Argumentative Essay Cop And The Anthem - 1456 Words

Argumentative Essay Rough Draft Homeless people are so isolated from society they would trade their freedom and independence for a warm place to stay during the winter months. The  ¨Cop and the Anthem ¨, a moral short story by O.Henry, follows the annual crisis that Soapy, a homeless young man living in a big city. Soapy repeatedly tries to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a warm jail cell, but is continually unsuccessful. The short story, the â€Å"Cop and the Anthem†, by O.Henry critiques how the homeless are treated by moral and immoral characters in society through characterization, mood, and irony. This is shown through the introduction of the umbrella man and restaurant employee, when Soapy’s mood is described after his†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"And don t keep a gentleman waiting.† â€Å"No cop for you,† said the waiter. He called another waiter. The two waiters threw Soapy upon his left ear on the hard street outside† ( Henry 38). The waiter anticipates that Soapy’s request for a cop is a ploy to get himself arrested; thus, he purposefully refuses to call one. The waiter is an immoral character because he refuses to allow Soapy to get his way, even though Soapy’s arrest will not affect him. The umbrella man and the restaurant waiter are representations of how moral and immoral characters treat Soapy, and show that neither moral characters nor immoral characters appease him. Soapy feels disappointed when various moral policemen refuse to arrest him, yet he feels desolate when he is finally arrested for loitering near a church by an immoral policeman. Soapy feels crestfallen when he repeatedly encounters kind and moral policemen along his quest to be arrested, yet he finally encounters an unjust and immoral policeman when he decides to change his way of life and keep his freedom: â€Å"Soapy picked up a big stone and threw it through the glass†¦.Soapy stood still, and he smiled wh en he say the cop. â€Å"Where’s the man that did that?† asked the cop. â€Å"Don’t you think that I