After Twenty Years

Note: Readers can access the source on Project Gutenberg here.

With a complex relationship between two characters and an unexpected yet inevitable twist at the climax, “After Twenty Years,” published in the collection The Four Million (1906), is a typical example of O. Henry’s storytelling style. The story explores the themes of identity and change, perception and reality, and loyalty, and the twist ending means that each reading of the story is a new experience.

The story opens with an unnamed policeman confidently walking around the deserted nighttime streets of New York City in cold, windy, wet weather. Even though he looks “impressive” as he completes his rounds and confidently checks the locks of every door to be sure they are secured, it is “not for show” (Paragraph 1). This part of the city does not have an active nightlife: very few people are around and most of the businesses have already been closed for a few hours.

The police officer notices a man standing in a darkened doorway. The man has “a little white scar near his right eyebrow” and wears a scarfpin of a “large diamond” paired with a bejeweled “handsome watch” (Paragraph 6).