The Cop And The Anthem

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The Cop And The Anthem

O'Henry (1862-1910) William Sydney Porter, an American writer is better known by his pen name O'Henry. He was a voracious reader since childhood. He started a humorous weekly, 'The Rolling Stone' and when the venture failed, he joined the 'Houston Post' as a reporter, columnist and occasional cartoonist. 

The story, 'The Cop and the Anthem' is one of O'Henry's well known stories. To describe his style of writing, people have often used the term smile with tears' which implies his twisted way of thoughts and endings in almost every story. In this story the main character, Soapy, is a vagabond and a person with criminal background. He makes different plans to re-enter the prison as he has no shelter to protect himself from the severe winter. 

The story ends in an unexpected way. O'Henry has depicted Soapy's futile attempts to get arrested in a very humourous vein. 'The Cop and the Anthem' is about freedom and confinement. Initially Soapy feels that there is freedom (from miseries and worries) in confinement (prison). The notes of anthem transform him from within and he resolves to work hard. Soapy faces the irony of fate as the moment he realizes the real freedom lies in a virtuous life, he is taken into confinement. 

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