This is an absurd story. Soapy, a homeless man, wanted to go to prison for the winter, so he tried many times: eating without money, disturbing social order, molesting women in front of the police ... but he failed again and again. When Soapy paced helplessly to an antique church, he was intoxicated by the wonderful hymn music. His soul suddenly and mysteriously changed, and a strong and sudden impulse pushed him to fight against bad luck. Tomorrow, he will go to the bustling downtown to find a job, and he will make a difference in this world. He will ... just when Soapy's heart was full of hope and motivation again, he was sent to prison by the police. In a relaxed and humorous style, the author describes Soapy's absurd attempt to achieve his ridiculous goal. What is even more ridiculous is that the police did not punish these illegal acts, but showed a kind of tolerance. It is a wonderful irony that when Soapy gave up his original idea, the tolerant police arrested him with nothing to do. From this, the ridiculous becomes pitiful, exasperating, pathetic and deplorable. On the one hand, the story satirizes the darkness of the American judicial system, on the other hand, it also reveals the pessimism that fate plays tricks on people mercilessly. Characteristics of plot structure: The biggest feature of plot arrangement is that it is both unexpected and reasonable. Later, it was called the O'Henry ending. A "guilty" person was found innocent again and again, while a person who decided to turn over a new leaf was arrested and imprisoned. The profound content behind the two absurdities: those who do evil are ignored, and those who are willing to do good will go back to prison. Clever plot arrangement fully shows the theme of the novel.
Features of language use: The most important feature of the language in this novel is "humor". Humor is a kind of satire with relaxed tone but profound meaning. It is different from the general one-line program, but serves the content. It shows the author's attitude towards characters' emotional tendencies and events. Rhetorical devices such as exaggeration, metaphor, personification and irony are used in the novel to make the language achieve humorous artistic effect. Some humorous language seems relaxed, but in fact it is heavy. For example, "the hospitable Blackway Island Prison has been his winter residence for many years." The irony and humor of "hospitality" and "winter apartment" here are relaxed, which actually reveals the tragic activity situation of the lower working people and contains the infinite bitterness of homeless tramps. Similar examples have been cited a lot when talking about Soapy's abnormal psychology. Some humorous language directly satirizes social reality, which looks funny, but it is actually very spicy and sharp. For example, "Every night, the best of grapes, silk and protoplasm gather here." The author does not directly tell the identity of the characters. Irony and metonymy satirize the decadent life of the rich and powerful, which is in sharp contrast with the hard life of the lower working people, highlights the disparity between the rich and the poor in capitalist society, and reveals the social roots of the hard life of the lower working people such as Soapy, thus enhancing the social significance of the novel.