Genre
Short Story
Setting and Context
New York at the start of the twentieth century as winter begins
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of the only character given a name, Soapy.
Tone and Mood
The tone is quite upbeat and the mood is one of optimism.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Soapy is the protagonist, the police are the antagonist.
Major Conflict
There is conflict at the end of the story between Soapy and the cop at the end of the story who arrests him just as he has decided to turn his life around.
Climax
Soapy is arrested and given a three month sentence which is what he was hoping for at the start of the story.
Foreshadowing
Soapy's loitering in front of the church foreshadows his arrest on a misdemeanor charge.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
The story alludes to the influx of men and women into New York in the early part of the twentieth century; like Soapy they were looking for their big break but like Soapy they had not managed to find it yet.
Imagery
The author describes the start of fall and the beginning of winter in such a way that the reader is able to realize how cold it is becoming.
Paradox
Soapy wants to be arrested at the start of the story, but has a change of heart at the end when he has a personal epiphany outside a church; of course, this is when he is arrested.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the weather getting colder and Soapy's ramping up his efforts to be arrested so that he can get out of the cold by being sent to jail.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
New York is almost personified as Soapy feels that it is conspiring against him with the weather.
