Jimmy Valentine, the old burgling criminal, met the girl of his dreams, feel in love, and changed for the better. Valentine was thrown in jail for getting caught breaking into vaults and stealing money, what he does for a living. Once Jimmy was let out of jail he made no hesitation getting back to his job; Detective Ben Price was hot on his case. However, when Jimmy meets Annabel Adams, he has a change of heart and his world flips. Jimmy Valentine was truly dedicated to living a moral life because he made sacrifices, showed compassion, and took responsibility for his actions. Jimmy was devoted to living a moral life because he made sacrifices. The first thing he sacrificed was his old villainous job for a new normal one. Jimmy explains in
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The first way he showed compassion is by dropping everything and moving towns to marry Annabel. In the text, Jimmy made little acts of compassion like picking something nice up for his fiance. This exhibits that he wasn’t being selfish, but trying to find ways to please others. By moving to a new town to live with her, he showed how much he cares about Annabel and not just himself. Next, Jimmy demonstrated compassion by using his skills for good to help someone. When Agatha was suddenly locked in a safe, Jimmy made the difficult decision to channel his old self, and break into the vault to save her. He acted to save Agatha out of the kindness of his heart, knowing the risk of being caught by detective Ben Price. It was a hard decision, but he did it because he knew it was the right thing to do. In addition, Jimmy showed compassion was by making an effort to be accepted by his new, welcoming community. In the text, “A Retrieved Reformation,” it states, “Socially he was also a success, and made many friends… he had won the respect of the community,”( O. Henry, 4). Before Jimmy became Ralph, he didn’t care what people thought of him. Now as Ralph, he acted morally to get the approval of others because he cares about his reputation. In conclusion, Jimmy showed he was dedicated to living a life full of morals because he expressed …show more content…
For instance, Jimmy lied about his identity to the community. When Jimmy moved to Elmore, where he met Annabel, he changed his name to Ralph Spencer. He was not honest with everyone about who he was and what his name is, even to his wife. Likewise, Jimmy also lied about what he carried in his suitcase. This is evident in the dialogue of, “A Retrieved Reformation,“My! Ralph, how heavy it is? Feels like it was full of gold bricks’...’Lots of nickel-plated shoe-horns in there,” (O. Henry, 4). Jimmy claimed that the contents of his suitcase were shoe store tools, when really the case contained his old burgling tools. He refused to tell Annabel about his former life. Furthermore, Jimmy Valentine lied about his past job. Jimmy didn’t care to share the fact that he used to break into safes and steal money for a living. By doing this, he is letting Annabel believe he has lived an innocent life and hasn’t truthful to her. From these points, the conclusion can be drawn that Jimmy Valentine may not be truly dedicated to leading a moral life because he showed dishonesty. Although the point can be argued, more evidence is found that Jimmy Valentine was truly dedicated to living a moral life because he made sacrifices, showed compassion, and took responsibility for his actions. Everything that author has written is leading the reader to believe that Jimmy was sincere. Jimmy dropped
The first way he showed compassion is by dropping everything and moving towns to marry Annabel. In the text, Jimmy made little acts of compassion like picking something nice up for his fiance. This exhibits that he wasn’t being selfish, but trying to find ways to please others. By moving to a new town to live with her, he showed how much he cares about Annabel and not just himself. Next, Jimmy demonstrated compassion by using his skills for good to help someone. When Agatha was suddenly locked in a safe, Jimmy made the difficult decision to channel his old self, and break into the vault to save her. He acted to save Agatha out of the kindness of his heart, knowing the risk of being caught by detective Ben Price. It was a hard decision, but he did it because he knew it was the right thing to do. In addition, Jimmy showed compassion was by making an effort to be accepted by his new, welcoming community. In the text, “A Retrieved Reformation,” it states, “Socially he was also a success, and made many friends… he had won the respect of the community,”( O. Henry, 4). Before Jimmy became Ralph, he didn’t care what people thought of him. Now as Ralph, he acted morally to get the approval of others because he cares about his reputation. In conclusion, Jimmy showed he was dedicated to living a life full of morals because he expressed …show more content…
For instance, Jimmy lied about his identity to the community. When Jimmy moved to Elmore, where he met Annabel, he changed his name to Ralph Spencer. He was not honest with everyone about who he was and what his name is, even to his wife. Likewise, Jimmy also lied about what he carried in his suitcase. This is evident in the dialogue of, “A Retrieved Reformation,“My! Ralph, how heavy it is? Feels like it was full of gold bricks’...’Lots of nickel-plated shoe-horns in there,” (O. Henry, 4). Jimmy claimed that the contents of his suitcase were shoe store tools, when really the case contained his old burgling tools. He refused to tell Annabel about his former life. Furthermore, Jimmy Valentine lied about his past job. Jimmy didn’t care to share the fact that he used to break into safes and steal money for a living. By doing this, he is letting Annabel believe he has lived an innocent life and hasn’t truthful to her. From these points, the conclusion can be drawn that Jimmy Valentine may not be truly dedicated to leading a moral life because he showed dishonesty. Although the point can be argued, more evidence is found that Jimmy Valentine was truly dedicated to living a moral life because he made sacrifices, showed compassion, and took responsibility for his actions. Everything that author has written is leading the reader to believe that Jimmy was sincere. Jimmy dropped