Story Review of “After Twenty Years”
Have you struggled to choose what you wanted to do? “After Twenty Years” by O Henry (William Sydney Porter) is a short story that explores the theme of friendship, loyalty, time, crime, and justice. Although O Henry didn’t win any awards himself, the popular literary award The O Henry Award, was created to honor his great works.
The short story “After Twenty Years” is about two old childhood friends, Bob and Jimmy, who made a pact to meet again after twenty years. At the arranged meeting time and location, a policeman walks up and asks Bob what he’s doing. Bob explains that he is waiting to meet with an old friend, and the officer leaves. However, soon when a man shows up, claiming to be Jimmy, things take an unexpected turn.
One of the features of the story is O. Henry’s effective use of vivid description, which helps the reader imagine the characters as well as the setting. For example, O. Henry describes Bob as having “a colorless square face with bright eyes, and a little white mark near his right eye” and wearing “a large jewel in his necktie.” This vivid description of Bob wearing a jewel in his necktie helps the reader imagine a person who is well-to-do, implying that Bob has actually been able to succeed in the West. Also, O. Henry helps the readers visualize the setting with his clear and detailed descriptions. For example, O. Henry describes the setting as a “There were few people on the street. It was only about ten at night, but it was cold” and there was a “wind with a little rain in it.” This means that Jimmy and Bob are very determined to meet each other in the very poor place as they want to see how they have been doing in the past twenty years.
The story also has a lot of suspense in it just to keep the readers wondering what will happen next. For example, at one point, Bob says, “Three minutes before ten.” Jimmy is supposed to arrive on time, ten o’clock but he does not, which creates a lot of anxiety for the readers and Bob. The suspense grows more intense as “About twenty minutes he waited.” That seems like a very long time. Bob must have been very determined to see Jimmy. Also, when the officer is about to leave Bob, he says, “If he isn’t here at ten, are you going to leave?” The repeated mention of time adds more suspense as it keeps the readers wondering if Jimmy will show up and if the two will have a reunion.
“After Twenty Years” is a short, but very shocking story. This story should be highly recommended for teenagers and young adults and whoever is interested in surprising ending, vivid descriptions, and plot twists. Across multiple book review sites, “After Twenty Years” by O Henry averages a rating of around 3.9 out of five. From my perspective, the story deserves a 4 out of 5 because of its surprising ending and the message it delivers about justice and friendship.