Why did the author

choose to tell the story in

third person vs. from the

perspective of either of

our main characters?

What effect would that

have? (from After Twenty Years) need 2 pieces of text evidence

O. Henry's use of third-person narration in "After Twenty Years" means that the reader is able to make the crucial discovery of the cop's real identity at the same time as other characters in the ...

The main reason why the author chose to tell the story in the third person as opposed to the perspective of either main character is that this allowed the author to maintain suspense until the end of the story. The main discovery that the reader makes is the identity of the cop. However, the reader is unaware of this throughout the story and only discovers it when all the characters do so. An example of this occurs when the author writes:

--"It's all right, officer," he said. "I'm waiting for a friend. Twenty years ago we agreed to meet here tonight. It sounds strange to you, doesn't it? I'll explain if you want to be sure that everything's all right. About twenty years ago there was a restaurant where this shop stands. 'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant."

--"It was here until five years ago," said the cop.

In this example, the cop does not reveal his identity, even though he already knows who the man is. This is another example:

--"We agreed that night that we would meet here again in twenty years. We thought that in twenty years we would know what kind of men we were, and what future waited for us."

--"It sounds interesting," said the cop. "A long time between meetings, it seems to me. Have you heard from your friend since you went West?"

Similarly, in these lines, the cop asks as if he did not know the man. This effect would be impossible if the author had decided to tell the story from the perspective of the main characters.