The Cop and the Anthem

The Cop and the Anthem is one of O.Henry's representative works. O.Henry is one of the most famous American critical realist short story writer, and one of the world's top three masters of the short stories. He is known as the father of modern American short story. O. Henry's short stories are famous for their surprise endings. The ending of his story is not only reasonable, but also in unexpected. His literary works is original in conception, and his language is humorous. He is good at describing American society, especially the living in New York City. As his interesting characters description, he is hailed as the humor Encyclopedia of American life.

The Cop and the Anthem is a ridiculous story about Soapy, a tramp living in New York City. This story happens in a late fall in the early of the twentieth century. As winter is coming, Soapy faces the urgent necessity of finding some sort of shelter. The hibernator ambitions of he is not of the highest. He just expects to be arrested so that he could live in the warm prison during the cold season as in previous years. To spend three months on the Blackwell Island is what his soul craved. As the result, he does every effort to commit crime on purpose so that he can be put into prison in winter, only to find that is not as easy as it used to be.

The first time, Soapy plans to set foot inside a restaurant for a free meal but he fails in a waiter’s sharp eyes. The waiter has driven him away because the waiter saw his frayed trousers and decadent shoes.

The second time, he dashes a cobblestone into a glass. The policeman refuses to accept he even as a clue because men who smash windows do not remain to parley with the law’s minions.

The third time, he successfully has a big meal in a restaurant which is of no great pretentious yet he is just beaten instead of being sent to the prison. Although a policeman stands before a drug store two doors away, he just laughs and walks down the street.

The fourth time, he even lures a woman in order to be arrested by the policeman, but the woman is a prostitute. And he does not shake off his companion until passing a corner.

The fifth time, he begins to yell drunken gibberish at the top of his harsh voice but the policeman disregarded him as a Yale student and forgive him. He fails one more time.

The sixth time, in a cigar store he takes a man’s umbrella in public yet the man is not the true owner of it, too. The umbrella is ill gotten originally and the man retreats quickly. Obviously, the addition problem is that he breaks the law for six times, he does not act like a criminal. As he stands on the street, with an anthem flies into his ears from the church, he decides to start a clean slate and plans his future. Ridiculously, Soapy,

who does not want something for nothing and goes to a great deal to get thrown into prison, finally does get thrown into prison for doing precisely nothing, in the end.

I like this essay because the surprise ending is totally contrary to our expectations and I enjoy the surprise that it given me. As can be seen from the essay, Soapy is not the one who wants to live a parasitic life. He even scorned the provisions made in the name of charity for the city’s dependents. He has a proud spirit as the gifts of charity are unacceptable to him. In his opinion, the law is more benign than philanthropy. Therefore, it is not strange that he tries every means in order to enter the prison in winter. He does every effort but he fail. When he is in the church anthem music influence, and decides to give up the past life, he is caught by the police. He will be sent to prison for three months, as his original idea.

It can not deny that it is a big sarcasm. For example, Soapy has free meal in the restaurant, dashes a cobble stone into a glass, lures a woman, yell drunken gibberish and steal thing, but it is inconceivable that the policeman is tolerate these illegal act and do not punish him. While he give up his original idea, the tolerance policeman arrests him, who commits no crime and even does not do anything. However, it is a fault made by society. Soapy is not the one to be blamed. Nonetheless, as a matter of fact, they just hide their dirty acts under a beautiful veil and a small sign can indicate a great trend, we can learn that the so called noble upper class goes more serious than the two. These plots reveals awful mood of that capitalist society. In addition, the conflict between the irrationality of his behavior and the rationality of the policeman's judgment is one of the important reasons for his misfortune. It is the accident that mirrors confusion of truth and falsehood.

In this essay, O.Henry used a relaxed and humorous style describing a tramp makes ridiculous attempt to achieve his own ridiculous purposes. He used a quantity of comparison and humor to fully display the character's wretched fate and cruelty of capitalist society.

After reading this essay, I enjoy O.Henry’s language and story extremely. The phenomenon he describing is still existence now, so he is a real outstanding writer. A good writer is whose literary works look as new. And I can imagine the life of the poor people in those days. I know I must treasure the life I own now.

 

第二篇：警察与赞美诗的英文读后感

Wang1 Wang Mengmeng

Professor Li Kang

English 09110314

12 March 2012

The Cop and the Anthem

The Cop and the Anthem is one of O.Henry's representative works. This novel

describes a vagrant who is jobless, homeless and commits crime on purpose so that he can be put into prison in winter. However,things don't goes as he expected. But when he makes up his mind to give up evil and return to good, he is arrested.

Based on the whole text, the author's humor is present in various ways, one of

which is through irrationality during the development of plots. Soapy, the vagrant who has stirred up trouble for six times, is eager to go to prison. But he is always out of luck and get policeman's forgiveness. When Soapy is touched by the anthem and wants to be a good citizen, he is arrested for groundless reasons. This way is a kind of black humor manifesting social reality profoundly. We can see something gloomy, desperate,but simultaneously, we can't help laughing when reading the vivid description.

Once, Soapy wants to reach his goal by molesting a woman, Soapy

straightened the lady missionary’s ready-made tie, dragged his shrinking cuffs into

the open, set his hat at a killing cant and sidled toward the young women(20).but

the seeming virtuous and quiet woman begin to seduce him in reverse.“Sure,

Mike,” she said joyfully, “if you’ll blow me to a pail of suds. I’d have spoke to you

sooner, but the cop was watching.”With the young woman playing the clinging ivy

to his oak Soapy (22). Besides, Soapy steals an umbrella from a neatly dressed

customer, but the umbrella is ill-gotten originally.''Of course,''said the umbrella

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man''that is—well, you know how these mistakes occur—I—if it’s your umbrella I

hope you’ll excuse me—I picked it up this morning in a restaurant—If you recognise

it as yours, why—I hope you’ll—''(31).So the modest and lady and gentleman turn

out to be someone that we cannot imagine, which is not rational. Nonetheless, as a

matter of fact, they just hide their dirty acts under a beautiful veil and a small sign

can indicate a great trend, we can learn that the so-called noble upper class goes

more serious than the two. These plots reveals awful mood of that capitalist society.

In addition, the conflict between the irrationality of Soapy's behavior and the

rationality of the cop's judgment is one of the important reasons for Soapy's

"misfortune". For example, Soapy breaks the glass and wait for the policeman to

come and arrest him, but the cop reckons that a man who commits evil won't sit

and wait for arrest, men who smash windows do not remain to parley with the

law’s minions(14) then he excludes Soapy. Besides, he wants to break the peace

by virtue of kicking up a fuss in the street, identically, the cop deems that only

college students dare to be so unbridled and boisterous''Tis one of them Yale lads

celebratin’ the goose egg they give to the Hartford College. Noisy; but no harm.

We’ve instructions to lave them be.''(25). His abnormal conducts is determined by

his distorted mentality, which exactly reflects torture and agony both in life and

mind oft he low-class. When the poor guy intends to do good the moment he is

moved and inspired, the cop believes a vagrant will never something to do with

the quiet atmosphere around a church, the soft lamplight and the touching music.

Consequently, Soapy is caught unexpectedly. “What are you doin’ here?” asked

the officer. ''Nothing,'' said Soapy(42). ''Then come along.''said the

policeman(43). ''Three months on the Island.'' said the Magistrate in the Police

Court the next morning.(44). It is the accident that mirrors confusion of truth and

falsehood, black and wright.

Needless to say,there are many ways to represent humor, they have one thing in

common--where there is humor, there is specific implication. The writing style of the author is humorous, the disclosure of the society is deepgoing, the reflective life and

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mental distress are mirky. O.Henry uses a quantity of comparison and humor to fully display the character's wretched fate and cruelty of capitalist society.

Notes

1.Jack Frost (Para.2): Jack Frost is a personification of frost.

2.Blackwell (Para.5): An island with prisons on East River in New York

3.Palm Beach and the Riviera (Para.5): A tourist attraction in winter.

4.Cesar (Para.5): A famous statesman, strategist and commander in chief assassinated by Republicans.

5.Brutus (Para.5): Roman politician, the chief plotter to assassinate Cesar.

6.the choicest products of the grape, the silkworm and the protoplasm(Para.7): It indicates upper-class life.

7.brass buttons (Para.5): It refers to policeman, as the fasteners of police uniform are made of brass.

Work cited

1.

2.Henry,O.O Henry 100 Selected Stories [M]. Hertfordshire: Wordworth,1995.

3.Voss,Arthur. The American Short Story: A Critical Survey[M].

Norman:Oklahoma UP,1973:123-124

4.田艳.欧亨利短篇小说精选[M]. 大连：大连理工大学出版社，2005.

5.王青松.倪勤.轮欧亨利小说的比喻特色[J].安徽教育学院学报.2006,24(4):82-85.

About The Author

O. Henry is one of the most famous American critical realist short story

writers, and one of the world's top three masters of the short stories. O. Henry's

real name was William Sydney Porter.

O. Henry was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11,

1862. At age of 20 (1882) he moved to Texas, where he had various jobs.

He married Athol Estes in 1887, in 1894 while working for First National Bank in

Austin, Porter was accused of stealing $4000. He went to prison in Columbus,

Ohio for 3 years eventually. While in prison Porter first started to write short

stories and believed that he has found his pseudonym there. After Porter was

released from the prison in 1901, he changed his name to O. Henry and moved to

New York in 1902. From December 1903 to January 1906 o. Henry wrote a story

a week for the New York World magazine, and published several short stories in

other magazines.

O. Henry's short stories are famous for their surprise endings, his wit, wordplay

and humor. He wrote such classic short stories as The Ransom of Red Chief, The

Gift of the Magi, The Furnished Room, The Four Billion, Cabbages and Kings,

The Last Leaf, The Cop and the Anthem,etc.

In his last years O. Henry had financial and health problems. An alcoholic, O.

Henry died on June 5, 1910 in New York City, virtually broke.