There's some bite there (poor old Bill), but it doesn't interfere with the sense that this is a comedy first and foremost. A familial tone makes it bubbly and buoyant. He wants his audience to smile while he's making his points, something that's normally tough to do in a story about child abduction. These aspects of Sam's character are important because they help keep the tone light and satirical, which is exactly what O. Sam's story seems like something your weird old uncle might tell at a family gathering. Bill and Sam are on the wrong side of the law, no doubt, but in a sort of gentle and sympathetic way. You can almost imagine settling down on the rock with him to listen to him unfold his tale. Henry's descriptions, such as when Sam "lighted my pipe and sat down on a mossy bank to await developments" (72). This comes about both from the writing style itself, such as using the phrase "Bill and me" (3) instead of the more grammatically correct "Bill and I." But it also arises in O. Henry (Author), Gordon Grant (Author) 30 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle 2.99 Read with Our Free App Hardcover 29.95 3 New from 29.95 1 Collectible from 66.04 Paperback 13.52 3 Used from 9.90 9 New from 13.52 1 Collectible from 40. The crime is so matter of fact, and the telling of it is familiar and strangely comforting. Henry gives us a sympathetic narrator like Sam, someone who talks to us like an old friend and seems to have a tone of casual ease with us.
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