After Twenty Years Questions on Jimmy Wells
After Twenty Years
A comparison and contrast of Bob and Jimmy in O. Henry's "After Twenty Years"
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," Bob and Jimmy are old friends with contrasting life paths. Bob is a successful, yet morally dubious figure, involved in criminal activities, while Jimmy is a...
After Twenty Years
What might a dialogue between Jimmy Wells and the plain clothes policeman sound like?
A dialogue between Jimmy Wells and the plainclothes policeman might involve Jimmy, looking distraught, asking his colleague, Tom, for a favor. Jimmy reveals that he recognized his old friend Bob as a...
After Twenty Years
Why did Jimmy have Bob arrested in "After Twenty Years"?
In "After Twenty Years," Jimmy knows Bob is a notorious criminal but still feels friendship for him after twenty years. This feeling of friendship is why Jimmy couldn't arrest Bob himself.
After Twenty Years
In "After Twenty Years," how might Jimmy have felt upon realizing his friend Bob was a wanted criminal?
Jimmy likely felt conflicted upon realizing his friend Bob was a wanted criminal. He valued their friendship but also felt a duty to uphold the law. Unable to arrest Bob himself due to their bond,...
After Twenty Years
Does Jimmy Wells in O. Henry's "After Twenty Years" justify Bob's description of him as "the finest chap" and "the...
Jimmy Wells explains his reasons for acting as he did in his final note to Bob. Whether you think he is true and staunch, as Bob says, will depend on one's personal answers to two factors. Is public...
After Twenty Years
Why doesn't the policeman reveal he's Jimmy Wells in "After Twenty Years?"
The policeman does not reveal he's Jimmy Wells because he recognizes Bob as a wanted man. Professionally, revealing his identity might allow Bob to flee or overpower him. Personally, Jimmy does not...
After Twenty Years
Why did the man in the doorway speak to the policeman in "After Twenty Years"?
In "After Twenty Years," the man in the doorway speaks to the policeman to avoid raising suspicion. Bob, a criminal, is waiting for his friend Jimmy at a spot they agreed upon twenty years earlier....
After Twenty Years
Character analysis of Jimmy Wells in "After Twenty Years."
Jimmy Wells is portrayed as a loyal and duty-bound police officer. Despite his long-standing friendship with Bob, he prioritizes his responsibilities as a law enforcer. His internal conflict is...
After Twenty Years
Characterization of "Silky Bob" and Jimmy Wells in "After Twenty Years"
In "After Twenty Years," Silky Bob is characterized as a confident and somewhat boastful man who has turned to a life of crime, while Jimmy Wells is depicted as a loyal and dutiful police officer who...
After Twenty Years
Why did Jimmy send a note to Bob in "After Twenty Years"?
Jimmy sends a note to Bob because, despite being a police officer and Bob being a thief, they were close friends. Jimmy fulfills his duty by arranging Bob's arrest but cannot face arresting him...
After Twenty Years
Plot Analysis of "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry
O. Henry's short story "After Twenty Years" explores themes of friendship, change, and duty. The plot unfolds as a policeman encounters a man, Bob, waiting to meet his old friend Jimmy after two...
After Twenty Years
As Jimmy in "After Twenty Years," how would you express your feelings in a diary entry about meeting your friend,...
In a diary entry, Jimmy might express deep conflict and sadness upon realizing his old friend Bob is a criminal. Initially excited to reunite, Jimmy's "watchful eye" detects something amiss. As Bob...
After Twenty Years
Bob's reaction after reading the note in "After Twenty Years."
In "After Twenty Years," Bob's reaction after reading the note is one of shock and disappointment. The note reveals that the police officer he had been talking to was actually his old friend Jimmy...
After Twenty Years
How does "After Twenty Years" present the idea that "twenty years can change a good man into a bad one?"
In "After Twenty Years," the theme that "twenty years can change a good man into a bad one" is illustrated through the contrasting paths of Bob and Jimmy. Initially close friends, Bob becomes a...
After Twenty Years
Character comparison in "After Twenty Years."
In "After Twenty Years," the two main characters, Bob and Jimmy, are contrasted through their life choices and moral paths. Bob becomes a successful but morally dubious figure, while Jimmy remains an...
After Twenty Years
Did Jimmy Wells do right by having his old friend arrested?
To be able to answer this question, it is important to know the details of the story and the background of the characters. The short story "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry concerns a pact that two...
After Twenty Years
Is the policeman's impressiveness in "After Twenty Years" habitual or just for show?
O. Henry does a masterful job of introducing one of the principal characters, Jimmy Wells, and concealing that character's identity at the same time. The author explains how the policeman's...
After Twenty Years
Was it right for Jimmy to have Bob arrested by a plainclothes officer?
This is a tricky question for the reader to answer, for it can go either way. The reader could argue that it is wrong for Jimmy to betray his old pal in this manner, especially since they were the...
After Twenty Years
The meaning and role of the "guardian of the peace" in "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry
In "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry, the "guardian of the peace" refers to the police officer who ensures public safety. The officer in the story is revealed to be Jimmy Wells, who recognizes his old...
After Twenty Years
How does Jimmy's early decision to conceal his identity in "After Twenty Years" lead to the story's surprise ending?
O. Henry is well-known for his surprise endings. In "After Twenty Years," Jimmy makes a decision to conceal his identity as Bob's long-lost friend and as a police officer. He keeps the appointment...
After Twenty Years
How does Bob compare his life in the West to Jimmy's in New York in "After Twenty Years"?
The two friends, Jimmy Wells and Bob, have disparate lifestyles, reflecting their contrasting values. These contrasting values are represented by their chosen locales. Jimmy chose to stay in New...
After Twenty Years
The special appointment between two friends in "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," two friends, Bob and Jimmy, made a unique appointment to meet at 'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant exactly twenty years after parting ways. Bob left for the West to...
After Twenty Years
In "After Twenty Years," what does the men's meeting reveal about their friendship? Was it hard for Jimmy Wells to...
The fact that both men showed up for their promised rendezvous after twenty years shows that they were once very close friends. However, it does not prove that they are still close friends. They...
After Twenty Years
Justification of Jimmy's actions in O. Henry's "After Twenty Years."
Jimmy's actions in "After Twenty Years" are justified due to the significant changes in both men over twenty years. Jimmy and Bob have grown apart, with Jimmy becoming a law-abiding officer and Bob a...
After Twenty Years
Deciding between friendship and duty in "After Twenty Years"
In "After Twenty Years," the story highlights the conflict between friendship and duty through the character of the policeman, who discovers that his old friend is a wanted criminal. Despite their...
After Twenty Years
Jimmy and Bob's Meeting and Revelations in "After Twenty Years"
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," childhood friends Jimmy and Bob grew up together in New York, like brothers. Twenty years later, they plan to reunite at their old meeting spot. Jimmy, now a...
After Twenty Years
What is Jimmy Well's internal conflict in "After Twenty Years"?
We are not aware that Jimmy Wells had any internal conflict until the story is almost over. Then we realize that it was Jimmy himself who was listening to Bob in the doorway of the hardware store....
After Twenty Years
Jimmy's Character Analysis in O. Henry's "After Twenty Years"
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," Jimmy Wells is portrayed as a loyal and dutiful policeman who faces a moral dilemma when he recognizes his old friend, Bob, as a wanted criminal. Although Jimmy is...
After Twenty Years
Conflict in O. Henry's "After Twenty Years"
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," the main conflict is internal, centered on Jimmy Wells, a policeman torn between duty and friendship. He promised to meet his friend Bob after twenty years, but...
After Twenty Years
Characterization, Point of View, and Theme in "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry
O. Henry's "After Twenty Years" explores themes of change over time, morality, and the impact of actions. The story contrasts two friends, Bob and Jimmy, whose divergent paths highlight how time can...
After Twenty Years
Bob's Recognition and Encounter with Jimmy Wells in "After Twenty Years"
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," Bob realizes the man he's talking to isn't Jimmy Wells when they pass under bright lights, revealing the stranger's face. Bob doesn't initially recognize Jimmy due...
After Twenty Years
Foreshadowing in "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," foreshadowing is used to subtly hint at the story's twist ending. Key examples include the policeman's keen observation of Bob's distinctive facial scar and...
After Twenty Years
What story did the man near the hardware store tell the passing policeman?
The man standing outside "a darkened shop" explains to the cop why he is there. He says that he is waiting for a friend—the two of them agreed twenty years earlier that they would meet here on this...
After Twenty Years
Describe the opening scene in "After Twenty Years."
It is nearly ten o'clock at night. The weather is rainy and blustery. A uniformed policeman is walking along the sidewalk trying the doors of all the closed shops to make sure they are locked. The...
After Twenty Years
In "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry, did Jimmy Wells' colleague convincingly play his role?
"After Twenty Years" is one of O. Henry's shortest stories. It is remarkably effective for such a compact story. It starts close to the climax. Bob tells Jimmy, whom he doesn't recognize, that it...
After Twenty Years
Why does the police officer need to know if the man would wait for his friend?
O. Henry wrote with irony, and the ironic aspect of this story is that the police officer is Bob’s old friend, the very man he is anxious to meet. When Bob lit up his cigar, the police officer,...
After Twenty Years
In "After Twenty Years," what action does the police officer take post bidding goodnight to the doorway man?
The policeman, whom we later learn is Jimmy Wells, asks Bob, the man in the doorway, a pointed question. “I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him...
After Twenty Years
How does "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry portray friendship and betrayal?
O. Henry's "After Twenty Years" may be interpreted as a tale of friendship since the two old friends both return to their favorite restaurant after twenty years as they have promised each other...
After Twenty Years
What evidence shows Bob and Jimmy Wells' pride in their accomplishments in "After Twenty Years"?
Through their movements and speech, people often convey their sense of self-confidence and accomplishment. This concept is true of both Jimmy Wells and 'Silky' Bob. In the exposition of O....
After Twenty Years
Why does Jimmy send a plainclothes man to Bob in "After Twenty Years"?
In the short story "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry, two friends have gone their separate ways but have agreed to meet back at a certain place and a certain time after 20 years have passed. Since...
After Twenty Years
An exploration of the major and minor characters in "After Twenty Years"
In "After Twenty Years," the major characters are 'Silky' Bob and Patrolman Jimmy Wells. Bob is a wanted criminal who returns to meet his old friend, Jimmy. Jimmy, now a dedicated police officer,...
After Twenty Years
Bob's Perspective on Jimmy in "After Twenty Years"
In O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," Bob describes his old friend Jimmy as loyal, reliable, and the "best fellow in the world," reflecting fondness and respect for his childhood companion. He...
After Twenty Years
Characterization and Impressive Traits of the Policeman in "After Twenty Years"
In "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry, the policeman, revealed to be Jimmy Wells, impressively blends his roles as both a friend and a professional. Initially introduced as a typical beat cop...
After Twenty Years
Who came to meet the man who was waiting in "After Twenty Years"?
The first person who comes to meet the man who is waiting in the doorway of the closed hardware store is Jimmy Wells. Neither the waiting man, "Silky" Bob, nor the reader, realizes that the police...
After Twenty Years
What is the character of Patrolman Jimmy Wells like?
Patrolman Jimmy Wells is described from two perspectives: that of the anonymous third-person narrator and that of "Silky" Bob as he remembers Jimmy from twenty years earlier when they were close...
After Twenty Years
In "After Twenty Years," what made Bob think the tall man in the long overcoat was Jimmy?
In O. Henry's story "After Twenty Years," Bob has traveled to meet his old "chum" Jimmy after two decades. He waits in the dark doorway of what was once their favorite restaurant, so when a man...
After Twenty Years
What was the problem in "After Twenty Years" and how was it resolved?
The main problem in the story "After Twenty Years" is Jimmy's. He keeps his appointment to meet his old friend Bob but quickly realizes Bob is a criminal wanted by the Chicago police. Jimmy has to...
After Twenty Years
Who do you admire more in O. Henry's "After Twenty Years," Jimmy or Bob? Why?
Jimmy was a better person than Bob.
After Twenty Years
Where does Jimmy live in "After Twenty Years"?
Jimmy Wells lives in New York City. As his old pal "Silky" Bob explains to the cop—who, unbeknownst to him, is actually none other than Jimmy himself—you couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of the...
After Twenty Years
Why did the stranger return to the old neighborhood after twenty years?
The reason that the man in the doorway has come back to his old neighborhood after so many years is that he promised that he would. He used to have a very good friend named Jimmy Wells. ...