How Can Jimmy Valentine Be Reformed

Can a convict truly be reformed? That is the question in O’Henry’s short story, “A Retrieved Reformation.” Jimmy Valentine, the main character, is released from prison with the hope of quickly being back in “business.” However, an act of forgiveness, the gift of tools, and a legitimate business lead Valentine to become a reformed man.

One way that Jimmy Valentine demonstrated he is a reformed man is when he opened his business by himself. Toward the middle of the story, Jimmy changed his name to Ralph D. Spencer when he moved to Elmore. He did this because he wanted to start a new chapter of his life where he was not known as Jimmy Valentine, the crack safer. The author explained, “He opened a shore store and secured a good run of trade” (32). This proved that Valentine is now making a true living through hard work in a respectable

While it is true that Price witnessed Valentine breaking into the Elmore Bank’s safe, Jimmy was only doing good. He meant no harm to others. In fact, all he wanted to do was rescue Agatha from suffocating inside of the safe. Once Agatha was safe in her mother’s arms, Jimmy made a courageous decision and confronted Ben Price to admit his guilt. But, Price had a surprising reply and responded saying, ‘“Guess you’re mistaken, Mr. Spencer,’ he said. ‘Don’t believe I recognize you. Your buggy’s waiting for you, ain’t it?”’ (35). This exemplified that Mr. Valentine was a reformed man because all of his needed tools were in his possession, and he could have easily done nothing to save Agatha. When Jimmy spotted Ben Price in the crowd, he knew that if he opened his suitcase he could end up back in prison. With that, he would also be exposing his true identity to his soon to be family along with the towns folks. Even though he knew the consequences he might suffer through, he still risked