(Prepared By: Ms.

Hadiqa Malik)

AFTER TWENTY YEARS

(Lecture 4)
Introduction
"After Twenty Years" is a short story written by O. Henry, first published in his anthology
(published collection), The Four Million in 1906.
Henry's "After Twenty Years" is that people change and grow apart. O. Henry's story seems
intended to illustrate the effects on people of the passage of time.

Meeting Jimmy Wells

. A 38-year old Bob is waiting at the door of a hardware store in New York to meet his friend
Jimmy Wells. A policeman is on patrol duty. He asks Bob why he is standing there. Bob tells the
cop that he (Bob) is waiting to meet his friend.
After twenty years
Bob says that before parting they had made a promise to meet at the same place at the same time
on the same date after twenty years. Bob tells the policeman that he (Bob) has kept his promise.
Bob is sure that Jimmy Wells will surely come and meet him. After listening to the story, the cop
walks away.
Arrival of Police officer
Twenty minutes later, a tall man in plain clothes comes to meet Bob. Bob thinks him Jimmy Wells,
but realizes that the man is not his friend. Actually, the man is a police officer in plain clothes. He
gives Bob a letter from Jimmy. Bob learns from the letter that the police officer whom he had met
earlier was Jimmy, his old friend. *'
Criminal Bob
Jimmy Wells identifies Bob as the most wanted criminal in New York. But he does not want to
arrest his intimate friend. So he sends another police officer to do the work.
Conclusion
For Jimmy Wells duty is more important than friendship.

Themes
Theme of Loyalty:
O. Henry's short story, 'After Twenty Years,' focuses on the reunion of two old friends: Jimmy and
Bob. Through their brief encounter, the two explore the themes of friendship, loyalty, and trust.
Bob's punctuality in keeping his meeting with Jimmy perhaps best demonstrates his loyalty to their
friendship.
The conflict of After Twenty Years lies in the question of loyalty. Bob assumes that Jimmy is loyal
to him, despite the fact that he is now a criminal. Jimmy, however, views truth and loyalty to his
job as more important.
After Twenty Years is a story about loyalty. Bob assumes that Jimmy is loyal to their friendship
but Jimmy's loyalty has changed. He is now loyal to the police force.
Loyalty vs. Duty:

O. Henry’s short story, “After Twenty Years,” explores the conflict between personal loyalty and
professional duty. The story takes place on the night two childhood friends, Jimmy and Bob, had
agreed to meet before they parted ways 20 years earlier. Since that time, however, the two friends
have become very different people, a fact which challenges their loyalty to one another. In
particular, Jimmy’s discovery that Bob is a criminal forces him to choose between remaining loyal
to his friend or upholding his duty as a police officer. This decision is especially complicated given
the nature of their meeting. If he arrests Bob, he is not only betraying a lifelong friend, but he is
betraying a friend who has remained loyal to him by traveling over 1000 miles to uphold a 20-year
promise. However, letting Bob go free would mean disregarding his responsibility as a police
officer and his obligation to serve justice.

In the end, Jimmy decides to arrest Bob, showing his commitment to upholding the moral standards
expected of him as a police officer. However, he does not want to be the one to arrest his friend,
and so he sends another officer to do it for him. It is left to the reader to decide whether refusing
to arrest him personally is a sign of genuine loyalty to Bob, or a sign of disrespect and cowardice.
After all, though he is not the one to physically arrest Bob, Jimmy is still responsible for his
arrest. As such, “After Twenty Years” illustrates the challenging choices individuals in positions
of authority face when balancing their personal values and professional responsibilities. Jimmy’s
decision to prioritize duty over loyalty shows the difficult choices people must make and the
sacrifices—or perhaps compromises—they must make to serve the greater good.

Time and Identity:

The short story “After Twenty Years” explores the relationship between time and identity. In fact,
the central tension of the story is whether the two main characters, Jimmy and Bob, once close
friends who grew up together in New York, will keep their 20-year-old promise to meet and will
pick up their friendship where it left off. However, in the 20 years since they last saw each other,
they have taken vastly different paths in life. Having remained in New York his whole life, Jimmy
Wells has become a responsible and respected police officer, a fact reflected physically in his
“watchful eye” and “stalwart form.” By contrast, in his search for riches out West, Bob has
become a criminal. Though he has found success—evident from his diamond-covered scarf pin
and handsome watch—he has paid the price for it, as he is now wanted by the law in Chicago. As
such, time has transformed two old friends into enemies, though it is not obvious at first. In fact,
when they first meet in the promised location it is as though they are strangers. Though Jimmy
recognizes Bob, he also recognizes him as the wanted man in Chicago, and so he does treats Bob
as a stranger and hides his own identity. Bob, meanwhile, is too focused on telling his own story
to register that the police officer is his old friend. However, by the end of the story both friends
ultimately realize how much their respective identities have changed, a fact demonstrated by the
new names they are given. Jimmy becomes “Patrolman Wells,” while Bob becomes “Silky Bob”
(apparently his criminal nickname). In a twist, the friends successfully meet after 20 years, only to
discover that they are now different people and can no longer be friends. As such, the story
suggests that time can not only change one’s identity, but turn the best of friends into strangers, or
even enemies, in the process.

Appearance:

In “After Twenty Years,” O. Henry uses physical details—from the rainy New York night to
brilliant flashes of electric lights—to create atmosphere and even foreshadow elements of the
story. Most strikingly, Jimmy and Bob’s appearances clue readers into aspects of their respective
characters. For instance, Jimmy’s upright and law-abiding persona is reflected through his
“watchful eye,” “stalwart form,” skillful twirling of his club, and confident gait. Thus, not only is
he a police officer, but he physically embodies the characteristics of one – he “makes a fine picture
of a guardian of the peace.” On the other hand, Bob’s criminal status is mirrored in his pale face,
“keen eyes,” and “white scar,” features that hint at a troubled past. Despite his ill-gotten wealth—
made evident by his diamond-encrusted scarf pin and watch—Bob does not seem to be doing well
physically. His moral depravity seems to have taken physical form, giving him the appearance of
an overly wary, sick person. Even before making both men’s identities obvious, then, O. Henry
uses physical appearance to signal that each man’s character has developed and degraded in
specific ways over the decades. As such, he suggests that while physical appearance can’t reveal
everything about a person, it can certainly reflect their moral trajectory.

Symbols

Big Joe Brady’s restaurant: symbolizes the relationship between Jimmy and Bob and, more
broadly, the way that time can impact a relationship. At least initially, the restaurant seems to
represent the past, present, and future of Jimmy and Bob’s friendship, since it is the last place they
saw each other as well as the place they promised to see each other next. However, when they
arrive there 20 years later, they not only find that the restaurant is gone, but also that they’ve both
changed beyond recognition. While Bob has led a life of crime, Jimmy has become a police officer
and, accordingly, is forced to arrest his old best friend. Just like the shuttered restaurant, then, their
friendship does not truly exist in the present—only in the past.

SHORT QUESTIONS

1: The ending of "After Twenty Years" fill the reader with poignancy, (Strong effect of
feeling -sad) making the story effective. Discuss?

The reader expects that Bob and Jimmy Wells, the two close friends, would meet each other after
long separation. They would share their experiences of the past twenty years. But instead, the
ending of the story fills the reader with poignancy when one of the friends is arrested by police. In
spite of the tragic end, the author makes the story very effective. Bob is not arrested by Jimmy
Wells directly. Jimmy sends another police officer to arrest Bob.
2: How does the writer prepare for the end of the story?
The writer prepares for the end of the story contrary to the expectations of the readers. The story
begins very interestingly. Two close friends Bob and Jimmy meet each other after twenty years.
Bob does not recognize Jimmy in the police uniform. After Jimmy's departure, another police
officer in plain clothes comes whom Bob considers to be his Jimmy. The police officer arrests Bob
because he is wanted in Chicago.
3: What is the most significant happening in the story to be
analyzed?
The most significant happening in the story is when Jimmy Wells sends a police officer in plain
clothes to arrest Bob.
4: What is the climax of the story “After Twenty Years”?
Bob identifies that the man he is talking to is not his friend. Actually, the man is a police officer
in plain clothes. He gives Bob a letter from Jimmy. Bob learns from the letter that the police officer
whom he met earlier was Jimmy, his old friend.
5: How would you describe Jimmy and Bob's personalities in the story?
Jimmy and Bob are close friends. Jimmy is an honest police officer. When he comes to know that
his friend is a criminal, he does not have the courage to arrest him himself. He sends another
policeman to arrest Bob. For him duty is more important than friendship. As far as Bob is
concerned, he is a true friend. He want to fulfill his promise at any cost.
6: What are the strengths and weaknesses of Jimmy Wells from Bob’s point of view?
Strengths: Jimmy Wells is very shrewd. He has sharp memory. He can recognize his friend
as soon as he sees his face in the cigar light. He is duty bound.
Weakness: He is very cordial and soft natured person. Though his friend is a criminal wanted
in Chicago, he could not arrest him. Hence he sent another cop to do the duty.
7: Bob’s life in the West was not a bed of roses. Give reasons.
Bob had to compete with some of the intelligent people going to get his pile. He has to manage
with the police for the crimes he had committed. He lived with stress and fear that he might be
arrested at anytime by the police of West.
8: Why didn’t Jimmy Wells, being a cop himself, arrest Bob?

Jimmy Wells is very cordial with everyone, especially with Bob. He has no willingness and guts
to arrest his most intimate friend. Hence he could not arrest Bob.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1: Compare and contrast the character of Jimmy Wells and Bob with suitable references from the
story to support your view.

2: ‘Tell me who your friends are and I shall tell you who you are’. How will you explain this
statement in the light of Jimmy’s and Bob’s friendship?

3: To your shock, you find out that your close friend is indulging in some wrong activity. Will you
avoid him/her or try to correct him/her? Give reasons for your answer.

4: What would you do in this situation, if you were Jimmy Wells? Substantiate your reason.