Hearts and Hands by O. Henry Literary Analysis Essay

Would you do something nice for someone you’ve never met just to show a simple act of kindness? “Hearts and Hands,” created by O. Henry, could show this. Regardless of being strangers, the marshal treated Mr. Easton as a friend, by rescuing him from an embarrassing predicament. (O. Henry 1) “To be kind is more important than being right,” F. Scott Fitzgerald said. “What people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks, but a special heart that listens.” Even though the marshal appeared to be a glum-faced, masculine, and ragged-dressed man, the author described him as a sympathetic man with a good heart. (O. Henry 1) Without money, Henry became a defenseless man, leading him to engage in unethical activities. Besides the fact that the narrative is about Mr. Easton’s imprisonment, he wrote about something more significant, such as kindness, rather than common reality.

William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) was born on September 11, 1862, on a plantation in Greensboro, North Carolina. Owing to failing health, he moved to Austin, where he remained until 1898. He wrote about middle- and lower-class New York City residents and his writings were distinctive in that they were based on regular life and ordinary people. His short stories transmit strong criticism and mockery of the government, as well as society’s economic and social institutions. After his wife died, he got convicted of fraud and sentenced to five years in the federal penitentiary. While in jail, he adopted the pseudonym, O. Henry. In honor of his legacy of exploiting plot surprises, America then named the Henry Award after him.

Mr. Easton and Miss Fairchild were well-dressed and attractive, but all that mattered to them was their social standing. If Miss Fairchild had discovered Mr. Easton was the actual prisoner, she would have stopped talking with him and spread the word all over Washington. Although, he was unconcerned about Miss Fairchild seeing him handcuffed because of his deception and feels no guilt for impersonating someone else. We all fake our identities sometimes, especially when we want to impress someone. The marshal has a keen sense of people’s personalities and knows how to deal with those who are being swayed by appearances. Easton is a thief and a liar, but unlike the marshal, he has a pleasant appearance. This event exemplifies the expression “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

To live in luxury, you must spend thousands of dollars forcing Mr. Easton’s creation to create counterfeit money to keep his wealth. (O. Henry 2) When a friend in Washington stole his money, Easton’s only option was to counterfeit money until he got apprehended. “My dear Miss Fairchild, I had to do something,” Easton remarked. “You know how much money it takes to keep up with our Washington crowd” (O. Henry 2). Similarly, money was a crucial element for both Porter’s biography and Mr. Easton’s imprisonment. Porter’s only alternative was to commit fraud because his family was not affluent, and he wanted to support his own family; just as Mr. Easton did in “Hearts and Hands,” he turned towards counterfeiting to continue his luxurious lifestyle (O. Henry 2).

O. Henry’s life was far from faultless, as evidenced by his imprisonment for fraud. What truly matters is a person’s inner beauty rather than their physical appearance, just as how Mr. Easton was a handsome man, yet it didn’t stop him from doing something wrong. If we are unsure what to do, remember that there is always a solution for everything, and doing the incorrect thing will not solve our issues, but will only make them worse. The purpose of O. Henry’s short story is to urge readers to choose kindness over their true feelings, as the marshal did for Mr. Easton. We sometimes treat others badly as we differ from them, but as Mark Twain said, “kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Sometimes, an act of kindness can change who we are as individuals, so choose kindness over despair.