"The Cop and the Anthem" by O. Henry by Michelle Luschini

2026-02-11 17:43:10 UTC

His flashback was when he heard the anthem from a nearby church, in which it brought him "those days his life contained such things as mothers and flowers and high hopes and friends and clean thoughts and clean clothes.", almost to show him

2026-02-11 17:44:19 UTC

Yes because it makes him look back to when he was not successful and his rough times and it makes the reader feel bad for him and empathize with him.

2026-02-11 17:44:21 UTC

As Soapy was giving up on being arrested, he heard an anthem from an old church. This triggered memories from his childhood when his life wasn't so dreadful.

2026-02-11 17:44:36 UTC

His remembered images contrast with present condition because his remembered images were full of happiness, he says,"In those days life contained such things as mothers and flowers and high hopes and friends and clean thoughts and clean clothes." Now he is wearing dirty tattered clothes and alone in a park, he has no known friends and only thoughts of going to jail for shelter.

2026-02-11 17:45:17 UTC

The flashback reveals how much better his life used to be.

2026-02-11 17:46:26 UTC

The anthem triggered a memory of his past, making him decide to change his life for the better for him before he is arrested.

2026-02-11 17:47:55 UTC

It's ironic because as soon as Soap realized that he did wrong and wanted to change his life around, right after that moment he got into a heated argument with a cop which then resulted in him getting arrested.

2026-02-11 17:50:07 UTC

Soapy's epiphany was realizing he can help himself to improve his situation instead of just trying to commit a crime in order to be taken care of in prison. It was triggered by the music of the church, which is unrelated to the struggles he had going on at that specific time.

2026-02-11 17:50:20 UTC

It tells the reader that at one point his life was very different. It implies that his mental state has declined, and he has had a fall from grace.

2026-02-11 17:51:16 UTC

He felt very hopeful because he remembered the man that came to him and he was going to become a new man.

2026-02-11 17:51:45 UTC

The epiphany shows the turning point in the story as how he originally wanted to stay unchanging and wanted to stay in prison, but he realizes that he wanted to be a good person and change.