A Retrieved Reformation

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate April 2001

download word file, 2 pages 3.0

Downloaded 5029 times

The story I read, "A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry, was very well written. It had words that even a 13 year old could understand. They had realistic dialog. They had a very convincing plot. Also, they had a dramatic ending.

What I meant by "realistic dialog" is that they said things that people would normal say. For example, when the warden accuses Jimmy of cracking open safes and Jimmy says, "Me? Why I never cracked a safe in my life." He is basically denying the fact that he actually did crack open safes. So, I guess he did what any person would do in that sort of situation.

Also, they had a very convincing plot. The fact that Jimmy went from being a thief to a life saver, interested me very much. Jimmy got out of jail, then he went to Elmore and was just about to rob the bank when he saw a girl.

Her name was Annabel Adams, and her father owned that bank. So, he decided to change his identity to Ralph D. Spencer. He wanted to get closer to Annabel. So, a while later, they were engaged. He was on his way to pick up his wedding suit, and he stopped by the bank to see what Annabel was up to, and also to give up his tools. Well, his future nieces were playing around and one of them got locked in the safe. So, Jimmy Valentine came back and saved the day. He met up with Ben Price, the detective that was working on Jimmy's cases, and realized that Ben was no longer out to get him.

And the ending was dramatic. Ralph had gone to the bank and he had seen his future nieces. They were playing around and the younger one got locked in the safe. Well, their mother was hysterical and she was screaming for someone to help her daughter. Well, Ralph Spencer was no longer in character. Jimmy Valentine had replaced him. Jimmy had taken his tools and opened the safe. I thought she was going to get stuck in there. Well, he walked out of the bank and met up with the detective that had been working on his cases, Ben Price. They talked and Jimmy realized that Ben wasn't out to get him anymore. And Ben walked off.

Well, to sum it up, "A Retrieved Reformation" is very well written in many ways. You should believe my thesis because I have supporting statements to show it.

They had a convincing plot, a dramatic ending and realistic dialog. I think I said enough to tell you that I enjoyed the story and you should too. Even though I don't particularly like to read, this is a story I could read over and over.