After Twenty Years Questions and Answers

Abou the Author:

William Sydney Porter known by his pen name, O’Henry, was an Americanwriter.
He is credited for writing 250 stories that are known for their surprise endings.
This story is a perfect example of his literary technique.

After Twenty Years Summary

A policeman is seen patrolling.
He finds a man standing in a dark corridor near the closed stores.
The man explains the reason for being there.
He tells that he is waiting for his best firend Jimmy Wells.
The cop finds himself interested in the story and asks if they stayed in touch during that time.
The man is confident that his friend Jimmy will meet him as promised, because he was reliable.
The cop notices the jewel and the watch the man is wearing and assumes that he was a very successful man. The man confirms that.
The cop leaves and hopesthat Jimmy shows up.
The man tells that he would wait for another half an hour, because he believed that Jimmy would surely come.
It rains heavily but the man waits.
Another man appears after twenty minutes.

He asks the man if his name is Bob.
He confirms excitedly, and they shake hands.
They walk arm in arm and talk about their lives.
They reach to a corner, stand under a street light.
Bob pulls away, declares that the other man is not Jimmy Wells.
The man tells that Bob has been under arrest for the last ten minutes as he is wanted criminal.
Hands him over a note by a cop named Wells-Jimmy Wells.
The note reads that Jimmy came to their meeting but didn’t wish to arrest his old friend himself. So sent another officer to do it.

Answer the following Questions [20 words]

Q1: What time does the story begin?

Ans: The story begins around 10 o’clock at night when the policeman was patrolling along the roadside trying doors.

Q2: Where was the man from the west leaning?

Ans: The man from the west was leaning in the doorway of a darkened hardware store.

Q3: When was Big Joe Brady’s restaurant pulled down?

Ans: Big Joe Brady’s restaurant was pulled down five years ago.

Q4: Where were Jimmy and Bob raised?

Ans: Jimmy and Bob were raised up in New York city.

Answer the following Questions [30-40 words]

Q1: Describe the policeman on the beat.

Ans: The policeman moved along the street in a very impressive manner. It was his habit. He was trying at each doorensuring that it was closed properly. His strong figure with a slight swagger made him a fine picture of a guardian of peace.

Q2: Why did the man speak up quickly when the policeman approached him?

Ans: The man spoke up quickly when the policeman approached him because he didn’t want his behaviour to raise any suspicion. He himself told the policeman what he was doing there at that hour.

Q3: Describe the watch that Silky Bob was wearing? What does it tells us about him?

Ans: The watch that Silky Bob wore was quite expensive. The lids of it was studdled with small diamonds. It gave the impression that it belonged to a very wealthy man. As he was a criminal so he whould have made money by unfair means

Answer the following Questions [80-100 words]

Q1: Why do you think Jimmy Wells continue to talk to Silky Bob?

Ans: Jimmy Wells already knew that his childhood friend had become a criminal. As a cop, he had all the information about his criminal activities. Jimmy also remembered that Bob will come to meet his old friend as planned and promised twenty years ago. The friends reached the fixed meeting point. Jimmy knew he was meeting Bob but Bob didn’t know that the officer he was interacting with is his childhood friend. Jimmy continued to talk to Bob for a while because he, as a friend wanted to keep his promise of meeting him. Although Jimmy had the warrant and authority to arrest Bob , yet he didn’t.

Q2: How do you think Silky Bob would have felt when he realised that he had spoken to patrol man without realising it?

Ans: Bob must have been assailed by mixed feelings. Either he must be cursing himselfy for not being able to identify his staunchest chap or he must be angry with his friend for not revealing his identity. He might have also felt a sense of regret that they didn’t converse loke pals or why had he come here. They met and parted like strangers which must have been a real let down for Bob.

After Twenty Years Additional Questions and Answers

Q1: How did the policeman look? What was his name?

Ans: The name of policeman was Jimmy Wells. He looks so serious and he was thinking about the criminal. He wass in the habit of talking to himself sometimes.

Q2: What was the policeman soing at the square?

Ans: He cast his watch full eye along the quiet square and was thinking of what his Boss had said in the morning.

Q3: What kind of weather was it at that time?

Ans: A chilly wind with a taste of rain was blowing.

Q4: What did policeman take out his pocketbook?

Ans: He took out a reconstructed photograph from his pocketbook.

Q5: What to him was a matter of shame for the police department?

Ans: He thought it was a matter of shame for the police department that the man was still not arrested.

Q6: How did the policeman come to know who was the man in doorway?

Ans: When the man lighted for his cigar he came to know about the man in doorway.

Q7: Give a brief description of the notorious criminal?

Ans: He was the friend of Jimmy. He went to Canada to seekhi fortune twenty years ago and became a criminal. The cop of Chicago was searching him.

Q8: Why did policeman not arrest the criminal himself?

Ans: He himself not arrested the criminal because he was his old friend.

Q9: How does the writer describe the atmosphere of the story?

Ans: The writer describes the atmosphere of the story is, the policeman on beat moved upthe quiet road smartly. His smartness was habitual and not for the show, for spectators were few, chilly winds and a drizzle had almost depeopled the streets.

Q10: How did the policeman perform his duties?

Ans: The policeman perform his duties as a policeman on the beat moved up quiet road smartly, making various interesting and playful movements with his small stick, the officer with his stalwart figure and smart movemnets made a fine picture of the guardian of the law.

Q11: What picture of the wanted criminal do you get from the text?

Ans: Apparently, the criminal had a pale face, square jaws, deep and dark eyes, and a little white scar near the right eyebrow. The criminal name was not known and he was involved in a serious affair of printing counterfeit notes and he was from Chicago.

Q12: How did the stranger try to interact with the policeman?

Ans: The stranger try to interact up to him: it’s all right, officer; I am just waiting for a friend. It is an appointment made twenty years ago.