English, asked by kassandrareyna, 11 months ago

How did O.Henry portray the criminal and the Marshal in his story? What might this suggest about his opinion of such people? in Hearts and Hands
O.Henry

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Answered by rmb
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O’ Henry’s portrayal of the marshal and the criminal is not completely understood until the end of the story. His stories are known for showcasing the human side of life, in all situations. In most cases, this makes the plot take an extremely surprising turn and makes characterisation even more complex.  

In this story too, in the beginning, we are introduced to Mr. Easton, the handsome looking marshal and the ‘ruffled, glum-faced’ criminal. It is only much later that the readers discover that the roles were in fact quite the opposite. Mr. Easton was the criminal being escorted by the ‘roughly dressed’ marshal to the prison. Surprisingly, the author’s characterisation was such that either could be the marshal or the criminal. Also, the real marshal’s presence of mind and kindness made life a lot easier for Mr. Easton. Though Mr. Easton had been charged with forgery, the marshal treated him well and saved him from public embarrassment.

In the story ‘Hearts and Hands’, O’Henry subtly expresses his opinions in two ways- focussing on the physical and the emotional make-up of a person. Emotionally, the story suggests that  a person cannot be categorised in clear terms of black and white. There are always some shades of grey. For the marshal, helping a criminal is not expected. So, from his duty point of view, he was lenient to the criminal and even went out of the way to help him. This is the grey area for a marshal. Similarly, from Miss Fairchild’s talks, it seems that Mr. Easton is a nice person, who has been ‘missed’ by his friends in Washington, but he is also, unfortunately, a criminal. A keeper of law can be kind-hearted while a criminal can be affectionate.

O’Henry also seeks to break physical stereotypes here. A marshal is always expected to be neatly dressed and polished, while a criminal is supposedly untidy, cunning looking and violent. In  this story, the criminal is better dressed than the marshal and even has a ‘frank’ look on his face, while the marshal’s physique and dressing sense make him look like the prisoner. The message that O’Henry is trying to reinforce is ‘Do not judge a book by its cover.’

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