Question

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

Read this excerpt from "After Twenty Years."

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

Which statement best explains O. Henry’s choice to have Jimmy write the note to Bob?
A) It illustrates the fact that Jimmy is weak in character, and after twenty years only Bob really made something of himself.
B) It shows the reader that Jimmy is a man of the law and needs to explain to Bob why he was unable to meet Bob as planned.
C)
It explains why Jimmy does not come to meet Bob at the appointed time and place twenty years later.
D)
It provides the reader with insight into Jimmy's character and illustrates how different the two men are after twenty years.

Answer 1

O' Henry's choice to have Jimmy write the note to Bob provides the reader with insight into Jimmy's character and illustrates how different the two men are after twenty years. After this time, Jimmy has become a police officer and Bob, a famous criminal. They used to be friends when they were younger. But when they meet after twenty years, Jimmy realizes that his friend is a known criminal who is being searched for, and, as he used to be close to him in the past, he cannot arrest him on his own, so he looks for another police officer to arrest his friend.