Where is the speaker heading? What does the speaker give more importance to? from hearts and hands
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
Synopsis
‘Hearts and Hands’ is a short story written by William Sydney Porter under the pen name O. Henry. It is a witty, humorous story with a surprise ending. William Sydney Porter changed his name to O. Henry to shield his true identity and continue writing. A twist of plot, which turns on a strange circumstance leading to a surprise ending, is a typical characteristic in his stories.
O. Henry’s story ‘Hearts and Hands’ describes a surprise encounter between two acquaintances on a train. Mr Easton is not on a normal journey but is going to be imprisoned. The marshal who is taking him along shows an act of kindness to save Mr Easton from embarrassment. Spontaneously, both Easton and the marshal pull off a lie to save face in front of Miss Fairchild, who ends up being impressed with Mr Easton. The truth is unveiled by the conversation of the two neighbouring passengers.
This story is set on a train to Denver. An elegantly dressed lady named Miss Fairchild is seated in the train. The train is crowded, so two men who arrive take the seat in front of Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild happened to notice the two men unintentionally and realised that she is acquainted with one of them. Her expressions changed, and with a bright smile, she initiated the conversation. The man she knew was Mr Easton. He was handcuffed to the other man beside him. Therefore, Miss Fairchild felt embarrassed and uncomfortable talking to him. Mr Easton, on the other hand, referred to the handcuffs and asked Miss Fairchild to excuse him for his other hand being engaged. The glow faded from Miss Fairchild’s cheeks. It was an awkward situation for both of them. The glum-faced man who was handcuffed with Easton broke the awkwardness and said that he is sentenced to seven years of imprisonment in Leavenworth for counterfeiting. He did not say it directly but requested Miss Fairchild to say a word to Easton since they are friends so that it gets easier for him. This made it clear to Miss Fairchild that Easton had become a police officer. She breathed a sigh of relief, and the glow on her face returned. However, this was not the truth. Easton was the one who was sentenced to prison for counterfeiting. The glum-faced man was the marshal. He lied to save Easton from the embarrassment from Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild also failed to notice that Easton shook his left hand with her and his right hand was handcuffed just like any other criminal. Easton carried on with the lie and continued the conversation with Miss Fairchild