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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Bob mean when he describes Jimmy as a "plodder" (620)?

2. On page 621, how does the reader learn that the first police officer was actually Jimmy?

3. According to Bob, why did Jimmy stay in New York?

4. What does the narrator mean by the description of the police officer's impressiveness as "habitual and not for show"?

5. What can logically be inferred about Bob and Jimmy's friendship?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the story's beginning, what evidence is there that Jimmy takes pride in his job?

2. What is amusing about the plainclothes officer's answer to Bob's question about whether he is doing well in New York?

3. What causes Bob to finally realize that the plainclothes officer is not Jimmy Wells?

4. Why does Bob guess that Jimmy might not be as much of a success as Bob himself has become?

5. Describe the story's opening moments, including its setting.

6. What were the circumstances of the agreement Jimmy and Bob made 20 years ago?

7. What is appropriate about the plainclothes officer greeting Bob with the line "It's Bob, sure as fate" (621)?

8. What is ironic about the way that Bob describes his old friend to the "policeman" he encounters?

9. Why does Jimmy, in his role as the police officer, ask Bob if he is going to keep waiting for his friend to show up?

10. What is the effect of the passage depicting Bob continuing to wait in the doorway as it begins to rain?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you analyze the strategy of including the plainclothes officer in the story "After Twenty Years." How does this character introduce misdirection into the story and why is this necessary? How does this character increase or decrease the moral authority of Jimmy's choices? Use textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

O. Henry clearly admired New York City police officers. His stories hold them up as examples of humble servants of the public good. Research "Tammany Hall" and then write an essay comparing O. Henry's police officers with the historical reality. Cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the beliefs about friendship and loyalty conveyed by "After Twenty Years." Use textual evidence to support your ideas.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,142 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample