Alias Jimmy Valentine by O’ Henry, D.A.Q (5 Marks)
1. Make a small character sketch of Jimmy Valentine.
Answer: In O’ Henry's short story " Alias Jimmy Valentine", the protagonist Jimmy is first introduced as a smart thief who will not touch hard drinks, socialize with high class people and disguise himself randomly.
Jimmy is later transformed and the agent of this transformation is his love Annabel Adams whose strong personality and look fascinates Jimmy. He was overwhelmed with love and became a good man.
His well-being goes to the extent of saving the life of a little girl (Agatha) with Annabelle at the cost of his own future. Jimmy, thus, is an example of a person who is transformed into the power of love.
This kind of complete transformation is rarely seen. It demonstrates his commitment to love Jimmy and his firm commitment to honesty and kindness after abandoning corruption.
2. Make a small character sketch of Ben Price.
Answer: Ben Price is the skilled police officer or detective who arrested Jimmy and sent him to prison for his crime in Springfield. But soon after his release, Jimmy continued to commit three thefts in a row. Ben Price was summoned and, after analyzing the method of operation, came to the conclusion that these were not performed by anyone other than Jimmy. He began to follow Jimmy's trail and eventually reached Elmore where Jimmy was living with the false identity of Ralph de Spencer. But when he goes to Elmore Bank to arrest Jimmy, he sees that Jimmy has cracked the safe again to save a child's life. Ben Price was a true hero at heart and left the misconception that he did not recognize Jimmy.
3. Which theft was reported after Jimmy Valentine was released from prison?
Answer: One hundred dollars was stolen from a safe in Richmond, Indiana, a week after Jimmy Valentine was released from prison. Fifteen dollars were safely stolen from evidence of theft at a location called Logansport the following week. Then an old-fashioned bank in Jefferson City safely pulled out five thousand dollars. There were reports of these three thefts after the release of Jimmy Valentine.
4. ''There he tasted the sweet joys of Liberty''
- Who was he? Where and how did he taste the sweet pleasures of Liberty? Why was it sweet to him?
Answer: Here he mentions Jimmy Valentine who was released from prison.
After his release from prison, Jimmy went to a restaurant. There he tasted sweet freedom in the form of a broiled chicken and a bottle of white wine. He then started smoking high quality cigars.
Jimmy was in prison for ten long months and had to eat what he was given as a prisoner. So eating something after its taste seemed sweet to him.
5. ''Mr. Spencer was a success''
- Who was Mr. Spencer? Give an overview of the success he has achieved?
Answer: Spencer is the pseudonym of Jimmy Valentine who came to Elmore and gave his name to Ralph the Spencer and later added that Spencer's name to the hotel's register book.
Jimmy came to Elmore and met Annabelle Adams, and this meeting changed the course of his life. He decided to live honestly. As a result he opened a shoe store. His business improved and socially he also gained the trust of the community. He also married his girlfriend Annabelle Adams within a year of living in Elmore.
6. What did Jimmy Valentine do from the time he was released to prison until he met Mike Dolan?
Answer: After being released from prison, Jimmy catches a crack like a bird, and ignores the natural scent like the smell of flowers and heads straight for the restaurant. At the restaurant he ate broiled chicken and drank a bottle of white wine to his heart’s content. He then smoked a cigar to get out of his frustrated mood. From the restaurant he proceeded to the depot in his spare time. Before getting on the train, he took off a quarter of a blind man's hat. After a three-hour train journey, he arrived in town where his friend Mike Dolan had his cafe.
7. Give a short description of Jimmy’s life at Elmore before revealing his true identity?
Answer: At Elmore, Jimmy led the life of his dreams before revealing his true identity. He settled there as Ralph de Spencer and established a floral shoe business. He succeeds in securing the love of Miss Annabel Adams and they fall in love to each other. Annabel Adams was the daughter of Mr. Adams, who was the owner of Elmore Bank. Although Jimmy continued to live in hotels, he often visited Adams' family and became a member of the family. After his marriage, Jimmy sold his property to settle in the west of the country, presumably because he had no old enemies.
8. How did O’ Henry draw a contrast between Jimmy Valentine and Ralph de Spencer?
Answer: Jimmy Valentine and Ralph D. Spencer are two names of the same person at different stages of their lives. Both are smart, handsome and intelligent. Both have friends. However, they differ considerably in terms of occupation, financial status, social status and mental disposition.
Jimmy Valentine is a notorious thief, but Ralph de Spencer is a successful businessman. Jimmy is a criminal whom Ben Price wanted to arrest. Ralph de Spencer, on the other hand, deserves Ben Price's compassion and praise for his nobility. Jimmy Valentine uses stealing tools, but Ralph de Spencer uses the same tools to rescue the little girl from the vault. In fact, love makes Jimmy an honest man.
9. Describe Jimmy's final meeting with Ben Price. Why did Ben refuse to recognize Jimmy?
Answer: In the story, Alias Jimmy Valentine, when Jimmy saved the life of the little girl by opening the safe on the appeal of Mr. Adams, he saw Ben Price standing in front of the bank door. Jimmy knew he had been exposed and it was clear to everyone that he was still there after the theft. Jimmy felt that the world was over for him. Knowing that Ben had come to arrest him and he was completely disappointed at the time of the incident, he smiled at Ben and politely offered to leave as he had made no sense with her.
At this point Ben pretends not to know him at all and reminds him that his buggy is waiting for him. Ben refused to recognize Jimmy because he was convinced that Jimmy was already a reformer and deserved no more punishment. Thus Ben price doesn’t want to come in the middle of a happy life with their joy.
10. What did Jimmy write in his letter to his old friend? Why did he write that?
Answer: Jimmy's life was changed completely in Elmore and he decided to give his tools to a friend. So he wrote a letter to one of his friends to give him his tools. Jimmy asked his friend in a letter to come to Sullivan Palace at Little Rock on Wednesday night to execute a secret meeting at 9 o’ clock. He wanted to present his old friend Billy with a kit of his tools that was not similar to anyone else's.
He wrote that he had quitted his stealing job, doing business well and marrying the best girl in the world and going straight to life. He further had informed his friend that after his marriage he would sell and go west and settle there with his wife and would not commit any more crimes in his life. At the end of the letter he again requested Billy to come and take his kit from him and finish a few things for him.
He wrote this because the inspiration of love made him a new man. He realized that simple life was the only life.
11. Discuss the embarrassment in the Jimmy Valentine story.
Answer: The restored reform is about a thief named Jimmy Valentine who used to crack vaults without any clue left behind. He was released from the prison, but the safe-cracking was being continued, so an investigator named Ben Price tried to find him. One day Valentine fell in love with a woman named Annabel Adams and decided to start a whole new life as a man named Ralph de Spencer.
The embarrassment of this story happened towards the end. "Ralph Spencer" improves his shoe store and will marry Annabelle Adams in two weeks. Since Jimmy Valentine is no more, there is no use of suitcases with pick-locking tools; Spencer decided to give it to a friend. However, the same day Spencer was about to drop his equipment, one of Annabel's nieces was accidentally trapped in a new vault of the bank and it seemed there was no way to get her out of the vault.
Although Spencer took the suitcase of equipment with him to the bank, he could have brought Agatha (niece) out, but doing so would actually expose him - a criminal. Thus in this situation, it is not to be mentioned the fact that Ben Price finally tracked Valentine and watched him through the railings. Ben Price realized that Jimmy was starting a new life to rehabilitate himself, so he gave it all up, which might be the reason he left behind.
12. "That child she can't stand it long in there."
- Who is being referred here? Why was he in danger? How was he saved?
Answer: Agatha is mentioned here in Henry's short story ‘Alias Jimmy Valentine'.
Agatha was in danger because she locked her older sister in the vault in the spirit of the game. The door could not be opened as the combination lock was not set even though the watch was not damaged. There was not enough air inside. Moreover, she can be timid.
In that dangerous situation, Annabel asked Ralph to do something. Ralph could not refuse his woman-love request. Although he knew that the activity of his past records would reveal his true identity, he accepted his equipment and within ten minutes broke the lock of the door and released the frightened child. Thus Agatha was saved.
13. What new name did Jimmy Valentine take on Elmore? What business did he open there? How did you hire Jimmy Elmore?
Answer: Jimmy took on the new name Ralph de Spencer at Elmore.
He started a shoe business in Elmore.
Jimmy learns the fact from Planters's hotel clerk that there is no exclusive shoe store in Elmore. So, he opened a shoe store there and his business expanded rapidly. Socially he performed well and everyone accepted him one by one. However, Jimmy was in love with Annabel Adams, whose father was the owner of Elmore Bank. At the end of the year, he and Annabel tied the knot. Mr. Adams adopted him as his son-in-law.
*****
Also Read:
* Alias Jimmy Valentine – S.A.Q
* Alias Jimmy Valentine – D.A.Q
* The Place of Art in Education – M.C.Q
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