
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nothing else is provided. Despite lacking depth the character plays an important role during the
climax of the plot.

After Twenty Years ORIGINAL TEXT

by O. Henry
________________________________________

The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and
not for show, for spectators were few. The time was barely 10 o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of
wind with a taste of rain in them had well nigh depeopled the streets.
Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now
and then to cast his watchful eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form

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and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace. The vicinity was one that kept
early hours. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter;
but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had long since been closed.
When about midway of a certain block the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a

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darkened hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman
walked up to him the man spoke up quickly.
"It's all right, officer," he said, reassuringly. "I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made
twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make
certain it's all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands--
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'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant."
"Until five years ago," said the policeman. "It was torn down then."
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. His scarfpin was a large diamond,
oddly set.
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"Twenty years ago to-night," said the man, "I dined here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with 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. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to start for the
West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the
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only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years
from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might
have to come. We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and
our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be."
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"It sounds pretty interesting," said the policeman. "Rather a long time between meets, though, it
seems to me. Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?"
"Well, yes, for a time we corresponded," said the other. "But after a year or two we lost track of
each other. You see, the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around over it pretty
lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he's alive, for he always was the truest, stanchest old
chap in the world. He'll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door to-night, and it's
worth it if my old partner turns up."
The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.
"Three minutes to ten," he announced. "It was exactly ten o'clock when we parted here at the
restaurant door."
"Did pretty well out West, didn't you?" asked the policeman.
"You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he
was. I've had to compete with some of the sharpest wits going to get my pile. A man gets in a groove
in New York. It takes the West to put a razor-edge on him."
The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two.
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"I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him sharp?"
"I should say not!" said the other. "I'll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he'll be
here by that time. So long, officer."
"Good-night, sir," said the policeman, passing on along his beat, trying doors as he went.
There was now a fine, cold drizzle falling, and the wind had risen from its uncertain puffs into a
steady blow. The few foot passengers astir in that quarter hurried dismally and silently along with
coat collars turned high and pocketed hands. And in the door of the hardware store the man who
had come a thousand miles to fill an appointment, uncertain almost to absurdity, with the friend of
his youth, smoked his cigar and waited.
About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his
ears, hurried across from the opposite side of the street. He went directly to the waiting man.
"Is that you, Bob?" he asked, doubtfully.
"Is that you, Jimmy Wells?" cried the man in the door.

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"Bless my heart!" exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other's hands with his own. "It's Bob,
sure as fate. I was certain I'd find you here if you were still in existence. Well, well, well! --twenty
years is a long time. The old gone, Bob; I wish it had lasted, so we could have had another dinner
there. How has the West treated you, old man?"

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"Bully; it has given me everything I asked it for. You've changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you
were so tall by two or three inches."
"Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty."
"Doing well in New York, Jimmy?"
"Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; we'll go around to a
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place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times."
The two men started up the street, arm in arm. The man from the West, his egotism enlarged by
success, was beginning to outline the history of his career. The other, submerged in his overcoat,
listened with interest.
At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this glare each of
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them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the other's face.
The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm.
"You're not Jimmy Wells," he snapped. "Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change
a man's nose from a Roman to a pug."
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"It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one, said the tall man. "You've been under arrest for
ten minutes, 'Silky' Bob. Chicago thinks you may have dropped over our way and wires us she wants
to have a chat with you. Going quietly, are you? That's sensible. 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
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Wells."
The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed him. His hand was steady when he
began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short.
"Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. 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."