Directed Reading and Thinking Activities (DRTA) Lesson: A Retrieved Reformation by O.

Henry
Lesson Components
What teacher and student behaviors are planned and expected
Context:
Course: 7th grade English
Length of Lesson: 60-90 minutes (Possibly over more than 1 class period)
Setting: Around 17 students, where the class sits in small tables of 2-3 people; 2 ELL
students; about 2/3 of the class are boys
Curriculum: Horror/Mystery/Suspense Unit

Virginia SOL(s):
7.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fictional
texts, narrative nonfiction, and poetry.
a) Describe the elements of narrative structure including setting, character
development, plot structure, theme, and conflict.
e) Make, confirm, and revise predictions.

Common Core State Standard(s):

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.3 Analyze how particular elements of a story or
drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).

Objectives (KUD format):

FROM DRTA: Before Teaching: Setting Goals.
___ 1. Set goals/objectives for your DRTA.
a) Understand:
1. Students will understand that personal development is complex.
b) Know:
2. Students will know the elements of narrative structure: character
development, plot structure, and conflict. (SOL 7.5a)

3. Students will know how to make predictions of character based on

selections of the text given beforehand. (SOL 7.5e)
4. Students will know how to confirm and revise their predictions to the text.
(SOL 7.5e)
c) 5. Students will be able to track character development and change by
making and revising predictions of the character Jimmy Valentine in A
Retrieved Reformation. (SOL 7.5 a, b, CCSS 7.3)
6. Students will know how to formulate predictions about a character based

Comments/Notes/
Reflections

on quotations excerpted from the text. (SOL 7.5 b)

7. Students will know how to use a DRTA to track Jimmy Valentines
character development as the narrative progresses. (SOL 7.53, CCSS7.3.)
8. Students will be to participate in class discussion to share their revised
predictions with their peers. (SOL 7.5 a, e, f)
9. Students will be able to write a letter from a characters perspective to
examine how character motivation affects plot. (CCSS 7.3)

Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.
Diagnostic: Participating in class discussion on personal reformation and evaluating
quotations about a character from a text. (KUD 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, )
Formative: Confirming and revising predictions about Jimmy Valentine through a
DRTA and sharing them with the class in small- and large- group discussion. (KUD 3,
5, 8, 10)
Letter-writing activity to understand character motivation and change. (KUD 1, 7, 12)
Summative: Later on, the students write an essay on character development in their
chosen work of fiction. They will argue for key moments in a text in which a
character changes or undergoes a personal reformation. They will think about how
personal identity develops or fluctuates. (KUD 1, 2, 3)

Instructional Steps (Procedures): Detail student and teacher behavior. Identify

possible student misconceptions. Include:
I.
Welcome/greeting/announcements
Hello everyone! Hope you have had a good week so far. Today, Diana and I
will be leading class today and we will be jump-starting the
suspense/mystery unit! Hope you all are excited to begin switching gears.

II.
FROM DRTA: Before reading: Frontloading Activities.
So since this the suspense unit, were going to build on the mystery and suspense
and not tell you much about the story before reading except by giving a list of clues
about the main character in the story. Who is the classroom manager today?
[Student 1 raises her hand]. If you could please pass this paper out to the rest of the
class that would be great. [Student 1 passes out frontloading activity paper].
So you all now have a sheet with quotes or characteristics about the main character
of the story, Jimmy Valentine. That is the thing we are going to focus on most
todaycharacter identity and possible development within this upcoming story. So
lets go through each of these quotes and read them aloud. Make note that these
quotes are in a different order than they appear in the story. Please read it as loud as
you can and with inflection so everyone can hear. As your classmates are reading,
please underline key words that catch your eye and give insight into his character.[I

go through and choose students to read each quote. I make stops at virtuous,
economical and unconscious to make sure the students know what they mean
(respectively, having high moral standards; thrifty and practical or making good use
of resources; doing something without thinking, automatically)]. Now I want you all
to get together with your table for about 5 minutes and make a few predictions
about the story. What kind of personality traits does Jimmy have? How do you
know? What does he look like? What do you think are his problems or issues? What
does he do for a living? Make sure you draw from and list specific clues from the text
to support to your predictions.
Then the next thing to do is create a one-sentence summary of what you think this
story will be about. If there is a change or reformation in the character, what
causes it? If not, say why there is no change. Okay, so you all have about 5 minutes
to work in your groups to answer these questions. [Students work together in small
groups for about 5 minutes and I go around to ask them how they are doing.]
[After 5 minutes]
Me: Alright, so lets get a couple of character traits going. What did you guys make of
Jimmys personality or outward appearance from these quotes?
Student 1: He dresses well.
Me: Okay, and what makes you think that?
Student: It says he has ready-made clothes and stiff, squeaky shoes. It also says he as
a style and looks that were scarce.
Me: Yes, exactly, so he has a style that is different or set apart from the everyday,
right? Scarce is similar to rare. It seems like he can dress himself pretty well. Does
the way you dress reveal anything about who you are as a person?
Student 2: Well, girls and guys dress differently. And you might dress up if you are
going somewhere important.
Me: Yea, so the way you dress might shape the way you act or do; or it might be a
reflection of a group that you identify with, like guys or girls. Does Jimmy dress the
same every time?
Students: No, he also looks like an athletic young senior so thats different from
the suit he is wearing.
Me: Yea, that is interesting and maybe something to keep in mind. What are some
other traits?
Student 3: Hes smart and has a lot of friends. He has keen eyes and it says that
socially he was also a success. So I guess he is good at making friends.
Me: Great point. So does he seem like a good guy or a bad guy? What might be some
of Jimmy Valentines problems?
Student 4: Well, maybe he is just too nice and got himself into trouble or was framed
in some way. Like, it says he is blankly virtuous and he seems very wholesome. He
makes a lot of friends.
Me: Interesting point! So you think that he is good guy but then he becomes caught
up in crime in some way. And why do you think he has been framed, or caught up in
a crime?
Student 4: Because it says he is talking to a warden.
Me: That is a good detail to pick up on. Other thoughts?

Student 5: I think that blankly virtuous means that hes faking being virtuous. And
he smiles weirdly.
Student 6: Yea, and it seems like hes lying to the warden. Maybe he is bad and then
he becomes good.
Me: Ah. So maybe that is where his reformation is? Interesting. So does anyone
know what the title means? What exactly is a reformation?
Student 1: Its like a reform. If you want to reform, you change something.
Me: Great, yea exactly, if you reform, then you make a change, shift, or
improvement from the past. Has anyone heard of Coco Chanel? [Several
students raise their hands]. Maybe your moms or grandmothers wear her
perfume. Well when she first came out, she decided to completely change
the way that women wore clothes, making it seem like women dressed like
men and she was very modern. Do you any of you feel like you change the
way you dress? Or know someone who changed the way they dressed?
Student 3: Yes, my cousin completely changed the way she dressed when
she went to high school. It was so weird.
Me: Great, exactly, people might reform the way they dress. Are there any
other reforms you guys can think of? Maybe in sports or in school.
Student 4: Yea, in NFL football, they changed the rules so that referees can
be overruled by the video camera replays.
Me: And why do you think they would reform in that way?
Student 5: So that things will be fair for all players and they can make sure
the referee doesnt ruin the game.
Me: Exactly! Great, so they were trying to make the game better.
[Other possible reforms: things they would change in school (longer lunch,
no more science classes, implement recess again)]
Okay, now what are some of your one-sentence predictions for the story?
Student 4: Jimmy is a frugal and smart guy who becomes framed for a crime and
does not reform and just keeps being a good guy.
Student 5: Jimmy is a smart prisoner who gets out of jail and does not reform and
remains a bad criminal.
Student 6: Jimmy is a person who loves fashion, spends a lot of money on it, and
reforms to become a frugal person who does not spend a lot of money.
Me: Interesting theories! Okay, so now lets turn to the text.

III.
FROM DRTA: Beginning to Read: Set a Purpose.
So now, can Classroom Manager please pass out the actual story that we are going to
read. [Everyone gets their papers.] We have already talked about the title of the
story, which is a good thing to look at when youre just approaching a story, but lets
also look at other features. Is it a long story, or short?
Students: Short
Me: Yes, its a pretty short story so that will help us pinpoint things like character
development and change. I want you to keep everything in mind that we talked
about character in our first activity.

This might seem a bit new to you guys but I really want you to think about the ways
that you read. What are you thinking or visualizing or hearing as you read the words
on the page? This will help for when first approach any story. In specific, I would like
you guys to think about the character of Jimmy Valentinewhat are more words
that reveal his character? What are your personal reactions to his actions? Im giving
you the story with questions in the margins to guide your reading.
[I bring up the paragraph on the SmartBoard so that I can make annotations on it.]
I want you guys to follow along as I read the first paragraph out loud to show you my
personal way of relating of the text. No one is going to exactly the same mindset
when looking at a new story, so you can take from my way of making note of what
pops out to me in the text. Feel free to take notes on what is on the smartboard.
[I read out the loud the first paragraph.]
A guard came to the prison shoe-shop, where Jimmy Valentine was
assiduously stitching uppers, and escorted him to the front office.
There the warden handed Jimmy his pardon, which had been signed that
morning by the governor. Jimmy took it in a tired kind of way. He had
served nearly ten months of a four year sentence. He had expected to
stay only about three months, at the longest. When a man with as many
friends on the outside as Jimmy Valentine had is received in the
"stir" it is hardly worth while to cut his hair.

So lets let the first question guide our reading. As it asks, What do we know about
Jimmy Valentine from the first paragraph? The first thing I am going to do is
underline, circle, or make note of (list) things in the first paragraph that we find out
about Jimmy in the first paragraph.
Me: Aha, so now what have we found out?
Student: That Jimmy is the prisoner.
Me: And how do you know that?
Student: Jimmy is working in the prison shoe shop and he has just been handed a
pardon from a warden.
Me: Yes, exactly. So Im going to go ahead and underline words like warden and
prison shoe-shop, which indicate that Jimmy is a prisoner. What else do we know
about him?
Student 5: He is tired of being in prison.
Me: Yes, and we know that because of the word tired and the way he had
expected to stay there only three months. (I circle or underline these phrases).
Me: So can someone give me an example of what type of answer they would put in
for the first question?
Student: Jimmy is let out of jail and has stayed longer than he expected, because he
has friends and connections outside of jail.
Me: Good summary and answer. What other things do we know about Jimmy from
this first paragraph?
Student 6: He might be part of some sort of criminal network that can move beyond

the government.
Me: Yea, exactly. And how do we know that?
Student 6: It says he has many friends outside.
Me: Great! (I bracket off this part of the passage and write the students sentence in
the margins under the question.
Me: Any other observations?
Student 3: He does bad things but is not punished for his actions.
Me: Yea, that is a great inference. So what do you guys think of Jimmy so far?
Student 4: He probably gets whatever he wants and lets his friends do all the work
for him.
Student 5: He seems like pretty quiet since we first see him when hes working.
Student 6: Maybe he is someone like Al Capone. I think hes pretty cool and has a
cool name.
Me: So it is really important to think about your own reactions and relationships to
the character when you read this own your own. Who do you identify with? Who do
you like or dislike? Some of the guiding questions will ask you about your personal
point of view or what a certain character thinks of Jimmy Valentine. Think carefully
about your changing views of Jimmy as you answer these questions, and also keep in
mind your predictions about the text from our previous activity.

IV.

FROM DRTA: Guide Students Reading.

So I want you all to take start to tackle this story on your own. [I have a couple of
students to read out loud the directions to the activity.]
[From the worksheet:]
Directions: As you read, allow the questions to guide your reading and
write 1-2 sentence answers to each in the margins. Underline, circle, or
make notes of parts of the story that support your inferences or
generalizations in your answers. You should make note of at least three pieces
of evidence from the text to support your answers.
Me: I have already modeled the first question for you guys. Make sure that
you underline, circle, or bracket off how you know the things the questions
are asking.
Lastly, keep in mind your predictions for Jimmy Valentines character
development. What is the retrieved reformation? [modified from Wilhelm, Ch.
3]
Me: Does anyone have any questions? You guys will have about a half an hour to get
through as much of the story as you can, with comments, notes, and questions in the
margins. Feel free to circle, underline, or any method of note-taking that you prefer.
Student: So basically we can answer the questions any way we want to?
Me: Thats a good question.You should answer in a way that is supported by the
details that you have pointed out in the text. It can be certain statements that
support an inference you are making, just as we inferred earlier that Jimmy may be

part of some sort of criminal network.

Student: If it asks for our opinion, do we also have to underline words?
Me: Yes, you want to make connections directly from the text to your life. That way,
we can keep the plot in mind while also thinking about how the story relates to your
life.
Student: Should we read the whole passage before answering the questions in each
block?
Me: In general yes. Read the questions as your reading the story and answer each
before moving on to the next block.
[Students begin reading and I go around and help them if they have more questions.]

V.
FROM DRTA: After Reading.
Me: So now that you all have read the story, firstly, what did you guys think of the
story as a whole?
Student 1: I thought it was exciting and had lots of suspense.
Student 2: I really liked the Jimmy Valentine character.
Me: Cool! Now what I want you all to do is answer the two post-reading questions on
the back of the worksheet with the quotes on it.
[Students take 3 minutes to answer questions]
Me: So, what are some of the personal connections you all made to the text? Have
you guys ever been in a situation like Jimmys where you underwent some type of
transformation?
*Students mention times when they had trouble figuring out a persons motives, or
they did something bad and tried to reform themselves. I ask them to point out
specific textual instances for the connections they made]
Questions to ask them throughout: Is it easy to reform after you have done
something wrong? What are obstacles and how do you prove that you have truly
changed?
Now we can revise our ideas about Jimmy Valentine. Working backwards, lets think
about what the reformation refers to, and think about whether or not Jimmy
changed throughout the story.
So what are some of the sentences that you all came up with? Why doesnt a
representative from each group come up and write their sentence on the white
board?
Responses:
Student 1: Jimmy Valentine was a sneaky and smart criminal who reformed to
become a good husband, Ralph Spencer.
Student 3: Jimmy Valentine was a mysterious bank robber who reformed to become
a saver of lives.
Student 2: Jimmy Valentine was a clever con man who reformed through love to
become an ordinary person.
Me: Okay, great responses. So are we all in agreement that Jimmy Valentine did
undergo some type of change? What does everyone think?
Student 5: Well, he actually didnt change that much. By the end of the story he is a
still a person who cracks open safes of banks.
Me: Hey, thats a good point. So there is some part of him that did not really change.

Well, lets talk about some of your answers to the questions. What else did you guys
learn from answering these questions?Student: The point of view of the person
matters. Like, Annabel Adams sees Jimmy differently from the warden.
Me: Yea, that is true. And in what way?
Student: She sees him as Ralph Spencer, who is a good family man, while the warden
sees him as someone who is hiding something.
Me: Jimmy Valentine does present himself in different ways to different people. If
you change the way you look does that mean you necessarily change for good? Is
there an internal change within Jimmy that you guys noted?
[Quiet] Student 2, you guys talked about how he changed from a con man to an
ordinary person, right? And is there a specific moment of change?
Student 3: He fell in love with Annabel Adams.
Me: Okay lets look at that section of the story again. What moments made you think
that he was undergoing a change?
Student 4: Well he changed his name and the way he dressed.
Student 5: And it says that Ralph was the phoenix that arose from Jimmy Valentines
ashes.
Me: Yes, its just like Harry potter, where he undergoes a rebirth of sorts. And where
else did you guys note that he stayed the same? Student 5 mentioned one point
already.
Student 6: On the last page, when he is so good at cracking the safe. Hes using his
old skills for the better.
Student 7: Hes using his powers for good rather than evil!
Me: Like spiderman. Those are all great points. He does use his craftiness to safe a
girls life. And what were some of your thoughts about what Ben Price was thinking
during that scene? (Questions 10)
Student: Jimmy has changed his clothes and position in life, so at first Ben Price
thinks that Jimmy has is just a fake. But Jimmy uses his criminal skills to save lives,
not rob banks, so Ben Price realizes that there has been a reformation.
Me:Yes, and I think he realizes that there has been both an outward and inner
reformation within Jimmy Valentine.
And what did you all think of that scene when Ralph Spencer becomes Jimmy
Valentine again. Would you do the same thing if you were in his shoes?
Student 4: He had to expose himself as a safe-opener to a lot of people.
Me: Yea, exactly. Lets look at that scene again. Student 7, why dont you read this
paragraph:
Hardly believing that she heard him aright, she unpinned the bud from the bosom
of her dress, and placed it in his hand. Jimmy stuffed it into his vest-pocket, threw off
his coat and pulled up his shirt-sleeves. With that act, Ralph Spencer passed away
and Jimmy Valentine took his place.
Me: So whats the significance of that rose? *Students are quiet, I wait+
Student 5: Oh! Well, since before we talked about love and Jimmy Valentine, hes
becoming his old self again. But maybe hes combining parts of his old and new self.
Me: Yea, that is an interesting interpretation!
Student 6: Or maybe he wanted it for a keepsake because he knew he was going to
jail after revealing his former self.
Me: Thats an interesting point, too. So there are definitely complex identity issues
going in Jimmys reformation. Would you do the same thing if you were in Jimmys

shoes?
Student: Yes, because he loved Annabel and wanted to help out her family, even if it
meant showing her that he was a criminal.
Me: Yes, and it seems that by revealing his past, he somehow finds a way to become
goodthe criminal part of him has a chance to publicly change for the better. He
shares his goodness with the rest of society.

VI.

FROM DRTA: Follow-up.

[Probably the next class period]:

So you all have finished reading A Retrieved Reformation. Now what I want you all
do to is think about the story a bit more from a certain characters perspective and
write a letter from that character to another, relating some of the thoughts or
conflicts going on within them at the time. For example, as we see in the letter from
Jimmy within the story, he expresses his excitement about his transformation and
change into a new kind of person. [One of the students reads the letter out loud:]
Dear Old Pal:
I want you to be at Sullivan's place, in Little Rock, next
Wednesday night, at nine o'clock. I want you to wind up some little matters for me.
And, also, I want to make you a present of my kit of tools. I know you'll be glad to
get them--you couldn't duplicate the lot for a thousand dollars. Say, Billy, I've quit
the old business--a year ago. I've got a nice store. I'm making an honest living,
and I'm going to marry the finest girl on earth two weeks from now. It's the only
life, Billy--the straight one. I wouldn't touch a dollar of another man's money now
for a million.
After I get married I'm going to sell out and go West, where there won't be so
much danger of having old scores brought up against me. I tell you, Billy, she's an
angel. She believes in me; and I wouldn't do another crooked thing for the whole
world. Be sure to be at Sully's, for I must see you. I'll bring along the tools with
me.
Your old friend,

Me: So what do we learn about Jimmy in this letter?

Student: We know his about his feelings towards Annabel and what he is going to do
with his tools.
Me: Yes, and perhaps our point of view changes of him also. So similarly, when you
write your letter, you would want to deepen the plot of the storyprovide
background or reinforcement of what the person is feeling or contemplating.
So, Pick a moment in the story when you wished you knew more about what a
character was thinking and write a short letter, email, series of text messages, or
diary entry that illustrates their thoughts and internal conflicts during that time
period. If you write a dialogue of text messages, it should still be in complete
sentences and reveal information about the characters internal thoughts.
[Classroom Manager passes out worksheet for this. ] Your objective is to explore

character depth and connect it to the actions of the plot going on during that
particular moment.
For example, you can use some of the questions on the DRTA as a starting point.
What does Mike Dolan feel about Jimmy Valentine after encountering him? What
will Mike do beyond the storydoes he plan to emulate Jimmy or would he similarly
undergo a change? Or what does Ben Price say to himself after he lets Jimmy go?
Does he feel like he did the right thing?
On the back of your worksheet you can see a sample of writing from the point of the
warden. Can someone please read it out loud. [Student reads it out loud]
What do we learn about the warden from this letter?
Student 1: He is not sure if Jimmy will change.
Student 4: The warden has good intentions in giving Jimmy this advice.
[I ask students to find evidence in the letter to support their statements]
Me: Yea, we get to know more about the wardens internal thoughts after the action
of the scene has ended.
Any questions?
Student: Can we write about any character?
Me: Yes, and it might be interesting to choose a character that is minor and that we
dont know that much about.
Student: What are things to include in our paragraph?
Me: You could talk about how the character is feelingwhether or not they are
conflicted about something, how they are reacting to certain event in the plot. How
do they feel about how other characters in the plot? Maybe you can insert some of
your own conflicted feelings about Jimmy Valentine in your characters letters. Okay,
so you all have the next 20 or 30 minutes to work on this assignment, and I am
available if you have any questions about what to write about.

IV. Closing
Good job, you all, working on the DRTA and the letter writing activity. I hope you had
plenty to think about in terms of considering how a person changes or reforms.
And hopefully, you all had fun reading about this criminal who suddenly undergoes a
radical change. Wishing many positive reformations in your futures as well!

Materials:
Frontloading Worksheet
Packet for a Retrieved Reformation
Post-reading Activity Worksheet

Attention to Individual Student Needs: Detail specific actions/materials you will

use to meet individual needs in this lesson.

There are two ELLs in the class, so I make sure to point of specific vocabulary in my
front loading activity and give them a chance to work in small groups to express
their thoughts before presenting them to the entire class.

Technology Use: Detail specific technology being used in the lesson with
explanation for why it is being used.
Smartboard to show annotations on the text and model the DRTA

How this lesson incorporates specific insights from course readings and/or class discussion:
This lesson draws from the DRTA model in Wilhelm Chapter 3, in which students are supposed to think about
what they are thinking, feeling, and visualizing as they approach a text. I geared this lesson towards the idea of
character development and tried to build background knowledge by frontloading the material beforehand. I also
tried to encourage higher level questioning in discussion, as per Wilhelms discussion of different forms of
questioning in Chapter 5.

Quotes about the main character, Jimmy Valentine, in A Retrieved Reformation:

He had on a suit of the villainously fitting, ready-made clothes and a pair of the stiff, squeaky shoes...
He looked at her with a queer, soft smile on his lips and in his keen eyes.
"Me?" said Jimmy, still blankly virtuous. "Why, warden, I never was in Springfield in my life!"
I wouldnt touch a dollar of another mans money.
Young men of Jimmys style and looks were scarce in Elmore.
Im getting awfully economical.
Jimmy, looking like an athletic young senior just home from college, went down the board side-walk
toward the hotel.
Socially he was also a success, and made many friends.
Your Predictions:
1. Character Traits (Describe Jimmys personality and appearance. What do you think he does for a
living? Point out specific words or phrases that give you clues to his character.):

2. Character Issues (What could be some of Jimmy Valentines problems? Refer to specific words or
phrases that give you clues.)

3. Based on the quotations above, create a one-sentence prediction of Jimmy Valentines character
development in A Retrieved Reformation. Is there a reformation in his character? If so, what would
cause the change?
Example: Jimmy is a _______, ________ person who reforms/does not change to become a ________,
________ person by the end of the story.

Post-reading:
Have you ever undergone a personal reformation similar to the one that occurs in the story or know of
someone who has? What caused the change?

Write a revised one-sentence summary of Jimmy Valentines character development. Was there a
change in his character? What caused it?

Directed Reading Thinking Activity for A Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry

Directions: As you read, allow the questions to guide your reading and write 1-2 sentence answers
to each in the margins. Underline, circle, or make notes of parts of the story that support your inferences
or generalizations in your answers. You should make note of at least three pieces of evidence from the
text to support your answers.

A Retrieved Reformation
A guard came to the prison shoe-shop, where Jimmy
Valentine was assiduously stitching uppers, and escorted him
to the front office. There the warden handed Jimmy his
pardon, which had been signed that morning by the governor.
Jimmy took it in a tired kind of way. He had served nearly ten
months of a four year sentence. He had expected to stay only
about three months, at the longest. When a man with as
many friends on the outside as Jimmy Valentine had is
received in the "stir" it is hardly worth while to cut his hair.

1. What do we know about Jimmy Valentine

from the first paragraph?

"Now, Valentine," said the warden, "you'll go out in the

morning. Brace up, and make a man of yourself. You're not a
bad fellow at heart. Stop cracking safes, and live straight."
"Me?" said Jimmy, in surprise. "Why, I never cracked a safe
in my life."

2. What are your first impressions of Jimmy

Valentine from the beginning of this story?

"Oh, no," laughed the warden. "Of course not. Let's see, now.
How was it you happened to get sent up on that Springfield
job? Was it because you wouldn't prove an alibi for fear of
compromising somebody in extremely high-toned society? Or
was it simply a case of a mean old jury that had it in for you?
It's always one or the other with you innocent victims."
"Me?" said Jimmy, still blankly virtuous. "Why, warden, I
never was in Springfield in my life!"

3. What do you think are the wardens thoughts

on Jimmy Valentine by the end of this scene?

"Take him back, Cronin!" said the warden, "and fix him up
with outgoing clothes. Unlock him at seven in the morning,
and let him come to the bull-pen. Better think over my
advice, Valentine."
At a quarter past seven on the next morning Jimmy stood in
the warden's outer office. He had on a suit of the villainously
fitting, ready-made clothes and a pair of the stiff, squeaky
shoes that the state furnishes to its discharged compulsory
guests.
The clerk handed him a railroad ticket and the five-dollar bill
with which the law expected him to rehabilitate himself into
good citizenship and prosperity. The warden gave him a
cigar, and shook hands. Valentine, 9762, was chronicled on
the books, "Pardoned by Governor," and Mr. James Valentine
walked out into the sunshine.
Disregarding the song of the birds, the waving green trees,
and the smell of the flowers, Jimmy headed straight for a

4. How does Jimmy feel after getting out of

jail? How do you know?

restaurant. There he tasted the first sweet joys of liberty in

the shape of a broiled chicken and a bottle of white wine-followed by a cigar a grade better than the one the warden
had given him. From there he proceeded leisurely to the
depot. He tossed a quarter into the hat of a blind man sitting
by the door, and boarded his train. Three hours set him
down in a little town near the state line. He went to the cafe
of one Mike Dolan and shook hands with Mike, who was alone
behind the bar.
"Sorry we couldn't make it sooner, Jimmy, me boy," said
Mike. "But we had that protest from Springfield to buck
against, and the governor nearly balked. Feeling all right?"
"Fine," said Jimmy. "Got my key?"
He got his key and went upstairs, unlocking the door of a
room at the rear. Everything was just as he had left it. There
on the floor was still Ben Price's collar-button that had been
torn from that eminent detective's shirt-band when they had
overpowered Jimmy to arrest him.

How does Mike Dolan feel about Jimmy

Valentine? How does his view differ from the
wardens? Which view to you side with more?

Pulling out from the wall a folding-bed, Jimmy slid back a

panel in the wall and dragged out a dust-covered suit-case.
He opened this and gazed fondly at the finest set of burglar's
tools in the East. It was a complete set, made of specially
tempered steel, the latest designs in drills, punches, braces
and bits, jimmies, clamps, and augers, with two or three
novelties, invented by Jimmy himself, in which he took
pride. Over nine hundred dollars they had cost him to have
made at ----, a place where they make such things for the
profession.
In half an hour Jimmy went down stairs and through the cafe.
He was now dressed in tasteful and well-fitting clothes, and
carried his dusted and cleaned suit-case in his hand.
"Got anything on?" asked Mike Dolan, genially.
"Me?" said Jimmy, in a puzzled tone. "I don't understand. I'm
representing the New York Amalgamated Short Snap Biscuit
Cracker and Frazzled Wheat Company."
This statement delighted Mike to such an extent that Jimmy
had to take a seltzer-and-milk on the spot. He never touched
"hard" drinks.
A week after the release of Valentine, 9762, there was a neat
job of safe-burglary done in Richmond, Indiana, with no clue
to the author. A scant eight hundred dollars was all that was
secured. Two weeks after that a patented, improved, burglarproof safe in Logansport was opened like a cheese to the tune
of fifteen hundred dollars, currency; securities and silver
untouched. That began to interest the rogue-catchers. Then
an old-fashioned bank-safe in Jefferson City became active
and threw out of its crater an eruption of bank-notes
amounting to five thousand dollars. The losses were now high
enough to bring the matter up into Ben Price's class of work.

5. Who is Ben Price? What are his views about

who is conducting the robberies? Why?

By comparing notes, a remarkable similarity in the methods

of the burglaries was noticed. Ben Price investigated the
scenes of the robberies, and was heard to remark:
"That's Dandy Jim Valentine's autograph. He's resumed
business. Look at that combination knob--jerked out as easy
as pulling up a radish in wet weather. He's got the only
clamps that can do it. And look how clean those tumblers
were punched out! Jimmy never has to drill but
one hole. Yes, I guess I want Mr. Valentine. He'll do his bit
next time without any short-time or clemency foolishness."

6. What are your thoughts and feelings on

Jimmy Valentines actions during this point in
the text?

Ben Price knew Jimmy's habits. He had learned them while

working on the Springfield case. Long jumps, quick getaways, no confederates, and a taste for good society--these
ways had helped Mr. Valentine to become noted as a
successful dodger of retribution. It was given out
that Ben Price had taken up the trail of the elusive
cracksman, and other people with burglar-proof safes felt
more at ease.

One afternoon Jimmy Valentine and his suit-case climbed out

of the mail-hack in Elmore, a little town five miles off the
railroad down in the black-jack country of Arkansas. Jimmy,
looking like an athletic young senior just home from college,
went down the board side-walk toward the hotel.
A young lady crossed the street, passed him at the corner
and entered a door over which was the sign, "The Elmore
Bank." Jimmy Valentine looked into her eyes, forgot what he
was, and became another man. She lowered her eyes and
coloured slightly. Young men of Jimmy's style and looks were
scarce in Elmore.
Jimmy collared a boy that was loafing on the steps of the
bank as if he were one of the stockholders, and began to ask
him questions about the town, feeding him dimes at intervals.
By and by the young lady came out, looking royally
unconscious of the young man with the suit-case, and went
her way.
"Isn' that young lady Polly Simpson?" asked Jimmy, with
specious guile.
"Naw," said the boy. "She's Annabel Adams. Her pa owns this
bank. Why'd you come to Elmore for? Is that a gold watchchain? I'm going to get a bulldog. Got any more dimes?"
Jimmy went to the Planters' Hotel, registered as Ralph D.
Spencer, and engaged a room. He leaned on the desk and
declared his platform to the clerk. He said he had come to
Elmore to look for a location to go into business. How was the
shoe business, now, in the town? He had thought of the shoe
business. Was there an opening?
The clerk was impressed by the clothes and manner of
Jimmy. He, himself, was something of a pattern of fashion to

7. If you were Annabel Adams, what would be

your first impressions of Jimmy Valentine?
Why?

the thinly gilded youth of Elmore, but he now perceived his

shortcomings. While trying to figure out Jimmy's manner of
tying his four-in-hand he cordially gave information.
Yes, there ought to be a good opening in the shoe line. There
wasn't an exclusive shoe-store in the place. The dry-goods
and general stores handled them. Business in all lines was
fairly good. Hoped Mr. Spencer would decide to locate in
Elmore. He would find it a pleasant town to live in, and the
people very sociable.
Mr. Spencer thought he would stop over in the town a few
days and look over the situation. No, the clerk needn't call
the boy. He would carry up his suit-case, himself; it was
rather heavy.

8. Who is Mr. Ralph Spencer? How is he

different or similar to Jimmy Valentine? What
adjectives does O. Henry use to describe him?

Mr. Ralph Spencer, the phoenix that arose from Jimmy

Valentine's ashes --ashes left by the flame of a sudden and
alterative attack of love-- remained in Elmore, and prospered.
He opened a shoe-store and secured a good run of trade.
Socially he was also a success, and made many friends. And
he accomplished the wish of his heart. He met Miss Annabel
Adams, and became more and more captivated by her
charms.
At the end of a year the situation of Mr. Ralph Spencer was
this: he had won the respect of the community, his shoestore was flourishing, and he and Annabel were engaged to
be married in two weeks. Mr. Adams, the typical, plodding,
country banker, approved of Spencer. Annabel's pride in him
almost equalled her affection. He was as much at home in
the family of Mr. Adams and that of Annabel's married sister
as if he were already a member.
One day Jimmy sat down in his room and wrote this letter,
which he mailed to the safe address of one of his old friends
in St. Louis:
Dear Old Pal:
I want you to be at Sullivan's place, in Little Rock, next
Wednesday night, at nine o'clock. I want you to wind up
some little matters for me. And, also, I want to make you a
present of my kit of tools. I know you'll be glad to get them-you couldn't duplicate the lot for a thousand dollars. Say,
Billy, I've quit the old business--a year ago. I've got a nice
store. I'm making an honest living, and I'm going to marry
the finest girl on earth two weeks from now. It's the only life,
Billy--the straight one. I wouldn't touch a dollar of another
man's money now for a million.
After I get married I'm going to sell out and go West, where
there won't be so much danger of having old scores brought
up against me. I tell you, Billy, she's an angel. She believes
in me; and I wouldn't do another crooked thing for the whole
world. Be sure to be at Sully's, for I must see you. I'll bring
along the tools with me.
Your old friend,

Think about: Have you ever undergone this

type of transformation in your own life? Or, do

Jimmy.

On the Monday night after Jimmy wrote this letter, Ben Price
jogged unobtrusively into Elmore in a livery buggy. He
lounged about town in his quiet way until he found out what
he wanted to know. From the drug-store across the street
from Spencer's shoe-store he got a good look at Ralph D.
Spencer.
"Going to marry the banker's daughter are you, Jimmy?" said
Ben to himself, softly. "Well, I don't know!"
The next morning Jimmy took breakfast at the Adamses. He
was going to Little Rock that day to order his wedding-suit
and buy something nice for Annabel. That would be the first
time he had left town since he came to Elmore. It had been
more than a year now since those last professional "jobs,"
and he thought he could safely venture out.
After breakfast quite a family party went downtown together-Mr. Adams, Annabel, Jimmy, and Annabel's married sister
with her two little girls, aged five and nine. They came by the
hotel where Jimmy still boarded, and he ran up to his room
and brought along his suit- case. Then they went on to the
bank. There stood Jimmy's horse and buggy and Dolph
Gibson, who was going to drive him over to the railroad
station.
All went inside the high, carved oak railings into the bankingroom-- Jimmy included, for Mr. Adams's future son-in-law
was welcome anywhere. The clerks were pleased to be
greeted by the good-looking, agreeable young man who was
going to marry Miss Annabel. Jimmy set his suit-case down.
Annabel, whose heart was bubbling with happiness and
lively youth, put on Jimmy's hat, and picked up the suit-case.
"Wouldn't I make a nice drummer?" said Annabel. "My!
Ralph, how heavy it is? Feels like it was full of gold bricks."
"Lot of nickel-plated shoe-horns in there," said Jimmy, coolly,
"that I'm going to return. Thought I'd save express charges
by taking them up. I'm getting awfully economical."
The Elmore Bank had just put in a new safe and vault. Mr.
Adams was very proud of it, and insisted on an inspection by
every one. The vault was a small one, but it had a new,
patented door. It fastened with three solid steel bolts thrown
simultaneously with a single handle, and had a time-lock. Mr.
Adams beamingly explained its workings to Mr. Spencer, who
showed a courteous but not too intelligent interest. The two
children, May and Agatha, were delighted by the shining
metal and funny clock and knobs.
While they were thus engaged Ben Price sauntered in and
leaned on his elbow, looking casually inside between the
railings. He told the teller that he didn't want anything; he

you know someone who has?

10. Pay attention to Ben Prices placement

throughout the following scene. In the margins,
point out and jot down at least three of the
thoughts that he could be thinking about the
action that occurs.

was just waiting for a man he knew.

Suddenly there was a scream or two from the women, and a
commotion. Unperceived by the elders, May, the nine-yearold girl, in a spirit of play, had shut Agatha in the vault. She
had then shot the bolts and turned the knob of the
combination as she had seen Mr. Adams do.
The old banker sprang to the handle and tugged at it for a
moment. "The door can't be opened," he groaned. "The clock
hasn't been wound nor the combination set."
Agatha's mother screamed again, hysterically.
"Hush!" said Mr. Adams, raising his trembling hand. "All be
quite for a moment. Agatha!" he called as loudly as he could.
"Listen to me." During the following silence they could just
hear the faint sound of the child wildly shrieking in the dark
vault in a panic of terror.
"My precious darling!" wailed the mother. "She will die of
fright! Open the door! Oh, break it open! Can't you men do
something?"
"There isn't a man nearer than Little Rock who can open that
door," said Mr. Adams, in a shaky voice. "My God! Spencer,
what shall we do? That child--she can't stand it long in there.
There isn't enough air, and, besides, she'll go into convulsions
from fright."
Agatha's mother, frantic now, beat the door of the vault with
her hands. Somebody wildly suggested dynamite. Annabel
turned to Jimmy, her large eyes full of anguish, but not yet
despairing. To a woman nothing seems quite impossible to
the powers of the man she worships.
"Can't you do something, Ralph--/try/, won't you?"
He looked at her with a queer, soft smile on his lips and in his
keen eyes.
"Annabel," he said, "give me that rose you are wearing, will
you?"
Hardly believing that she heard him aright, she unpinned the
bud from the bosom of her dress, and placed it in his hand.
Jimmy stuffed it into his vest-pocket, threw off his coat and
pulled up his shirt-sleeves. With that act Ralph D. Spencer
passed away and Jimmy Valentine took his place.
"Get away from the door, all of you," he commanded, shortly.
He set his suit-case on the table, and opened it out flat. From
that time on he seemed to be unconscious of the presence of
any one else. He laid out the shining, queer implements
swiftly and orderly, whistling softly to himself as he always
did when at work. In a deep silence and immovable, the
others watched him as if under a spell.

11. What happens to Ralph D. Spencer in this

scene? Would you do the same thing if you
were in his position?

In a minute Jimmy's pet drill was biting smoothly into the

steel door.
In ten minutes--breaking his own burglarious recordhe
threw back the bolts and opened the door.
Agatha, almost collapsed, but safe, was gathered into her
mother's arms.
Jimmy Valentine put on his coat, and walked outside the
railings towards the front door. As he went he thought he
heard a far-away voice that he once knew call "Ralph!" But he
never hesitated.
At the door a big man stood somewhat in his way.
"Hello, Ben!" said Jimmy, still with his strange smile. "Got
around at last, have you? Well, let's go. I don't know that it
makes much difference, now."
And then Ben Price acted rather strangely.
"Guess you're mistaken, Mr. Spencer," he said. "Don't believe
I recognize you. Your buggy's waiting for you, ain't it?"

12. Why does Ben Price say what he does at

the end of this scene?

A Retrieved Reformation Post-Reading Activity

Examine the letter that Jimmy Valentine writes to his friend in A Retrieved Reformation. Pick another
moment in the text when you wish you knew what a character was thinking during that moment and
write a short letter, email, series of text messages, or diary entry to illustrate their thought process as
an action is occurring. The objective of this activity is to think about how character thoughts or actions
affect or reflect the overall plot of the story. Example: narrating the point of view of Mike Dolan after
he exits the story.
A short, 2-3 sentence description of what is happening at this point in the plot (include page number):

Which characters point of view are you writing from?

Your letter or dialogue (They should be either 1-2 paragraphs or at least 4 exchanges of email/text
messaging dialogue. Write in complete sentences. ):

Example (the wardens journal entry):

Dear Journal,
Ive just come back from releasing Jimmy Valentine from his sentence. I honestly dont think
that hes ever going to change from being the burglar and con artist that he always was.
There is no point in lying to me, too. Ive been here so long I can seen straight through
thousands of criminals when they look at me with seemingly innocent eyes and tell me theyve
done no wrong! Im especially wary about that Jimmy Valentine. He has so many friends and
connections outside prison that there is no way he will ever change to become a better
person. How can someone reform if theyve never experienced punishment for their crimes?
The world works in such crazy ways sometimes.
I did give him advice to stop cracking safes, and live straight and maybe some day those
words will come back to him and hell change for the better. Even though Im just a warden in
a prison, I do try to make the world a better place by getting through to these criminals.
Thats what theyre here forthey should think about all the wrong things theyve done. It
can be a bleak place in prison, but hopefully once prisoners are out, they can change their
lives for the better.
Until next time,
Johnny