Read the passage.

Jimmy's note to Bob.

excerpt from "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry

Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn’t do it myself,…

Jimmy

Refer to Explorations in Literature for the complete version of this story.

How does this note provide the resolution of the story?

A. The note escalates the conflict in the story.

B. Bob's inner conflict is described for the first time.

C. Bob's fate has been sealed and the story's events are explained.

D. The story reaches a new point of tension when Bob must react.
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Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

How does O. Henry craft "After Twenty Years" to create surprise?

A. He conveys false information about Jimmy and Bob.

B. He distracts readers from the disguised police officer by focusing the story on Jimmy.

C. He withholds the fact that Jimmy knows the identify of the other man from the start.

D. He develops parallel plots to connect Bob and Jimmy in an improbable way.

1. The first excerpt presented in the question is the letter that Bob receives through another officer who has impersonated Jimmy and is trapping Bob as he is a wanted criminal in the story.

The best supporting resolution of the paragraph been provided, that I am sure of, is option-C. This is so, because Bob's run comes to an end and he joins his fate by getting arrested.

C. Bob's fate has been sealed and the story's events are explained.

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2.

Silky Bob is desperate to meet his old friend. Audiences' minds are also being played with by the writer until the point when Bob creates distance between himself and "the long man in the overcoat", claiming, "You are not Jimmy!", and the plot unfolds. Here, Jimmy does not want to witness his worst nightmare and arrest his best friend. So, instead of confronting Bob, he prefers to write a note to him.

The author creates an effect on the readers' minds that the man entering can be no other than Jimmy with dialogues such as, "Is that you, Bob?" However, with my understanding of the story, emotions for his friend clouded Jimmy's ability to arrest Bob, so he hid the truth from the criminal. Therefore, I can say that option-C is right.

C. He withholds the fact that Jimmy knows the identity of the other man from the start.