After Twenty Years O Henry Analysis

Did you even think your friend wouldn't change, but they indeed changed in a way that surprised you? Well, throughout the story "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry, the author attempted to convey the message that people will indeed change over time no matter how much one may think they won't, and that greed can majorly affect one's decisions.

Friends can change over time. This is exactly what happened during "After Twenty Years". Bob, the main character, awaits his friend Jimmy at Big Joes Brady restaurant, where they had dined exactly 20 years ago. Both Bob and Jimmy had agreed to meet at this restaurant 20 years after they first dined, as Bob had said that "they figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be", and to meet at the restaurant twenty years later. Bob had gotten to the restaurant a tad bit early, and he was met by a policemen who was patrolling the area. Bob goes on to …show more content…
Jimmy saw what he could get if he turned in his friend because his friend was on the wanted signs in Chicago, and decided to turn on him and turn his buddy Bob in. Jimmy must have changed over the twenty years, but the sight of greed also altered his decision into turning in his friend. However, another aspect prevented Jimmy from directly turning Bob in. Jimmy "couldn't do it [himself]", and got someone else in plainclothes to do the talking and help Jimmy turn Bob in. Jimmy only writes a note to Bob, which the plainclothes man hands to Bob. Jimmy must have been shamed to have to let greed take over and turn Bob in, so he could not have possibly gone straight up to Bob and turn him in. Psychology, as in greed, is also factors that cause people to change, as seen in the story "After Twenty