Question

Why does O. Henry calls Blackwell Island a "hospitable place" in The Cop and the Anthem?

Accepted Answer

In implying that Blackwell’s Island is a hospitable place, the narrator is using irony, which is the primary device that the author employs throughout the story.
Blackwell’s Island is the location of a prison. The narrator compares it warm locations where wealthy people spend the winter, such as Naples (Italy), Florida, and various places on the Mediterranean Sea. Soapy, however, is an impoverished, homeless man. He had become accustomed to spending every winter in prison, where he would have a place to sleep and receive meals: “food every day, and a bed every night.” As he was sleeping outdoors and it was cold at night, he would prefer to be warm in a cell. These are modest needs, but for Soapy, having them met was highly desirable.
The narrator immediately tells us that “Soapy’s hopes were not very high” and that he was making “small plans.” Through Soapy’s various encounters with the cops, however, it seems that the plans will not be realized: “Prison seemed only a happy dream. The Island seemed very far away.” Again, the narrator ironically speaks of happiness in connection with prison. Similarly, Soapy later thinks of it “as far away as Heaven.”

The Cop and the Anthem

Why does O. Henry calls Blackwell Island a "hospitable place" in The Cop and the Anthem?

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