Lexie Cohen

Period 4
Perception vs Reality
Have you ever known someone, not as who they actually are? What if you were
engaged to someone with a fake identity, but did not know it? In the short story A
Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry, Jimmy Valentine is a bank robber, who just got
out of jail. He goes to rob a bank, but he meets a beautiful women, Annabelle Adams.
He decides to change his name to Ralph D. Spencer, and live his life with Annabelle as
a different person. He and Annabelle get engaged, and she still does not know that in
reality her fiance is a master bank robber with a different name. In the text, Hearts
and Hands by O. Henry, Mrs. Fairchild sees her old friend on the train handcuffed to
another man. The two men fool her into thinking old friend is the marshal who is
handcuffed to a prisoner. When in reality it was the opposite, her friend is really the
prisoner and is handcuffed to the marshal. Annabelle Adams in A Retrieved
Reformation clearly is much more removed from reality than Mrs, Fairchild in
Hearts and Hands, because she was engaged to a man with a fake identity, Mrs.
Fairchild just thought a man had a different identity, on one train ride.
Jimmy Valentine in A Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry, decides to get a
fake identity when he first sees Annabelle Adams. Jimmy just got to Elmore, and is
looking to rob the bank there when A young lady crossed the street passed him on 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

(270-271). This young lady was Annabelle Adams. Jimmy fell in love with Annabelle but
knew she would never be with a bank robber. So he changed his identity and did not
even mention once that he used to be Jimmy Valentine. This means Annabelle was very
removed from reality because she does not know that the man she saw was a
completely different person from that moment forward because of her.
Another example from the text showing how Annabelle Adams is extremely
removed from reality is in a letter Jimmy wrote to his old friend. Part of this letter
states, After I get married I'm going to sell out and go West, where there will not be so
much danger of having old scores right up against me. I tell you Billy, she's an angel.
She believes in me (O. Henry, A Retrieved 273 ). This letter demonstrates that Jimmy
is secretly planning how to get away without the police finding him. Annabelle thinks
she is about to get married to her perfect husband. In reality her fiance is planning
how to be sure his past as a bank robber does not come back to haunt him. This shows
that Annabelle Adams perception of reality is very different from the truth happening
right around her.
Those who disagree say Mrs. Fairchild from Hearts and Hands is more
removed from reality than Annabelle Adams. They would argue this because she
thought her old friend was a marshal, when in reality he was a prisoner convicted of
counterfeiting. After her old friend fools her into thinking he is a marshal the text
states, Oh! said the girl, with a deep breath and returning color, Is that is what you
are doing out here? A marshal (O. Henry, Hearts 38). Mrs. Fairchild was fooled the
entire train ride, and did not find out the truth until the end of the train ride.

However, Annabelle Adams in A Retrieved Reformation is certainly more

removed form reality than Mrs. Fairchild. When Annabelles niece got locked in the
safe the text states, Ralph D. Spencer passed away and Jimmy Valentine took his
place. Get away from the door, all of you, he commanded shortly (O. Henry, A
Retrieved 275). Then Jimmy Valentine opened the safe easily and rescued the child.
Annabelle had absolutely no clue her fiance could open a safe this easily. This shows
when the identity of Jimmy Valentine came back, an important part of Annabelle's
fiances life was just revealed. As one can see Annabelle is much more removed from
reality than Mrs. Fairchild because Mrs. Fairchild found out her old friend is a
prisoner at the end of her train ride. Despite being together for a long time, Annabelle
never found out the whole truth about Jimmy. She just found out her fiance is skilled
at opening safes.
In conclusion, Jimmy Valentine in A Retrieved Reformation changed his
identity to be with Annabelle, and secretly planned how to escape without the police
finding him, all while Annabelle Adams knew and loved him as the perfect fiance
Spencer. Annabelle did not find out any of the truth about his past as a expert
bankrobber until Jimmy was forced to show his skills to open a safe a child got locked
into, but she still does not know Jimmys whole reality. Annabelle is so removed from
reality here because she does not know anything about the real life of the man she is
going to marry. She is more removed from reality than Mrs. Fairchild in Hearts and
Hands because Mrs. Fairchild found out the truth about her old friend at the end of
the train ride, while Annabelle never found out the entire truth. All in all, the character

most removed from reality is Annabelle Adams in A Retrieved Reformation because

she didnt know an extremely important part of her fiances life. A famous proverb
sums up what happened to Annabelle. It is, Fool me once, shame on you; fool me
twice shame on me.