character analysis of mr easton in hearts and hands

The conclusion of the story is brought about by the eavesdroppers who announce that Mr. Easton is actually the criminal. Being a member of Washington's social elite requires a lot of money, what with all the fancy clothes, restaurants, and luxury accommodation one needs to splash out on. He tells her that he is a marshal when really he is a criminal. & M. Express in Denver. A young man is purposefully misrepresented in order to avoid embarrassment among friends. The other two passengers play a short but significant role as well. The young woman continues to chat with her acquaintance, but she continues to stare at the handcuffs. He previously used to live in Washington but later shifted to the West for a better way of living. Mr. Easton cannot bring himself to expose his current predicament but provides clues such as his "butterfly days are over" as he is no longer free and that he "must go on to Leavenworth.". copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. & M. Express. you know it takes money to keep steps with our crowd in Washington. 1. - and much more! As the conversation between the couple escalates and would leave Mr. Easton to finally admit why he could not return to Washington, the marshal requests to have a smoke break in the smoker car. Question 7. FOR STUDENTS IN GENERAL: Her manner of speaking conveys that she is used to be being listened to. The marshal, who has "keen shrewd eyes" has noticed Miss Fairchild's obvious engagement with Mr. Easton, and interjects by saying he is the convict going to Leavenworth for "seven years for counterfeiting" when he sees her notice the handcuffs. The passenger reveals the true identity of the marshal to the other passenger, and Easton is identified as the counterfeiter. Hearts and Hands is an ironic story about extending kindness and compassion under difficult circumstances. Introduction By analyzing the irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing embodied in O Henry's short story "Hearts and Hands", we can reach a thorough understanding of the short story. Answer: The Marshal is described to be a grim looking man who is taking a convict, Mr. Easton to Leavenworth prison. He projects an . On the other hand, we see a positive side of his character too in the form of the, As the author presents the character in the first paragraph of the story, the unnamed, marshal is a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. Your email address will not be published. Surprisingly, the marshal shows extraordinary kindness toward Mr. Easton, his prisoner. Mr Easton is also an excellent liar. The real marshal's appearance also may have contributed to Miss Fairchild's belief that he is the prisoner rather than Easton. But in pursuit of more money, he, indulged himself in some criminal activities. She holds a Mississippi AA Educator License. William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry as he is famously known, is the writer of this very interesting short story titled 'Hearts and Hands'. Download the entire O. Henry study guide as a printable PDF! A Feature made available to end users A Feature made available to internal users A Feature migrated to the cloud A Feature deployed to production, Devops: What organizational anti-pattern does DevOps help to address? Examples: Inside No. Use the following prompts to learn more and to create your own work. Of course, the marshal is also gallantly sparing the woman her blushes, too, because he has seen the distress on her face at seeing her former beau handcuffed to another man. Consider how things that happened in his own life might have influenced his writing of this story. - Book Reviews and Summaries- BEST BOOKS for STUDENTS He clasped her fingers with his left hand becuse his right hand was bound at the wrist by the shining 'bracelet' to the left of his companion. The main conflict in Hearts and Hands involves deliberately misleading Miss Fairchild into thinking Mr. Easton is the marshal rather than the criminal. The title informs the astute reader that the story is going to deal with handcuffs, the quizzical nature on which hand or hands the cuffs are cuffed, as well as the emotional side of the characters . Create your account. Clearly he was always burning through money when living among fashionable Washington society (I had to do something, he tells her when the ruse has got underway; Money has a way of taking wings unto itself, and you know how it takes money to keep step with our crowd in Washington). Perhaps, he has come to the west for a better life and in search of more money. Easton believes it's so important to keep up with the smart set that he's prepared to break the law to get his hands on the requisite cash. This level of compassion and human kindness was not typical for convicted individuals of the period, but it is a perpetual and consistent moral in O. Henry's texts. young man on the train; handsome with a bold, frank countenance. I saw this opening in the West . In this story, the protagonist eventually learns that Mr. Easton has been arrested for counterfeiting, which means that he was involved in fraudulent imitation of some kind, likely for financial gain. A Liar and Opportunist In order to save his past reputation and respect in the eyes of Miss Fairchild who seems to be surrounded by social images, he tells a lie to Miss Fairchild. Hearts and Hands by O. 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So, it is evident that he is. Heart and Hands: Writing style, Summary/Analysis, Characters, Plot, Themes, Symbols, and Irony.Notes: Heart and Hands critical analysis : Writing style, Sum. And if conforming to other people's expectations requires moneyeven if it's stolen moneythen so be it. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 Mr. Easton Mr. Easton is a handsome, young man who is articulate, yet humble. Ans: The linked couple were Mr. Easton and the Marshal because they were handcuffed together. His name is Mr Easton. 20. His Heavy Greed for Money Mr. Easton seems to have migrated from the East to the West for earning more and more money. It is a story about two acquaintances who coincidentally, meet on a train. Home. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) Mr. Easton is not the marshal; he is the counterfeiter. Miss Fairchild is smitten by Mr Easton, which is clear from her, interaction with him throughout the story. "Hearts and Hands" begins with a description of people boarding a train in Denver. Mr. Easton is as quick thinking as the real marshal. 9th Grade English: Homework Help Resource, American Short Stories for 9th Grade: Homework Help, There Will Come Soft Rains: Theme, Setting & Symbolism, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, Michele Honeycutt, Margaret Stone, Sasha Blakeley, American Novels for 9th Grade: Homework Help, Eleven by Sandra Cisneros: Summary, Theme & Analysis, Edgar Allan Poe: Biography, Works, and Style, Poe's The Cask of Amontillado: Summary and Analysis, Washington Irving: Biography, Works, and Style, Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Summary and Analysis, Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle: Summary and Analysis, The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving: Summary and Analysis, The Most Dangerous Game: Summary and Themes, The Scarlet Ibis: Summary, Setting & Themes, Hills Like White Elephants and Other Hemingway Stories, A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury: Summary, Analysis & Theme, Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara: Summary & Analysis, Damon Runyon: Biography, Short Stories & Books, Short Stories: Definition, Characteristics & Examples, Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser: Summary, Themes & Analysis, The Most Dangerous Game: Characters & Analysis, The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe: Summary, Characters & Analysis, The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe: Summary, Characters & Analysis, The Veldt by Ray Bradbury: Summary & Setting, The Wife of His Youth: Summary, Themes & Analysis, Hearts and Hands by O. 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Henry: Summary & Analysis, After Twenty Years by O. Henry Character Analysis, Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen: Summary & Theme, A Strange Story by O. Henry: Summary & Theme, O. Henry's Short Stories: Lesson for Kids, An Unfinished Story by O. Henry: Summary & Analysis, The Dream by O. Henry: Summary & Analysis, A Newspaper Story by O. Henry: Summary & Analysis, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. Many stories have twist endings like this one where the reader suddenly realizes that they were wrong about some critical assumption. The events that precipitated^Jie Revolution of'1958 stemmed from three fundamental forces, first, W ore World War II, Arab national ism was negative in nature, because its leaders . The story is set on a train to Denver. Write a paragraph explaining how Mr. Easton's charge of counterfeiting is part of the irony in the story. Which line from "Hearts and Hands" would logically lead a reader to . To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Mr Easton agrees to this request, and the two of them bid their farewells. She has been teaching English in Canada and Taiwan for seven years. Many critics have commented that O. Henrys twist endings are often so obvious, even from the storys outset, that they fail to surprise or shock us when we get to the big reveal at the end of the story. Nevertheless, Hearts and Hands is a story which cannily (if slightly predictably) plays on our own assumptions as readers: if most people were presented with two men, the ruffled, heavily built, and roughly dressed one would be more likely to be identified as the criminal, yet in this case, O. Henry suggests, that assumption would be wrong. Give a character sketch of the marshal in Hearts and Hands. ''Oh! At Denver there was an influx of passengers into the coaches on the eastbound B. This is because O. Henry uses irony, description of characters and theme as details that all interconnect to find the twist of the story. Easton's love of money. Despite being a prisoner, Mr Easton is clearly a charming and polite man. It is only at the very last sentence of the story, that we know his real identity when another passenger says Saydid you ever know an, officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand? So, drawing a character sketch of the. Easton is described as having a 'handsome presence with a bold, frank countenance and manner.'. Such a life is very different from life in the nations capital. 9th Grade English: Homework Help Resource, American Short Stories for 9th Grade: Homework Help, There Will Come Soft Rains: Theme, Setting & Symbolism, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, American Novels for 9th Grade: Homework Help, Eleven by Sandra Cisneros: Summary, Theme & Analysis, Edgar Allan Poe: Biography, Works, and Style, Poe's The Cask of Amontillado: Summary and Analysis, Washington Irving: Biography, Works, and Style, Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Summary and Analysis, Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle: Summary and Analysis, The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving: Summary and Analysis, The Most Dangerous Game: Summary and Themes, The Scarlet Ibis: Summary, Setting & Themes, Hills Like White Elephants and Other Hemingway Stories, A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury: Summary, Analysis & Theme, Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara: Summary & Analysis, Damon Runyon: Biography, Short Stories & Books, Short Stories: Definition, Characteristics & Examples, Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser: Summary, Themes & Analysis, The Most Dangerous Game: Characters & Analysis, The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe: Summary, Characters & Analysis, The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe: Summary, Characters & Analysis, The Veldt by Ray Bradbury: Summary & Setting, The Wife of His Youth: Summary, Themes & Analysis, Hearts and Hands by O. 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Henry: Summary & Analysis, After Twenty Years by O. Henry Character Analysis, Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen: Summary & Theme, A Strange Story by O. Henry: Summary & Theme, O. Henry's Short Stories: Lesson for Kids, An Unfinished Story by O. Henry: Summary & Analysis, The Dream by O. Henry: Summary & Analysis, A Newspaper Story by O. Henry: Summary & Analysis, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community, Identify the major characters in O. Henry's 'Hearts and Hands', Explain what role irony plays in the story. In his own life might have influenced his writing of this story of speaking that... Is as quick thinking as the real marshal a description of people boarding a train in Denver to Denver into. 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