Examples Of Foreshadowing In A Retrieved Reformation By O Henry

O. Henry Trademarks: Foreshadowing in “A Retrieved Reformation”

O. Henry was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862. This short story author has a unique style and his writing is known throughout the world; known for their interesting plot, clever wordplay, and unexpected twist endings. O. Henry himself served time in jail for three years for embezzlement, similar to the crimes his character had committed before he changed and became Ralph D. Spencer. Also, O. Henry’s original name was William Sydney Porter, but like Jimmy, he changed his name and went by Oliver Henry so when his readers read his short stories, they didn’t know him as the author who was in jail, but as the pure writer he was. In this short story, a lowly criminal, Jimmy

The story starts with a brief description of where and what Jimmy was doing when the warden hands him his pardon after ten long months of a four year sentence. The warden states, “... Brace up, and make a man of yourself. You’re not a bad fellow at heart. Stop cracking safes, and live straight.” (28) Although this just seems like a pointless, minor statement in a little pep talk before Jimmy is released from jail, it foreshadows Jimmy’s usage for his criminal ways for good to help someone. When the warden states this, Jimmy doesn’t really take it in listen to what he was saying, but this does foreshadow the twist at the end of the story. As a result, this leads to Jimmy changing from the transition of Ralph Spencer to whom he used to

Jimmy meets a woman named Annabel Adams, daughter of the bank owner who takes a toll on him and has him changed into a new person. “Jimmy Valentine looked into her eyes, forgot what he was, and became another man.” (29) Jimmy falls in love with Annabel Adams. Love has accomplished what nothing else can in Jimmy; he wishes to give up his life of crime and marry and settle in Elmore with his successful shoe business and quit the safe-cracking job. When he says this, he changes and becomes a truly good-hearted man. As expressed, this quote foreshadows the change in personality that causes him to once more, go back to being Jimmy Valentine to help someone in his criminal