Essentially, O. Henry attempts to convince the reader that because the social codes of New York City are applied to everyone that enters, and that because most change themselves to suit the society, that New York City is an enemy, filled with sin. The city erases identity in exchange for status, which O. Henry argues, leaves its citizens with a net gain equal to or less than nothing. Jack and William’s experiences in New York City illustrate a teaching on nonconformity. Sometimes, one will be preserved by it, and other times, one’s adamant nonconformity will have a negative impact on one’s life.

In the short story, The Duel, by O. Henry, two characters, Jack and William, travel from the West to New York City to seek opportunity and wealth. After a period of four years, the characters meet up again, and Jack observes how William has undeniably been changed by the city. O. Henry depicts New York as a society filled with evildoing using description from repeated paradoxes, war imagery, and the astuteness of Jack.

William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862—June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings. The best known ones are A Service of Love, The Cop and the Anthem, The Furnished Room, The Gift of the Magi and The Last Leaf, which help him win fame abroad.

O. Henry's stories are gems of their kind; mellow, humorous, ironic, ingenious and shot through with that eminently salable quality known as 'human interest.'" —Bennet Cerf and Van Cartmell