The Comparison of the plot structures of the stories A Retrieved Reformation by O’Henry and Eveline by J.
Joyce. I would like to compare the two stories: “A Retrieved Reformation” by O’Henry and “Eveline” by James Joyce. I was attracted by the fact that the main characters encountered with a hard moral choice. The first story “A Retrieved Reformation” is about a professional and elusive safecracker Jimmy Valentine. The initiating event of this story was when Jimmy had been released after a 10 months sentence.
So he took the first sweet joys of liberty and returned to the hotel where he had a room.He refreshed himself up and dragged out his dusty-covered “magic” suit-case, which consisted of the finest set of burglar’s tools. It meant that Jimmy was going back to the Monkey business. Later he succeeded in several burglaries in Richmond, Logansport and Jefferson City.
All these thefts became interesting for Ben Price (an efficient detective). He revealed at once that it was Valentine because he was well acquainted with Jimmy’s style. The rising action was when Jimmy went to Elmore where he had intended to commit another robbery. It was an ordinary day and Jimmy was going back to his hotel. Suddenly he saw a young lady. Her name was Anabel Adams.
He looked into her eyes, forgot what he was and became another person.A sudden and alterative attack of love made him change the name and become Ralph D. Spencer and open a shoe-shop. Finally he was flourishing, won respect of the community, got engaged with Anabel. Everything would have been splendid but for the incident in the bank. Anabel’s father was presenting a new safe.
Anabel’s nieces were playing and one accidentally shut the other inside and locked the door. The climax – was the internal struggle between Jimmy Valentine and Ralph D. Spencer. If Jimmy opened his suit-case all of them would reveal his essence.
Eventually he saved the girl and intended to go out. The falling action developed into the small talk between Jimmy and Ben Price who was watching the scene.The resolution concluded with Ben Price’s decision not to recognize Jimmy because the detective realized that he had converted into a good citizen. “Eveline” is the second story which touched me. This story seemed to me rather difficult to judge about the main heroine and to make any conclusions. The exposition of the story began with the acquaintance with a young lady sitting at the window, recalling her childhood and thinking about her present life and future.
The main character Eveline fell in love with a sailor Frank who treated her respectfully and with a great tenderness.With him she intended to leave her “sweet home” and move to Buenos Ayres. But she hesitated. Her father was a brutal man, he had very rarely treated her well.
Her mother and her elder brother died. Before her mother’s death, Eveline had given her a promise to keep the home together as long as she could. The rising action was when she decided to escape; because the young lady wanted to live and she thought she had a right to happiness. The other day Eveline was standing at the station watching the others and praying. “A bell clanged upon her heart.
”She had to go but she got paralyzed – it was the climax. “All the seas of the world trembled about her heart. Frank was drowning her into them: he would drown her.” The story ended by the following resolution: she ran away and when Frank called her, she turned at his voice but “her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.
” He lost her forever. Both these stories impressed me a lot because the main heroes Jimmy and Eveline had made a hard moral choice.Jimmy Valentine had to make a very important decision twice. Firstly, when he met Anabel, he gave up his previous life and turned into Ralph D. Spencer – a prosperous businessman. Secondly, in the bank he had chosen the child’s life instead of his own happiness, reputation and freedom.
Eveline - who had been given a fantastic chance to change her dark boring life into bright and happy one, refused because of sense of duty to her family and a promise which she had given to her mother. It’s my sincere belief that they had made a right choice. I hope that finally Jimmy Valentine would get married with Anabel and Eveline would find her incredible happiness.
