O. Henry: How Do People Change For The Better?

Yes, I believe people in general can change for the better. All people have the ability to change themselves and their lives. All the time, people make mistakes or life sometimes doesn’t go their way. However, anyone can change themselves and their lives for the better. It may be very hard to change for the better or it can be very easy to change. However, people in general can change themselves and their lives. Nothing has to stay the same.
The O. Henry Biography showed how people in general can change for the better. In the biography, it stated, “In 1896, he was falsely accused of embezzlement, taking money from the bank for personal use.” This shows how O. Henry’s life wasn’t really going his way. After O. Henry was mistakenly accused of embezzlement, he ran away to New Orleans and then went to Honduras to escape the police and law enforcement. According to the biography, “But, when he learned that his wife was dying, he returned to the United States and surrendered to police.” O. Henry was unfortunately sentenced to five years in prison in 1898 in Columbus, Ohio. This shows how O. Henry’s life wasn’t going very well. His wife was dying and he was
charged with embezzlement. However, O. Henry had the ability to turn his life around. O. Henry was just a normal person, but he was able to change his life for the better. It was described in the biography that while O. Henry was in prison, he wrote stories to provide and support his daughter Margaret. By writing stories, O. Henry was able to change himself and his life. Writing stories allowed him to support his daughter and it allowed him be quite successful throughout his life. This shows how O.Henry, once a normal person, was able to change. In addition, O. Henry was released from prison three years after his five year sentence in jail due to his good behavior(Leben). This shows that O. Henry was able to change for the better. O. Henry choose to be on his best behavior in prison. He was able to change himself.
The short play “A Retrieved Reformation,” a story that was by O. Henry, also proved how people in general can change for the better. “A Retrieved Reformation” is about a man named Jimmy Valentine who decides to change himself when he meets Annabel, a girl Jimmy Valentine falls in love with. In the play, Jimmy Valentine was described as a criminal for cracking open safes and stealing the valuables insides the safes. However, after meeting Annabel, it was stated in the play, “Jimmy forgets his criminal past and instantaneously becomes a new man.” Jimmy Valentine changed for the better. He decided to become a good person. At the end of the short play, Jimmy decided to save a young girl named Agatha who was locked in a safe. He opened the safe even though it meant that he might reveal his cover. This showed that Jimmy changed for the better, because he first of all did the right thing by saving Agatha. Secondly, Jimmy also changed by not being a criminal anymore. Jimmy was able to reform himself and his life.
In conclusion, people in general can change for the better.
Everyone has the power and ability to turn their life around and change themselves for the good and better. O. Henry and a fictional character, Jimmy Valentine, which O. Henry developed in one of his stories. O. Henry, once a normal person, was able to change for the better. While in prison, he wrote stories to support his daughter. His stories ended up making O. Henry quite successful. He was able to turn his life around when this weren’t going well. One of O. Henry’s character, Jimmy Valentine, also reflects the idea that people in general can change for the better. Jimmy stopped committing crimes and decided to do the right thing. Jimmy changed for the good and better. Jimmy and O. Henry both showed how people can change. Everyone can change for the
better.