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Tuesday, September 17, 2013
O. Henry
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. To read more about O. Henry, check out this Wikipedia Page.
Please share your thoughts...
Please share your thoughts...
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I predicted that at the end he will tell them about his past. Also that his fiancé will be a bit furious about it and will. Get over it because she and her family are convinced that he is a different person now. I think they will think that if he wanted to steal the money from their bank that he had a million chances to, but he didn't. I also think that Ralph is a much different guy than Jimmy, because in the story, it says that Ralph wouldn't touch another man's money, but we know Jimmy would. During the ending of the story, I had a mental image of Ralph/ Jimmy opening the safe then Annabel's daughter being free.
ReplyDeleteLeah Smighelschi
( I didn't mean to write a period between will and get in the second line. Also, I meant to say Annabel's sisters daughter. Sorry!)
DeleteIn the future, make sure you proofread before you post. Make sure your facts are correct also. For instance, Annabel's daughter is NOT in the safe. Annabel does not have any children.
DeleteI think O Henry is a great writer and makes great open endings which I like because it allows you to imagine your own. At the end of the safecracker I think His wife will accept him for who he is and they will have a great big family and they will live happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteCharles Rivituso
O. Henry is a great writer, but what specifically about the beginning of "The Safecracker" did you enjoy? Have you read other stories by O. Henry or are you making this judgment stictly from this one story? Also, Annabel and Jimmy/Ralph are not married at the end of the story, so she would not be his wife.
DeleteWhat from the story makes you think that they will live happily ever after?
I believe O' Henry's style of writing is clever in many ways. Primarily, he uses Jimmy's last name, Valentine, to foreshadow the love that assists him in amending his life as a hard worker instead of a criminal. Mr. O' Henry also gives an important theme of being honest. For example, Jimmy was a criminal, but his determination, hard work, and honesty brought him the love of his life and let him escape his years of crime. O' Henry's skillful way of writing is entertaining to me, as a reader.
ReplyDelete~Sharmi Shah
I agree that O Henry's style of writing leaves you at the edge of your seat, waiting to see what will happen next. At the end of the Safecracker, Jimmy is brought back to his memories of cracking open safes. However, this time was different because he had a different purpose. I felt that the red rose that Annabel gave back to Ralph symbolizes the old Jimmy. I predict that Annabel will be a little angry at first because he didn't tell her his real identity. But then maybe she will realize that he did it for the best. ~Julie Fakeh
Delete(I meant that the rose symbolizes the new Jimmy.)
ReplyDelete~Julie Fakeh
I love O` Henrys writing style. It's very clever. For example in the Safecracker Jimmy's last name is Valentine, and in the story Jimmy falls in love with a girl, so it is very ironic O` Henry did that. I also loved his writing because in the beginning of the story Jimmy uses his skills for money and not for the greater good, but towards the end Jimmy faces a challenge between his skills. He eithers uses his skills to help an be honest about it, or he can just say he knows not how to get the little girl out, so know one will know that he knows those skills and hate him. But what was shocking is that Jimmy used his skills for good, even though everyone would be angry with him. Jimmy uses his skills for a purpose, not a bad one, but good. I thought it was very creative how the author did that. Jimmy changed into Ralph all because he fell in love with Annabel, Jimmy gave up everything for love and that's why Jimmy's different at the end of the story. O` Henrys writing is very interesting and clever and that's why I love it! Also in reply to Julie's comment I think Jimmy asked for rose as something to remember Annabel by if she doesn't want to be with him anymore.
ReplyDelete-Isabella Bobrowsky :)
"The Safecracker" is how we write the title of the short story here.
DeleteWhat is ironic about Jimmy's last name and him falling in love? You should be more specific about this observation by explaining what you mean?
o. Henry is the author.
I agree with your observation about the rose. It's a symbol of love and perhaps a momento to keep because he thinks he will never see her again.
I think that O Henry's writing style is simply amazing. He has a way to leave people hanging at the end of a dramatic moment. my favorite part is when the girls get stuck in the vault because when jimmy saves the girls, it shows who he really is. Jimmy proved to himself that he could do good by being him, and doing what he is good at. I predict that his wife will be shock for while because his husband has been a shoe maker named Ralph D. Spencer. And all of a sudden you see the same person, but with a new motive. But after a short while, I think that Jimmy and Annabel will live happily.
ReplyDeletePlease proofread your posts to avoid mistakes. Are you basing your judgement about O. Henry's writing style on just "The Safecracker" or did you read other stories by him to compare?
DeleteAnnabel is not Ralph's wife at the end of the story.
Who is the same person with new motive?
What makes you think Jimmy and Annabel will live happily?
I think the way that O Henry writes his short stories is really good. I love how he made Jimmy change into a new and honest person named Ralph.I didn't like his endings very much because they left us with many questions.One of the questions I had was,"what would happen if Annabel found out the truth about Jimmy?" If I were Annabel i would have needed time to think about this wedding and how he changed into a honest men. I would also need to think about how he saved the two girls because they were locked in the vault. Also, someone from my group asked a question saying "what do you think the family thinks about Ralph now because of the tools he has in his suitcase?" I thought that the family would be surprised that he knows how to open a vault,but happy that he saved the two girls. I think that the family should mostly pay attention to the part where he used his bad skills to do something good for someone. I think later on in the story Annabel and Jimmy will live happily ever after.
ReplyDelete~Alisha Bhalla :)
BE more specific about what in O. Henry's short stories is "really good". You contradict yourself when you talk about his ending by saying you do not like them and you refer to them as "endings". Does this mean you read more than one of his stories.
DeleteBe more specific when you say "bad skills" and make sure you proofread. There are several mistakes and a few awkward sentences.
man not men sorry (Alisha Bhalla)
ReplyDeleteIn the future, don't add a completely new post to explain something you did wrong. Delete the orginial post and fix your mistakes.
DeleteOverall, I would give the excerpt of The Safecracker mixed reviews. I thought it was amusing how the author named the protagonist Jimmy Valentine. The last name really caught on after we had read about Annabel Adams. I did not like this story because I didn’t feel a connection with Jimmy. For example, when he first looked at Annabel, it had said, “Jimmy Valentine looked into her eyes and became another man. She blushed.” I did not feel any emotions of connections with Jimmy during this time, and thought that this was a vital part of the story. I also thought that the theme was well written. Considering that the theme is honesty and moving on from your past, it relates to people now. It might have been the excerpt or the actual story itself, though I thought of The Safecracker was a mediocre story.
ReplyDelete-D. Gad
You didn't feel an "emotional connection to Jimmy" and you're correct in saying it's vital to the story because this is his whole reason for changing.
DeleteI would like to read more about how the themes relate to people today. It would be great if you added a specific example.
I liked O. Henry writing style,I thought it was very clever for various reasons.One reason I liked O. Henry writing style was because Jimmy's last name was Valentine, and when you think Valentine's Day you think love.During the story Jimmy falls in love with Annabel Adams and their engaged to be married .But, right before the story ends there's a twist!Jimmy has to come back to save the little girl locked in the safe.The ending left me with a few questions, How did Annabel respond to Jimmy's actions? Was the wedding off? What would happen to Jimmy? The only thing I didn't like about the passage was the ending because it left me wondering about what would happen next.
ReplyDelete-Olivia Pirog
O. Henry's...
DeleteNever give away the ending.
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ReplyDeleteIn "The Safecracker," by O. Henry, a "fighter" becomes a "lover." Jimmy Valentine, a crook, finally gets out of jail after prying open multiple vaults and safes. He finds a girl who he eventually falls in love with. Jimmy gives up his entire to become Ralph, his false identity, so that people won't recognize him as a crook, for this girl Annabel.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic that Jimmy's last name is Valentine, a symbol of love, when he is a crook. This vaguely foreshadows that Kuilly wil fall in love. There are a lot of components used to tell this story. It takes a lot of critical thinking to think of a story so complicated and detailed.
I think it was a big risk for Jimmy to save Agatha. Yes, it ws the correct thing to do, for, you should always scarafice your life for a child in need. Jimmy lied to Annabel in many different ways. Jimmy called himself Ralph and recreated his life for her, and lied about what he kept in his special suitcase. Both these lies were discovered, making it possible that Jimmy's fututre with Annabel could be ruined.
Jaden Riveles
Go into more detail about the irony of Jimmy's last name being Valentine and be more specific about the "components used to tell this story."
DeleteWhy should an adult sacrafice him/herself for a child?
When I looked up O'Henrey up on wiki I was surpriesd to find out that O'Henry himself had been in jail. I thought it was clever of him to bring and experince he had in life and write a fictional story about a man in a similar state. O'Henery was put into jail on accout of embezzlement toward The First National Bank of Austin. After his father-in-law posted bail he fled to New Orleans just like Jimmy Valentine fled to Arkansas. i Also found it intresting that he got his pen name from a list of names in a news paper, i guess "O'Henry" really stuck!
ReplyDelete~ Maria Brock :)
Make sure you proofread.
DeleteI did enjoy the story "The Safecracker". I couldn't imagine what Annabel had to say about the sudden moment he unlocked the safe. I mean, would you expect the "honest and wonderful man" you were about to marry any day to just unlock a safe before your own eyes. I wonder what Annabel had to say about it. I hope she's understanding. I think she might of calmed down when she saw the two little girls mother grasp them and how petrified their faces were. After all, he did just save two young lives. It was all occuring so fast, so I think he would have to explain to Annabel what he used to be and who he used to be, and that he is Jimmy Valentine,not Ralph D. Spencer. I do infer that it all worked out well because Jimmy became Jimmy again.
ReplyDelete~Brooke San Giacomo :)
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ReplyDeleteIn William Sydney Porter's short story "The Safe Cracker", the main character Jimmy changed his name and restarted his life as Ralph and got enganged. When a little girl got stuck, Ralph died and turned back into Jimmy to open up the safe that locked in the girl, so she could get out. I can relate to Jimmy in the story because sometimes when I have something I am addicted to and I stop to become a better person, I eventully go back to doing that thing again. Like if I am going annoy my sister and then I relize it was wrong, I would stop. Then later on if she was bothering me, I would go back to annoying her and that's when we have a fight
ReplyDeleteI don't know who this is?
DeleteTo start off, I really enjoyed reading the “Safecracker,” especially because the authors writing style in this piece was splendid. O’ Henry was creative, and the story was well thought out. I found it interesting how Jimmy Valentine’s last name was Valentine. It was ironic because he fell in love. The story started off by explaining this criminal’s life as a safecracker. Although at first things didn’t look too bright, it took a turn for the better. Jimmy became a whole new person with an honest living. It is for these reasons that I truly enjoyed the text, and I look forward to reading more stories written by O’ Henry. I also have a question for all of you! Before reading “A Retrieved Reformation,” how did you believe the story would end? I believed Jimmy’s true identity would be revealed, and that they would forgive him. Please share your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Gianna Fantell
I most definitely enjoyed “The Safecracker" mainly because of how O’Henry was able to creative a way to put very crucial parts to the story in simple objects and have it gives so much meaning. For example, the suitcase that Jimmy owns holds his criminal past that may keep the love of his life from marrying him. This one suitcase bottles up many flaws and a major section of his life, but when he writes the letter to Billy it showed me that Jimmy Valentine is willing to give up everything for love. I also like how O’Henery was able to create plot twist that turned the ending of “The Safecracker” into a tough decision. Jimmy could have stayed as Ralph and continued his new life with Annabel but when Agatha’s daughters are locked in he risks everything by opening his suitcase, taking out his tools and cracking open the vault in front of Annabel showing her he was a criminal. That part left me astonished and intrigued to read further into the actual book.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the story "The Safecracker." It was a really nice story and I mainly loved the ending of "The Safecracker" how ralph asked for Annabel's rose as a symbol of love. That was really romantic! Also the ending was quite unexpected because Ralph had finally ended his crime life and started a brand new one. But then he risked his life to save those two girls, Agatha and May. I think that after reading "The Safecracker" and reading O. Henry's great writing style I am tempted to read more of his short stories.
ReplyDeleteRutu Thakkar
I'm sorry ralph should be Ralph I didn't proofread it properly.
DeleteRutu Thakkar