The Cop and the Anthem

Question 1:

What are some of the signs of approaching winter referred to in the text?

Answer:

The signs of the approaching winter are the movement of birds to warm south, the

woollens needed by people and the dead leaves covering the ground.

Question 2:

Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following:

(i) Soapy did not want to go to prison. __________

(ii) Soapy had been to prison several times. __________

(iii) It was not possible for Soapy to survive in the city through the winter. __________

(iv) Soapy hated to answer questions of a personal nature. __________

Answer: (i) False (ii) True (iii) True (iv) True

Question 3:

What was Soapy’s first plan? Why did it not work?

Answer:

He would go to eat at restaurant and would then tell them he had no money. They would

immediately call a cop who would arrest him. But as soon as he put his foot inside the

restaurant, the waiters blocked his entry. Thus his first plan did not work.
Question 4:

“But the cop’s mind would not consider Soapy”. What did the cop not consider, and why?

Answer:

The policeman did not believe that Soapy had broken the window glass. The reason was

that no such criminal would stop and talk to a policeman.

Question 5:

“We have orders to let them shout.” What is the policeman referring to?

Answer:

The policeman means to say that he had got orders not to arrest the unruly and shouting

college students.

Question 6:

Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following.

(i) Soapy stole a man’s umbrella. _________

(ii) The owner of the umbrella offered to give it to Soapy. _________

(iii) The man had stolen the umbrella that was now Soapy’s. _________

(iv) Soapy threw away the umbrella. _________

Answer:

(i) True (ii) True (iii) True {iv) True.

Question 7:

“There was a sudden and wonderful change in his soul”. What brought about the change

on Soapy?

Answer:

The sight of the home where Soapy had spent his childhood suddenly changed his outlook.

The old memories of his mother and the sweet music revived his love for a decent life. He

decided to work and become somebody in life.

Discuss the following topics in groups.

Question 1:

Suppose no cop came at the end. What would Soapy’s life be like through the winter?

Answer:

In case Soapy was not arrested and sent to prison he would have started a new life. He

might have taken up some job and lived like a normal gentleman. But through the winter

he might have faced the icy winds.

Question 2:

Retell an episode in the story which is a good example of irony in a situation.

Answer: Soapy was keen to be sent to prison for the three cold months. He made several

attempts to get arrested. But none of his plans worked. Finally, when he decided to live a

decent life honestly, he was arrested. Such an episode is ironical.

I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:

Why did Soapy move restlessly on his seat?

Answer:

Soapy was a homeless and jobless man. Cold winter was approaching fast. He was lying on

his seat in Madison Square. He had to find some way to face the cold. Therefore, he moved

restlessly on his seat.

Question 2:

What were Soapy’s hopes for the winter?

Answer:

Soapy did not have high hopes for the winter. He had no thought of sailing away on a ship.

He was not thinking of southern skies or of the Bay of Naples. He hoped to spend three

months in the prison on Blackwell’s Island.

Question 3:

Why did Soapy not like to go to his known persons?

Answer:

Soapy didn’t want to go to his known persons because he thought that they would ask

personal questions from him. And he was not ready to answer all their questions about his

life.
Question 4:

Why did Soapy like to go to the prison?

Answer:

Soapy was a man of ego. He thought that a gentleman’s own life was still his own life in

prison. He considered the prison a better place than the houses of his known people.

Therefore, he liked to go to the prison where he would get both food and shelter during the

cold weather.

Question 5:

Why did Soapy hope to get food at a large and brightly lighted restaurant?

Answer:

Soapy looked all right above his legs. His face was clean. His coat was good enough.The part

of his body that would be seen above the table would look all right. So he hoped to get

food at a large and brightly lighted restaurant.

II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:

Which ways did Soapy try to reach the prison in vain?

Answer:

Soapy put his foot inside a large and brightly lighted restaurant door. The waiters turned

him outside. Then Soapy threw a stone at the glass window of a shop in Sixth Avenue. A

cop came there but he ran after another person leaving Soapy at the place where he was

standing. Then Soapy reached another restaurant. It was meant for the poor people. After

eating to his full he declared that he had no money. Two waiters threw him outside. A cop

was standing nearby. He simply laughed and walked away. Then he shouted and danced

like a drunken person outside a posh theatre. The cops spared him thinking that he was a

college boy. Last of all he saw a man buying a newspaper at a shop. His umbrella stood

beside the door. Luckily it was a stolen umbrella. Soapy took it. The man could neither

claim it nor send Soapy to prison.

Question 2:

Give the character sketch of Soapy.

Answer:

Soapy was a homeless and jobless man. He needed a place to stay comfortably for three

months during the approaching winter. He could get food and shelter at the houses of his

known persons but he did not like to answer their odd questions and lose his freedom. He

was a man of ego and considered himself a gentleman. He preferred to go to prison where

he would follow the rules but live his own life. He made many attempts to get arrested. His

luck failed at the restaurants. He was thrown outside but was not handed over to the

police. He broke the glass of a window and stole an umbrella. He was arrested only after he

had determined to lead an honourable life.

 1. What was Soapy's first plan?

In the short story "The Cop and the Anthem" by O. Henry, the homeless man Soapy tries

desperately to commit a crime that will land him a few months of prison time at Blackwell's

Island (a former...

2. What are Soapy's crimes?

O. Henry wanted to have Soapy commit a series of petty crimes in the hope of getting arrested

and sentenced to spend the harsh winter months in jail. The author saw that these petty

crimes would...

3. What is Soapy's epiphany?

Soapy has been committing and attempting to commit petty crimes in the hope of being

arrested and sentenced to three months in jail. He has been doing the same thing every year in

the late fall and...

4. How would you characterize the cops in "The Cop and the Anthem"?

Soapy is keen to get arrested by any policeman. He commits several of his misdemeanors in

plain sight of a uniformed cop but fails to have his wish fulfilled. Even as the story begins,

Soapy is...
 5. Retell an episode in the story which is a good example of irony in a situation?

After several failed attempts to get himself arrested, Soapy spots what looks like an ideal

opportunity. In a cigar store he saw a well-dressed man lighting a cigar at a swinging light. His

silk...

6. How was Soapy planning to cope with winter?

Soapy has obviously had years of experience surviving as a homeless man in New York. He

sleeps on a park bench which, because of his seniority and dignity, is considered reserved for

him by the...

7. What can be learned from the story?

What we learn from "The Cop and the Anthem" is very similar to what we learn from O.

Henry's story "A Retrieved Reformation." Once a person has started down the wrong road in

life, it is very...

8. In the cop and the anthem, what kind of character is Soapy? Is he a dynamic character,

static...

Soapy is definitely the main character and the protagonist in "The Cop and the Anthem." He is

not the narrator. The narrator is the very familiar "third-person anonymous" voice who knows

a lot...
 9. In "The Cop and the Anthem," what is a metaphor? What do these words stand for:

"sailing away on...

The words about "sailing away," and "southern skies" are contained in an early paragraph of

the story. The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not of the highest. In them there were

no...

10. What is meant by the line, "The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not of the

highest" in "The...

The quotation about Soapy's "hibernatorial ambitions" refers to his plans for the staying

indoors during the winter. These plans are not grandiose; rather, they are quite simple. A

homeless man who...

11. What is the main conflict in the story "The Cop and the Anthem"?

Soapy's main conflict is wanting to get arrested and not being able to achieve his objective. A

conflict arises from a motivation. The protagonist's motivation is strong. He has to find shelter

for...

12. What are some themes of "The Cop and the Anthem" by O. Henry?

One of the themes in "The Cop and the Anthem" has to do with survival. Every living creature

has to struggle to obtain a niche in which it can survive on this crowded, spinning planet. With

humans...
 13. Why does Soapy not want to take advantage of charity in "The Cop and the Anthem"?

Soapy's experience has taught him that there were always strings attached to the hospitality of

charitable institutions. From what the narrator tells us, it appears that the charitable

institutions...

14. Explain the title of the story "The Cop and the Anthem". What does it mean?

"The Cop and the Anthem" is a short story by American author O. Henry (a penname) that

describes the attempts of a hobo named Soapy to get arrested, so that he can spend the

winter in jail, instead...

15. In "The Cop and the Anthem," why didn't the policeman arrest Soapy though he

shouted like a...

Soapy tries many times to get arrested. Winter is coming on, and he knows he can get

sentenced to three months in a warm jail on Blackwell's Island with three meals a day for

committing a...

16. In "The Cop and the Anthem," why did Soapy move uneasily on his bench in Madison

Square?

"The Cop and the Anthem" is one of O. Henry's best and most frequently anthologized short

stories. Typically of his stories, it is set in New York City. Soapy is characterized as a

thoroughly...
 17. I am not quite clear about the end of "The Cop and the Anthem." Soapy goes to a

church and hears...

The music that Soapy hears at the church would not have had such a strong effect on him had

it not been for the fact that he had been trying so hard to get himself arrested and sent to jail

for the...

18. I want to ask a question concerning theme of "The Cop and the Anthem" and the

stylistic means...

"The Cop and the Anthem" is one of O. Henry's best and most typical stories. Two devices he

uses to make his story interesting and effective are irony and humor, both of which are

characteristic of...

19. What is the point of view in "The Cop and the Anthem"?

While the elevated style of O. Henry's narrator is imitative of the former gentleman, Soapy,

and lends irony to the story of a homeless man who seeks shelter for the winter, the point of

view is...

20. In "The Cop and the Anthem," is Soapy a gentleman?

After Soapy enters a restaurant that caters to "large appetites and modest purses" where he is

allowed to sit down despite having worn pants and shoes that denoted his poverty. Having

eaten a full...
 21. In "The Cop and the Anthem" why does Soapy not want to take advantage of charity?

In O. Henry's short story "The Cop and the Anthem" the main character, Soapy is a proud man.

It is his pride that leads to the story's great irony. As a homeless man on the streets of New

York...

22. What is the characterization in the story "The Cop and the Anthem"?

There are two methods of creating and developing characters that are employed by authors: 1.

direct characterization, a statement by the author of the character's traits2. indirect...

23. What is the theme of "The Cop and the Anthem," a short story by O. Henry?

In considering the theme of O. Henry's ironic short story "The Cop and the Anthem," one is

reminded of the adage, "Be careful of what you set your heart upon, for it will surely be

yours." With...

24. Does this characterisation of a homeless man in "The Cop and the Anthem" seem

appropriate? Would...

"The Cop and the Anthem" was first published in 1905. That was well over a century ago, and

America was much different. There was no electric lighting, no automobiles, no indoor

plumbing. O. Henry...

25. Does the story say something about life in a big city? "The Cop and the Anthem" by O.

Henry
O. Henry's short story "The Cop and the Anthem" does, indeed, depict the callousness and

detached attitudes of many urban people. When Soapy enters the restaurant the head waiter

immediately...

26. Soapy addresses a woman "Ah there, Bedelia!...". What reference does the name

Bedelia have in...

Soapy is a homeless man who realizes that winter is coming; therefore, he devises a plan to

ensure that he will stay warm throughout the winter. He decides that he will get himself

arrested so...

27. How can we explain the point of view in O.Henry's "The Cop and the Anthem"?

The point of view in O. Henry's humorously ironic short story, "The Cop and the Anthem" is

omniscient narrator. The narrator tells the story in third person, but he is also aware of all

the...

28. How can we describe the structure of the short story "The Cop and the Anthem?"

There is nothing particularly unusual about the structure of the story "The Cop and the

Anthem." Indeed, its structure is fairly straight-forward. The tale is told in linear,

chronological...

29. How is winter a symbol in "The Cop and the Anthem" by O Henry?How does this

theme relate to the...

In O Henry's short story, "The Cop and the Anthem," winter symbolizes change. Based upon

Soapy's newly revived sense of self near the end of the story, we can see where he is ready for

change to...

30. Re: The grammatical usage of come in "And now the time was come." I have seen such

use of come...

"Come" is actually part of a verb phrase in the example from O. Henry's story. The combination

of a "be" verb and "come" is called an unaccusative intransitive verb. Even though that term is

a...

31. Who is Soapy in O'Henry's story "The Cop and the Anthem?"only homeless....

Soapy, the central character in O'Henry's story "The Cop and the Anthem," is a homeless man

in New York City who reasons that if he could only get himself arrested, he would be

imprisoned on...

32. What five ways did Soapy try to get arrested and why did they fail?

Tried to go have dinner and not pay and get put in jail for that. Waiter threw him out because

his clothes looked like a bum's. Threw a brick through a window. Officer didn't believe he did

it...

33. In Soapy's opinion, was the law more useful than philanthropy?
In this short story, Soapy clearly does think the law is more useful than philanthropy, at least

for his purposes. Soapy is trying to get himself a good place to stay as winter approaches New

York...

34. Why did O'Henry chose the title "The Cop and the Anthem"?

O.Henry chose this title for his short story because it points to the main sources of the irony

that make the story what it is. The whole point of the story is the irony at the end and it is

cops...

35. Could you please give me the summary of "The Cop and the Anthem" by O. Henry?

O.Henry's short stories are quick and easy to read, so to compose a summary is almost

redundant. In a nutshell, Soapy is a homeless man in New York City at the beginning of the

20th century who...

36. What would be a moral that one can learn from "The Cop and the Anthem" that is

applicable to...

O.Henry's stories always have a moral undercurrent that is often hidden beneath layers of

irony. In this short story the central character, Soapy, is a homeless man with a need for winter

shelter...

37. Like many other O. Henry's stories, "The Cop and the Anthem" illustrates the irony of

life....
In O Henry's "The Cop and the Anthem", we have Soapy, our resident ne'er-do-well looking to

get a stay on Riker's Island (New York City jail) for the winter. In his endeavors to be

incarcerrated,...

38. What does Soapy fear?

The quick answer is that Soapy fears the onset of winter, considering that he is homeless and

lives on the street. On the previous night three Sabbath newspapers, distributed beneath his

coat,...

39. What does Soapy refer to in "The Cop and the Anthem" when he says he's drifting in

the...

Early in the story, the author O. Henry notes, "The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not

of the highest. In them there were no considerations of Mediterranean cruises, of soporific...

40. Discuss O. Henry's short story, "The Cop and the Anthem".

It would be helpful if you asked a specific question about this story. Generally speaking, the

story is a typical O. Henry one, full of irony. Soapy tries unsuccessfully to get arrested six...

41. What are the two major strengths or weaknesses in the personality of Soapy from

"The Cop and...

One of Soapy's major weaknesses is his lack of ambition. He wants no more than just to sit and

be cared for and otherwise left alone; his "hibernatorial ambitions...were not of the...
 42. How can you describe Soapy in "The Cop and the Anthem"?

Soapy's name suggests he is not a bad character, but he is looking for an easy way to spend the

winter. Rather than getting a job to earn money, his goal at the beginning of the story is to

commit...