Book Review of The Cop and the

This term I have read O.Henry’s novel The Cop and the Anthem. It’s a wonderful novel, but it’s also very sad. There is no one hurt or dead, but everyone reads it would feel sorry for the hero Soapy and the time.

Soapy is a homeless man. The winter is coming. He has on house to live in or clothes to keep out the cold. Every winter before, he would do something illegal on purpose to let the policeman arrest him to the prison on an island, there he is the guest of law, he has warm clothes food and room. Then when the winter is gone he will come back to the city. This year he wants to use the same method to get through the terrible winter. But why he doesn’t to go to a charity? Because every time he goes to the charity he has tell them everything about himself to prove that he is a good man. So he thinks it’s better to be the guest of law than charity. Then he begins to carry out his plan. He goes into a restaurant thinking that he could enjoy a meal without money, however at the time he goes it the waiter gets him out. Then he tried another restaurant and this time he eat a meal successfully but when he says he has no money to the waiter, the waiter doesn’t call the police, he gets him out too. Then he breaks a store’s show window. He walks to a policeman and tell him that he broke it, but the police doesn’t believe him and goes to catch another man. Soapy is very upset, suddenly he get another idea. He walk to a woman straightly. Then he does what he thinks is terrible enough. He molests the woman, but the frivolous woman accept him. He runs away. Then he tries to steal a man’s umbrella but he fails again. Then, he abandons finally. Listening the anthem from the church, he changes his mind, he decides to get through the winter on himself. He wants to find a job. But at that time a police puts his hand on Soapy’s shoulder and arrests him without reasons.

It’s a novel with black humor. It reflects the society in 19th century. The society was black that homeless man had to go to prison on purpose to get through the winter and police didn’t arrest people did illegal things but arrest a young with a dream to live on himself. It’s very sad to say that evil can’t be punished but kind people be wronged. O.Henry wrote a society with disease, the society makes readers uncomfortable but he wrote in humorous language so that we can nose the smell from that time. When people can’t distinguish kindness and evilness, the society need to make a change. The western world has many problems in the past and nowadays, but it is changing all the time. We should study this point from western world, keep the country stable but keep changing at the same time, only in this way Chinese people could have better life.

2016-01-11

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