Read our detailed study guide on the short story The Cop and the Anthem by O. Henry. Our study guide covers The Cop and the Anthem summary, themes, characters, and literary analysis.
The Cop and the Anthem Summary
The Cop and the Anthem is the story of a homeless man, Soapy. It narrates the events of one night and its coming morning in the life of Soapy in the 1900s. Being homeless, Soapy has to live in Madison Square Park in the summer. However, in winter the park is too chilly to stay at. Therefore, he has to find another place for himself. The place that Soapy prefers for winter is Blackwell’s Island, a local jail. He gives himself under police custody and lives there every winter.
Soapy cannot migrate to any expensive place because his “hibernatorial ambitions” are simple and humble. Here Soapy’s seasonal movement is described as a natural occurrence like emigrational birds. To elaborate, Soapy’s migration is similar to his rich fellow New Yorkers. However, he cannot compete with them in moving toward the Mediterranean side to fight off the chills of winter. He thinks of going to an entirely different island.
He keeps newspapers inside his coat to keep him warm. However, this doesn’t work too. Soapy also condemns the compelled humbleness of some charitable institutes for human support. He does not like to accept charities because those who give charities get the right to interfere in one’s privacy, according to Soapy.
Ironically, he prefers to be “a guest of the law” in prison. The law implementers do not interfere in private matters of the so-called “guests”. He thinks that his dignity can be preserved only in jail. He wants to restore his freedom by going to prison. Therefore, Soapy decides to do something annoying to get himself arrested.
He thinks of going to a high-class restaurant for a meal. There, he will refuse to pay the bill after eating and they will call the police to arrest him. For instance, he is proud of his appearance that he can fool them for an elite person easily. Soapy has a neatly shaven face. He also wears a beautiful coat and a decent tie.
Having confidence in his appearance, Soapy imagines a lavish meal ready for him. He decides on a menu in his thoughts. However, even before having his meal on the table, a waiter sees his threadbare trousers. He immediately informs the staff. Instead of arresting him by the police, he is silently conveyed out of the restaurant. Despite his confidence in his dressing sense, his reality is reflected through his worn-out pants.
Then Soapy attempts on another crime. He reaches in front of a shop and throws a cobblestone on the window that has various products on display. The glass of the window shatters and the wares inside are damaged. Soapy thinks that he has succeeded in his goal. Consequently, a policeman arrives to inspect the crime scene. Soapy, out of excitement, admits his crime saying that he is the one to be arrested. He also tries to have some exaggerated taunts and biting remarks at him.
To his misfortune, the police officer does not doubt him “even as a clue” for the crime. Leaving Soapy there, the police officer runs off in the pursuit of another person. Then he finds a low-quality restaurant and makes his way to the table. After eating to his full, he refuses to pay the bill because he has no money to give to them. The waiter gets furious but decides to throw him out instead of calling the police. A police officer standing outside looks at him and laughs at his condition.
When his plan fails, he decides to become a “masher”, a man who chases and embarrasses women on the streets. Even though he considers himself above that standard, he has no other way. When he witnesses a woman who is window shopping, he slightly tilts his hat in a cunning turn with a saucy gesture. However, the woman does not appear to mind it. In turn, she returns it and is fascinated by his attention.
He misses the reality that she is herself a prostitute and thinks that Soapy is a customer who needs her. She asks for beer bottles in return. Ironically, both of them fail to identify each other as entirely different people with distinct goals. His failed efforts put Soapy in an evil thought that he might be under “a dreadful enchantment” that does not let him get arrested.
Then Soapy thinks of a more unacceptable deed. He perceives getting involved in misconduct by yelling at police in a drunken state. He shouts, dances, and annoys the police cop. However, the police officer considers him a celebrating young Yale student who has recently won a football match against Hartford College. They have orders not to arrest the celebrating students.
Soapy becomes increasingly desperate and furious over his concurrent failed attempts. He sadly enters a cigar shop. There, he sees a well-dressed man having a beautiful silk umbrella. The man is busy lighting his cigar and Soapy promptly snatches it from the man. At this action, he is quite satisfied and assured that he will be arrested. Soapy yells at the man that the umbrella belongs to him.
When a police officer observes the fight, the umbrella owner quickly reveals his truth to Soapy. He tells him that he has found the umbrella somewhere and it does not belong to him. So it can be Soapy’s. Feeling lost and rejected, he arrives at an old church in despair. The place seems quite calm and satisfying to him and the atmosphere is pastoral.
He overhears an organist from inside the church who is playing an anthem. It reminds Soapy of his old times with family and friends. This anthem changes his mind. He is determined to leave his misdeeds and contribute to the development of society as a productive member. The song revolves around his thoughts turning them to the positive aspects of life.
Soapy tells himself that he will go to the town side and get a job and work hard. However, before beginning his good life, a well-acquainted hand touches him. It is that of the cop who arrests Soapy for uselessly lurking around. Also, he is imprisoned for three months on Blackwell’s Island.
When he gets inspired by the anthem and decides to say goodbye to his loitering life and enter a professional world to chase the American dream, he is caught up in a hopeless situation. Throughout the tale, Soapy yearns for prison but he fails. However, his desire is fulfilled when he does not want it anymore, adding to the irony of the situation making it an undesired tragedy.
Background of the Story
Henry, an American author, wrote the short story “The Cop and the Anthem” in December 1904. It is one of the notable works of O. Henry. The publication of the story first appeared in the weekly edition of New York World. For the second time, it got its place in O. Henry’s collection The Four Million. It has also been developed as a short film “Trying to Get Arrested” also.
The Cop and the Anthem has several signature features of O. Henry’s trend of writing. For example, the story is set in New York. It ends ironically. Also, there is an empathetic feeling towards the mental state of a lower-class person. The importance of the story can be known from the fact that it is still a part of several academic courses. It is also translated in certain languages like Spanish, Japanese, and French.
The story flashes an unusual situation that makes it unique. For instance, the protagonist, Soapy wishes to be in prison. He roams in New York streets and tries hard to get himself into jail. It is because prison is the only comfortable place in the world for him. Likewise, Soapy desperately wishes to go to prison because he fears the treading winter. He is a homeless man and seeks shelter in such a dreadful place that is a nightmare for others.
Historical Context
The Cop and the Anthem signifies the trend of O. Henry’s series of New York stories. It was set in 1901. The early 20th-century saw a sea of immigrants in the United States. Most of the immigrants came from Europe. The people of contemporary life were aware of the pursuit for economic gains. Therefore, to participate in the race of the American dream, many people shifted to developed countries.
In New York City, the number of immigrants stroked a 9 million height. This created a lack of jobs and basic facilities needed for modern life. For instance, people were homeless and were forced to live in the streets in a miserable state. O. Henry would roam in the streets of New York to get inspiration for writing about ordinary life.
He has witnessed an extremely helpless state of living. Therefore, in his stories, O. Henry prefers the lower-part of social life. His character Soapy in “The Cop and the Anthem” is one such street character. He also entitled his second collection of stories The Four Million after seeing those people’s lives.
Themes
Class Conflict
In the 19-20th century, English society was very much embedded in the class struggle. Most of the works of different literary writers include the major theme of class difference. For instance, in “The Cop and the Anthem” the main character is a homeless loitering man. In his efforts to get into prison, he switches through different statuses. He is confused about his position in society. Therefore, whenever Soapy tries to pretend to be elite, he is thrown out.
Similarly, when he becomes a penniless beggar and eats for free, he is also thrown out. When he disguises as a woman chaser, he considers this deed below his status. Even then, he fails in identifying a prostitute and gets trapped in his trick. At the end, when Soapy finally resolves to earn a good name, he is rejected as a good citizen and is thrown in prison for his lurking around like a vagabond.
Another flaw in the class difference that O. Henry identifies is that class indicators are flawed. It is impossible to identify a character belonging to a certain class from his/her appearances. For example, in “The Cop and the Anthem”, Soapy is well-dressed and well-spoken. He considers himself a regarded person. On the contrary, he is a homeless poor man.
Likewise, he is confused for a well-to-do person by the restaurant staff first but after seeing his “telltale trousers”, they get him out. Also, the low-class restaurant considers him a bill-paying client. The police also identified him as a person who cannot commit any crime. When the cop encounters him after breaking the shop window, he does not think of him as a criminal. Similarly, when Soapy yells at the officer, he perceives Soapy as a football player and a “Yale lad”.
Though, Soapy considers himself as a dignified person and pretends to be one. He fails to identify those who appear well-dressed but are not. For instance, he becomes a “masher” and flirts with a lady thinking her to be a privileged lady. However, the lady turns out to be a street lady. She also confuses him for a customer. On another occasion, he snatches a silk umbrella from an elite looking person. He turns out to be an umbrella thief, ironically. Likewise, the man also thinks of Soapy as a high-class man. O. Henry depicts appearance as flawed in recognizing the status of a person.
The language soapy uses also recognize him as an elevated person. He sometimes uses smart and lavish language like “eleemosynary”. On the other hand, the prestigious and well-mannered characters speak flawed dialogues. For example, a waiter says to him “No cop for youse”. Also, a police officer utters “Lave them be”.
Power
Authority exists in powerful hands. In the story “The Cop and the Anthem”, the powerful class of society identifies social roles for others. For example, when Soapy enters the restaurant, he is kicked out because he does not fit in their definition of good citizens. Likewise, when he commits the crime of damaging another person’s property, he is proved innocent by the police. Also, as Soapy shouts at the police officer, he does not want to consider him a culprit. Therefore, he thinks of him as a young college guy celebrating his success in a recent match.
At the beginning of the story, Soapy’s state is contrasted with the luxuries of the elites. As the upper-class New Yorkers visit huge resorts, people like Soapy choose Blackwell’s Island. Likewise, O. Henry represents the contrast between a fancier restaurant and a low rated one. In the notable restaurant, he is silently conveyed outside to maintain their civility and status in front of the city. On the other hand, the waiters of the small restaurant kick him out.
In Soapy’s abusive encounter with the police, they leave him without taking any action against him. They misidentify him as a “Yale lad” and a football player. The police had orders from the powerful sect not to disturb the upper-class Ivy League students. Therefore, despite his misconduct, he is not arrested. This shows how power influences the lives of people. Every society has a differential nature of treatment for the influential and the poor class.
The American Dream
Just like early 20th-century pursuit of the American dream by a mass population of poor people, Soapy also looks for his freedom. For instance, he is a wandering man who has no money and no place to live in. For other people, American dream is to find economic success. Contrastively, Soapy’s pursuit is finding shelter for the upcoming winter.
The American dream that the world knows is the one with greater opportunities and freedom for people. O. Henry portrays the American dream in which there is partial democracy. Even if some people show determination and passion for a better life, only certain selective people achieve it. There are limited opportunities for common people. The American dream preaches equal chances of living for all but does not guarantee equality. The story focuses on such hypocrisy of society.
The prior dream for Soapy is to stay alive. For this, he tries to get himself imprisoned. This goes against the idea of liberty. It is not like Soapy does not want liberal life, like the geese, in the beginning, present his idea of freedom. However, just like the birds migrate, Soapy must find himself another shelter for the winter. This shows that life without opportunities does not mean freedom at all. The poor people have no freedom except for a painful existence. Their freedom is subjected to the mercy of upper-class powerful people.
The one thing that makes Soapy different is his endless efforts to get to his goal. Although what he does is illegal, if we look at his high esteem, it makes him a committed character. To explain, his deeds do not include in American dream, however, his efforts reflect him as an eager citizen. In the end, he resolves to contribute to the welfare of society. He tries to take control of his life, but the dream is out of reach of ordinary people.
Home and Intimacy
As in the US in the 1900s, many immigrants came to have future prospects; most of them were jobless and homeless. This created a sense of restlessness in the stories of literature. The main problem in “The Cop and the Anthem” begins when home becomes the need for Soapy. He is in search of a shared intimacy with other human beings.
As Soapy warns other fellows in Madison Park about the upcoming winter, he shares a certain communication with them. Moreover, in his attempts to get arrested, Soapy tries to maintain communication with the community. For example, his first attempts are in two restaurants, places where there are people in groups. Likewise, the prostitute wishes to have a beer with him. She is of similar status to Soapy and yearns for intimate relations.
When he hears the organist’s anthem, he develops a sense of communion with New York. For instance, he resolves to work hard positively and find a home within his surroundings. For the first time, he realizes the reality of being at home with his true hard work. Ironically, at the same time, he is stripped off from his dream by a cop’s “hand laid on his arm”. When he longs for prison as a home, he fails to get it. As he redefines what a home truly is, he loses it.
Freedom
The unusual meaning of freedom for Soapy in “The Cop and the Anthem” is imprisonment. He is free to live but he does not value freedom without prospects. He prefers the “comforts” of jail for the arriving winter. Nonetheless, he knows that he will be taken by an institute where homeless people live. However, he is not willing to sacrifice his privacy because they ask unnecessary questions. On the contrary, in prison, one is given good food, bed, warmth and private life.
For Soapy, interfering in his private life is imprisonment, while he finds freedom in prison. Later, he changes his heart after many failed attempts at getting imprisoned. He reminds himself of all the lost opportunities and his family life. Therefore, he decides to regain a good status by working for the betterment of his life. He realizes that real freedom exists in one’s hard work. Also, he is a prisoner of his own psyche. Ironically, he gets arrested when his values of life change. This tragic end may develop a higher determinism in him to get freedom from the actual imprisonment.
Order and Disorder
The story creates a contrast between order and disorder through comparison between worldly order and a disordered individual. For example, New York is depicted as an orderly area with fixed rules and regulations. The police cops are witnesses of every scene in which Soapy is involved. Also, the restaurants run according to their rules.
On the contrary, Soapy, the main character, is an example of anti-order. When everyone enjoys their freedom and fears of imprisonment, Soapy is desperate to get arrested. He wants to have jail as his hotel to stay in winter. He creates disorder in society by making his flawed plans. His mismatched trousers, breaking the shop window, being thrown out of the restaurant, and raving in the street show his disorderly nature.
In the end, when he alters his negative plans to good ones and decides to live freely, he is arrested.
Goals and Dreams
Goals play a crucial part in determining and shaping the lifestyle of a person. It is the future target that keeps a person focused and determined. However, the goals must be positive to yield a prosperous ending. For example, Soapy has only one goal of going to prison for the winter. He annoys people and damages their property to get arrested.
When Soapy sees a new way of life, his previous efforts seem useless and empty to him. He realizes his past chances and begins rethinking and redefining his goals. Furthermore, if he is serious about changing his life in every possible way, he can plan it further in his three months of imprisonment.
Characters
Soapy
Soapy is the protagonist of the story “The Cop and the Anthem”. He is the only named character in the story. Soapy is first pictured as a homeless street man sitting on Madison Park bench. However, winter is near and he needs a home where he can spend his winter. Otherwise, he may die out of the cold.
Henry develops sympathy of the readers for Soapy because he is a character with high values. As his actions do not reflect positively on his personality, but his ultimate goal is to get a dignified living. For example, certain charity institutions keep homeless people too. On the contrary, Soapy chooses jail because like those institutions prison will not invade his privacy.
Soapy’s only desire is to get food, warmth, and a bed for the winter. To explain, O. Henry does not want to portray a criminal, prison loving vagabond. His purpose is to depict the life of homeless wanderers who even accept getting arrested to survive. However, the outside world is too blind to provide them the essential necessities of life.
He is portrayed as a man of character despite his misdeeds. For example, Soapy’s appearance may confuse him for an upper-class dandy. His decent coat, hat, and tie describe his expensive taste and his dressing sense. Also, Soapy’s language is that of an educated well-to-do man. When a police officer encounters him after breaking the shop window, he does not believe that Soapy can be the culprit. Though Soapy admits his crime, his character does not let anyone accept his present reality.
To elaborate, Soapy’s present life represents him as a wanderer who has no place to live. In the beginning, his life is introduced as an immigrant and is compared to geese that go to warmer parts of the continent in summer. Soapy also spends his summer on the Madison Park bench. His winters are in Blackwell’s Island prison for the past few years. He devotes his life to the fundamental necessities crucial for existence.
However, his past life presents Soapy as a respected and productive man. As he hears the anthem in the Church, he remembers his past life. We come to know that in his past, he had a family, mother, friends, a good job, and many opportunities. His revelation of the past also presents his strong value system. For instance, Soapy holds great regard for family, friends, and religion.
His present is drastically different from his past life. There is no clue about what happened that changed him extremely. However, his present is miserable. Despite that, he does not intend to harm anyone. His only need is getting food and shelter, but the story shapes in a nightmarish shade. The harshness comes from the helplessness to fulfill his needs and he tries on every kind of activity to get it done.
In the beginning, the impression that we get is that Soapy is not serious about what is going on in his life. He is playful and lighthearted. On the contrary, towards the end, he becomes a more serious and committed human being after encountering the church anthem. He is empowered by the familiar tone of the anthem and resolves to amend his life.
Soapy’s future can be predicted from his ending lines that say that “he would make a man of himself again”. It means that his present is not of the standard he wants it to be. Also, saying that he would regain his “old eager ambitions” presents his “old” life. He was a man of dignity and value. Therefore, being reminded of the good past, Soapy resolves to make his future bright and positive also.
It seems that Soapy had certain dreams in his past life. He might have begun his journey to pursue them in the American dream but due to joblessness, he got stuck in Madison Park. Now Soapy is passionate about his future. However, he is arrested by the sixth police officer in the story in the end. For Soapy, it does not seem to be an end to his eagerness. It is because O. Henry also spent five most creative years of his life in prison. There he wrote several stories and got the inspiration for his further work. Therefore, his character, Soapy may also come out to be a creative and talented member of the society.
Police Cops
Throughout the story, Soapy encounters six police officers as a collective antagonist against him. They are the social defenders of New York City. Soapy’s main encounters always have the police involved. Though, they are not portrayed as specifically good or bad. They are neutral members of the society trying to carry out their duties honestly.
In the story, from the beginning till the end, the police misrecognize Soapy for his deeds. They consider him a well-regarded person or a college student rather than a culprit that Soapy intends to prove. He does it to get a bed in Blackwell’s Island prison. However, the policemen do not take him “even as a clue”. Contrastively, in the end, the cop arrests him when Soapy determines to be a good man.
When he earnestly changes his goals and dreams, the police fail to identify his character. This suggests that it is the police who recognize a person as guilty or not. Soapy is invisible to the cops when they do not think of him as a criminal and becomes a violator when they look at him as such.
The Waiters
The waiters are nameless characters just like the police. Although they are less powerful characters, they also block Soapy’s way to prison. They do not call police on his misconduct but throw him out themselves. They refuse to recognize him as a criminal and doom him to live in freedom.
The waiters also signify food, a basic necessity, which is out of reach for Soapy mostly. The encounter in both restaurants also suggests that Soapy-like people are abundant in society. They come for free food and the hotel management faces such instances.
The Woman
The prostitute is the only character that provides a striking resemblance to the protagonist. She has a similar social status. However, Soapy misunderstands her for a respected lady. Like other characters, she also fails Soapy’s plan to get arrested by the police. It is because when he harasses her, she doesn’t mind it. Instead, she is pleased and demands beer in return for her intimacy towards him.
The Umbrella Thief
Soapy enters a cigar shop and sees a well-dressed man with a silk umbrella. He snatches it saying that it is Soapy’s. The man is at first irritant and defensive. However, after seeing the cop outside, he slowly reveals to Soapy that he is himself an umbrella thief. Therefore, he becomes another obstacle to Soapy’s goal.
The Organist
The organist is a minor but vital character in the story. It is the organist who plays his enchanting anthem that changes Soapy’s mind. Consequently, he decides to leave his miserable life and live in the same old better way. The Organist is responsible for Soapy’s epiphany.
The Judge
The judge is also another indirect character who sentences Soapy to three months in jail. This is Soapy’s dream throughout the story. At the instant he changes his mind, he is sentenced to jail. This makes the judge as Soapy’s antagonist also because he fails Soapy in life once more.
Literary Analysis
“The Cop and the Anthem” is a humorous story in a well-constructed structure. It is sequenced chronologically with the protagonist as the main focus of the story. It develops the attention of the readers at every new plan of Soapy because the events always turn against his wishes. This creates a mocking experience for the protagonist.
Soapy tries hard to get arrested. However, when he hears the anthem of the organist, his thoughts instantly change and he feels a positive power. This epiphany happens in the climax. At the same time, he gets arrested and his desire to get a better life remains unfulfilled. The writer also uses flashbacks to give a sneak-peek into Soapy’s past life.
Henry uses the realistic setting of New York City to give a strong context to the story. For example, the life of Soapy corresponds to the lives of many such homeless people and their problems. It helps in developing a realistic portrait of the social setting of the time. This setting describes the communication gap between the rich and poor classes.
Also through third-person omniscient narration, the narrator gives an insight into the psychological perspectives of Soapy’s personality. For instance, there is a conflict between his internal world and outer reality. He is a disorder in the seemingly ordered social setting. Furthermore, a detailed analysis is given below.
Plot Analysis
Exposition
The story begins when Soapy is sitting on a bench in Madison Square Park in New York. A dead leaf falls on his shoulder and chilly winter blows. He realizes that winter is coming and he has to find himself a shelter. Otherwise, he may cease to survive.
Rising Action
Soapy is homeless and has to be at “home” in winter. The winters in New York City are harsh; therefore, Soapy has to do something for himself. He plans to get arrested by police and stay in jail during winter. There, he will be fed, clothed, kept warm. Most importantly, he will have a roof over his head. He is doing this for the last few winters.
Complication
To reach the prison, Soapy does everything that a criminal does. For instance, he breaks a window, eats a free meal from a restaurant, harasses a woman, steals a silk umbrella, and behaves like a drunkard by calling the cops names. However, all of his plans are rejected and they do not help him get arrested.
Climax
When Soapy passes through a church to go to his bench again, he hears the voice of an organist. The organist is playing an anthem. When Soapy listens to it, his mind completely changes. He feels a strange power and passion to change himself into a good man. Subsequently, he decides to begin a new hardworking life from the next day.
Falling Action
When finally Soapy decides to earn his food and home through fair means, he is arrested. Soapy is taken into custody when he does not want to be locked up. Interestingly, he is arrested for doing nothing but loitering in the streets. In a sense, he is doomed for his homelessness.
Conclusion
The judge sentences him for three months of imprisonment. Ironically, Soapy’s former wish to stay in prison in winter is fulfilled; however, he does not want it anymore. This shows that society is not for homeless common people, it is the life of the powerful sect.
Title
In the title “The Cop and the Anthem”, cop refers to the sixth police officer who finally arrests Soapy against his will to go to prison. The “anthem” refers to the epiphany that happens in the end due to the anthem of the organist. It alters Soapy’s mind to become a good person and live in freedom but the cop takes him away.
The anthem is significant because at this point we come to know about Soapy’s past life. He had seen good days and good jobs. He was also a regular church attendant. However, it seems from his thoughts that he was thrown into this world due to his wrong choices or maybe he just “tumbled” here.
However, the anthem awakes that hidden drive in him. He takes responsibility for changing his life into his previous better days. The anthem incorporates the power to change his thoughts. It realizes Soapy that he can do much better in life than he is now.
On the other hand, the sixth cop arrives at the moment and shackles him. He becomes an obstacle in Soapy’s dream to become a good man. However, he is still a homeless person and is arrested for his lurking around. His homelessness becomes a crime for him when he decides to work for it. To explain, the cop is a hurdle in Soapy’s new goals and dreams. He has to overcome him to reach to his new world.
Setting
The setting is New York City in the 1900s where O. Henry lived. O. Henry’s many works include New York City as its fundamental feature. O. Henry presents a realistic depiction of the city and its people in contemporary times.
The protagonist, Soapy sits on a bench in Madison Square Park as the story begins. The frosty air foreshadows the approaching winter. Therefore, Soapy has to leave the place and move somewhere else. He roams around various streets in New York and mistreats different people to get a bed in prison.
Despite O. Henry’s realistic description, he is not exact in his location. For instance, he does not name the restaurant where Soapy goes. Similarly, there is no information about the shop window that he breaks. It can be any shop in New York. This shows O. Henry’s attempt to add vagueness to his descriptions so that one can think of them to be happening anywhere.
However, he names Madison Square Park that is located in New York on the junction of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. It is a lavish place with shopping centers, high-class restaurants, and entertainment areas. To evaluate, Soapy’s life is in contrast to all these pleasures of life. However, he is not motivated by this materialistic life and looks for survival in a quiet place.
After the populated streets and shops, when Soapy passes through a Church, he encounters life in real sense. His perspective of life instantly changes. For instance, he finally gets the idea of his further action and realizes that he is more attracted to calmness, nature, music, and religion. He is not motivated by the hustle-bustle of a busy life. This change in place changes Soapy’s mood and perspective also.
Writing Style
Henry is a remarkable writer in English short story writing. Most of his stories are short and captivating. He is famous for his “twist endings”. For example, in O. Henry’s stories, the situation often reverses or something unusual happens that changes the whole setup.
He creates the story “The Cop and the Anthem” in a playful and comic composition. For instance, when the narrator praises Soapy’s confidence in him, he makes the language humorous. “Soapy had confidence in himself from the lowest button of his vest upward” the narrator says. However, this is not ironic. It is true of Soapy because he wears frayed trousers below his fancy coat. Also, O. Henry does not want the readers to feel sad for him. He makes the story light and comic.
At the beginning of the story, the style is a bit fanciful in the description of the upcoming winter. The writer calls the dead leaf “Jack Frost’s card”. We can see the embellished introduction of winter as if some officer is coming to warn the people to leave Madison Park.
Similarly, at the end, when Soapy listens to the anthem in the church, his emotions are touched. There, the style shifts to melodious and motivational. He rejects his plans of getting into jail and thinks of a productive life. The writing style becomes musical and aspiring that captivates Soapy’s mind.
Tone
Most of O. Henry’s works have a certain level of empathy with the readers. He wrote for the lower lot of people, therefore, there is a connection between the people and his characters. O. Henry creates his character Soapy in “The Cop and the Anthem” keeping in mind the lives of street people in New York City and the rest of the world.
Henry would roam in the streets and would listen to the conversations and discussions of common people. This gave him great inspiration for writing his short stories. He could feel the situation of those people. Therefore, his works have an empathetic tone.
Likewise, the tone is sympathetic and accepting for Soapy. For instance, Soapy does not want extravagant expenses or lots of money or food. His only desire is his survival, that is everyone’s right. O. Henry in his life was always sympathetic towards poor people and would help people like Soapy. That is why he portrays him as a self-respecting and dignified person.
Genre
The short stories of O. Henry are, in fact, in themselves a genre. His stories are mostly located in New York with unusual endings. The “The Cop and the Anthem” represents the adventurous one night of an interesting character, Soapy. His only goal is to get a room in jail for winter. In his adventures, Soapy plans to annoy the citizens to become eligible for prison. For instance, he crashes a shop window with a stone. He also tries to embarrass a woman and abuses a police officer.
Likewise, the story can be traced from the viewpoint of realism. O. Henry presents a realistic picture of early 20th-century English society. In New York, there was a sea of immigrants facing homelessness and miseries. Similarly, the streets, the park, the city, and the prison are also named realistically. This presents O. Henry’s serious approach to the issues of common people in contemporary society.
Point of View
The story “The Cop and the Anthem” uses third-person omniscient narration to convey its message. In this story, only one character is the main focus. All the other characters are in groups or are unimportant. Furthermore, the story is presented from Soapy’s point of view. He is given importance and the narrator has access to his psyche. The other people also react to his advances; however, these reactions are presented from Soapy’s perspective.
As Soapy is a character who likes to keep his privacy intact, the narrator also gives limited information regarding him. For example, little is known about his past or future life. We do not know how he fell in this dreadful life.
However, the information and description of the city and its places and events are realistic. This develops a sense of connection between the narrator and the readers.
Symbols
The Anthem
The anthem in “The Cop and the Anthem” serves as a moment of epiphany for Soapy. O. Henry particularly relates Soapy’s mind changing scene with religion because the anthem is played in a Church. Apparently, the story does not seem to keep religious mannerisms into account. However, the significant moment of realization and hope comes out of Soapy’s regard for the anthem.
The song disturbs a revolutionary man inside a homeless wanderer. He feels a new strength to do something extraordinary to make his wretched life better. He is resolute to “pull himself out of the mire” and become a new man. He reminds himself that he still has time. He can make the best out of it by going to New York’s downtown district to find work and “make a man of himself again”.
The anthem also symbolizes the American dream that motivates everyone to take their part in getting a better economic status in the world. It appears to signify the struggles for a compatible economic standing in society. Despite his motivation, Soapy stays outside the church away from the anthem. This depicts his status as a lower member of American society who does not have any right to be one among the aspirants of the American dream.
As Soapy is so inspired by the anthem, he decides to live in freedom with money and home. However, the dream is just an illusion for people like him. He, in a sense, does not deserve a better life and gets arrested to be kept away from the race of elites.
The Umbrella
The silk umbrella that Soapy steals symbolizes the idea of appearances discussed in the themes section. For instance, it signifies the dodging nature of appearances. To explain, the owner from whom Soapy steals the umbrella is a thief. Interestingly, Soapy considers him a good person because he wears fine clothes. According to Soapy, he is “well-dressed”. Therefore, O. Henry tries to warn the readers of the deceptive nature of appearances and disguises of the people.
There is no truth in exterior makeup. The markers of status are always flawed. Throughout the course of the story, the characters are confused in appearances. For example, one cop considers Soapy as an innocent person, the other thinks of him as “Yale lad”. Similarly, Soapy also misidentifies a prostitute.
Likewise, the umbrella is also a symbol of misleading appearances. For example, the man in the cigar shop has the umbrella, Soapy considers him a wealthy man. When Soapy gets the umbrella, the perspective changes and the man thinks Soapy is the wealthy owner of the thing. Therefore, there is no inherent value of an object; the owner’s status is reflected in the object.
The Damaged Window
The act of breaking the window of a local shop is the first damaging thing Soapy does to reach his means. This act can symbolize Soapy’s disinterest in and his disregard for the material world. He does not care about a tangible thing and openly admits its destruction.
Supposedly, it also signifies his tilt towards religion. It is because when he passes by a church, he stops there and just an ordinary anthem changes his perspective. However, living in a populated area for much time does not affect his mind. It fails to make him materialistic.
Irony as a Device
If we analyze the story, the whole concept is portrayed ironically. To explain, the irony is a situation in which the entirely opposite happens to the intended result. The ironic instances make “The Cop and the Anthem” amusing and adventurous. Every plan that Soapy makes end in a different and amusing result.
As he breaks a window, he expects to be sent to jail; however, the cop ignores him completely. Likewise, he eats from a cheaper restaurant despite his high thoughts about himself, this is in itself ironic. Furthermore, instead of calling the police, the waiters get him out themselves. Similarly, the situation gets ironic when Soapy becomes a masher and flirts with a lady considering her an upper-class woman. However, she turns out to be a whore.
The tragic irony happens with him when he decides to leave his misdeeds and become a good citizen. He wants to earn a home in this free environment. At the same time, he is arrested and is sentenced to 3 months of imprisonment. The story plays tricks with Soapy and shows how his every action is turned down by others. Even his wish is fulfilled when he does not want it anymore.
