Skip to main content

What can you infer about Jimmy Valentine’s thinking in "A Retrieved Reformation"? What does he believe Price aims to do at the bank?

To Jimmy Valentine, the presence of Ben Price at the bank indicates that he has again been on Jimmy's trail and is there to arrest him. 


Recalling that it was the acumen and persistence of Detective Ben Price that put him in prison in the first place, it is only reasonable that Jimmy Valentine infers that the presence of Price in the Elmore Bank is purposeful. After all, Elmore, Arkansas, is not a well-known town....

To Jimmy Valentine, the presence of Ben Price at the bank indicates that he has again been on Jimmy's trail and is there to arrest him. 


Recalling that it was the acumen and persistence of Detective Ben Price that put him in prison in the first place, it is only reasonable that Jimmy Valentine infers that the presence of Price in the Elmore Bank is purposeful. After all, Elmore, Arkansas, is not a well-known town.

Among other factors that enter into Valentine's thinking that Ben Price is there to arrest him for the robberies since his release from prison are the following:


1. Price is probably very angry that Jimmy received a pardon from the governor after he spent untold hours investigating Jimmy's crimes and tracking him down. This pardon would be considered by Price as a professional insult.


2. Price may also feel personal umbrage by the pardoning of Valentine because he underwent the risk of personal harm to have wrestled Jimmy into arrest in his room in a little town on the state line--



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.



Indeed, the remembrance of all the conditions of his arrest, temporary imprisonment, and release serve to determine Jimmy Valentine's conclusion that Ben Price has the single motive of arresting him, and hopefully, arresting him in the act of a crime.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What is hyperbole in the story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry?

The most obvious use of hyperbole in "The Gift of the Magi" occurs when the narrator describes Della's and Jim's evaluations of their two treasures—her long, luxuriant hair and his gold watch. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his... The most obvious use of hyperbole in "The Gift of the Magi" occurs when the narrator describes Della's and Jim's evaluations of their two treasures—her long, luxuriant hair and his gold watch. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him plu

How can I analyze Moon and Six Pence by Somerset Maugham?

In "Moon and Sixpence," loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, Maugham presents a study of the tension between the "civilized" life of 19th century Europe, and the lead character's desire to throw off the shackles of bourgeois life. Charles Strickland is a middle-aged English stockbroker with a wife and family. By abandoning his domestic life, Strickland commits what many in European society would consider a gross betrayal of one of the foundations of... In "Moon and Sixpence," loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, Maugham presents a study of the tension between the "civilized" life of 19th century Europe, and the lead character's desire to throw off the shackles of bourgeois life. Charles Strickland is a middle-aged English stockbroker with a wife and family. By abandoning his domestic life, Strickland commits what many in European society would consider a gross betrayal of one of the foundations of that society. His decision to e

What are some literary devices in Macbeth, Act V, Scene 1?

Act V, Scene i of Macbeth certainly continues the imagery that is prevalent in the play with its phantasmagoric realm, as in this scene a succession of things are seen or imagined by Lady Macbeth. Imagery - The representation of sensory experience Lady Macbeth imagines that she sees bloody spots (visual imagery) on the stairs; she also smells blood (olfactory imagery): Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not... Act V, Scene i of Macbeth certainly continues the imagery that is prevalent in the play with its phantasmagoric realm, as in this scene a succession of things are seen or imagined by Lady Macbeth. Imagery - The representation of sensory experience Lady Macbeth imagines that she sees bloody spots (visual imagery) on the stairs; she also smells blood (olfactory imagery): Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh! oh, oh! (5.1.53-55) Hyperbole - Obvious exaggeration  There is also h