24 pages • 48 minutes read
O. HenryThe Cop and the Anthem
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1904A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Soapy
Soapy is the story’s protagonist: a formerly incarcerated man now struggling to survive in New York City. His name is essential to his characterization. It is a mere nickname, and a comical one at that, which highlights his invisibility to society; he is at best a pathetic figure, not dignified enough to merit scrutiny into his real identity. “Soapy” also sounds like a prison nickname, highlighting his status as a nonviolent but repeat offender. The name is also ironic given that Soapy avoids forced bathing at the shelter—a greater insult, in his eyes, than living in jail for several months.
The implication that Soapy intentionally gets himself incarcerated every winter suggests that he has found ways to game the system. However, he is not a scheming or malicious character, and his goals—protection from the cold, guaranteed food, etc.—are human necessities. He doesn’t assault anyone or commit any act of violence, even in his increasing desperation to attract the police’s attention: His only act of vandalism is the breaking of one window, and his only acts of theft are stealing a restaurant meal and an umbrella. His quest to be rearrested (and therefore housed, fed, etc.) is an indictment of Social Class and the Cycle of Poverty and Crime, but it is also a symbol of his deeper desire to be seen and treated as a fellow human. His sadness deepens with each cop who ignores him, laughs at him, or passes him by. His epiphany while listening to the anthem affirms that he is someone who could be rehabilitated, given the chance, but this is precisely what society denies him.
Cop(s)
Although there are several police officers in “The Cop and the Anthem,” all but the last share a core commonality: They disregard Soapy entirely. The first police officer “would not consider Soapy” as the vandal who broke the window (37). The second cop laughs at him and walks away as the restaurant waitstaff throws him out onto the street, which is a worse insult to Soapy than arrest. The third cop ignores Soapy as he walks away with a sex worker. The fourth cop literally turns his back on Soapy, who is acting intoxicated, and says “he won’t hurt anything” (39). The fifth cop merely looks at Soapy as he steals a man’s umbrella; he does nothing even when the man admits it’s not his umbrella, instead helping an elderly woman cross the street.
It is only when the final cop arrests Soapy that the police meaningfully engage with him in any way. Even then, this last police officer doesn’t really see Soapy, who by this point is an optimistic man with a future, ready to make a life for himself. Just as Soapy was invisible when he was an unhoused former inmate, he remains invisible in his abortive attempt at reform.
The Waitstaff
The restaurant waitstaff are minor characters whose inability to see Soapy for who he is underscores that Personal Dignity Is Essential to Survival. The waitstaff in the first restaurant ostracize Soapy much as society at large does, denying him entry based on his appearance alone: “But as Soapy put his foot inside the restaurant door, the head waiter saw his broken old shoes and the torn clothes that covered his legs. Strong and ready hands turned Soapy around and moved him quietly and quickly outside again” (37). The waitstaff at the second restaurant serve Soapy food, but when he admits he has no money and asks them to call the police, he is again completely disregarded: “‘No cop for you,’ said the waiter. He called another waiter. The two waiters threw Soapy upon his left ear on the hard street outside” (38).
Related Titles
By O. Henry
