The Cop and the Anthem

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"The Cop and the Anthem" is a classic short story by O. Henry that humorously and poignantly follows a homeless man's schemes to get himself arrested so he can spend the winter in jail.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary work
short story
author O. Henry NERFINISHED
centralTheme homelessness
irony
poverty
redemption
social inequality
the justice system
urban life
climaxLocation church
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
educationalUse commonly anthologized in literature textbooks
frequently studied in American literature courses
featuresCharacterType policeman
vagrant
firstPublishedIn New York World NERFINISHED
genre comic fiction
realist fiction
short story
social commentary
hasCharacter Soapy NERFINISHED
church organist
restaurant staff
various New York policemen
hasNotableFeature depiction of New York street life
focus on a single winter season
ironic ending
hasTitleLanguage English
includedInCollection The Four Million NERFINISHED
literaryDevice satire
situational irony
twist ending
literaryMovement American realism NERFINISHED
mainCharacter Soapy NERFINISHED
narrativePerspective third-person narration
originalLanguage English
plotElement attempts to get arrested
desire to spend winter in jail
sudden decision to reform
protagonist Soapy NERFINISHED
publicationType newspaper
settingLocation Madison Square NERFINISHED
New York City
timePeriodOfSetting early 20th century
tone humorous
poignant

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

O. Henry notableWork The Cop and the Anthem