Hearts and Hands Literary Devices
Literary Style
Irony
Hearts and Hands, like most O. Henry stories, incorporates irony in several ways.
Situational Irony
The most striking one is the final reveal. Readers do not expect the smart, charming Easton to be the criminal and the rough-looking man to be the marshal. This situational irony is what lends beauty to an otherwise straightforward story.
Verbal Irony
There are also several examples of verbal irony in the story. For instance, consider Easton's comment on his butterfly days being over. We might assume that he was talking about his socialising days. However, he was really hinting at the fact that he would soon be locked up.
Symbolism
The title of the story 'Hearts and Hands' is highly symbolic. Both words are symbolically represented throughout the story.
Hearts
The marshal shows kindness towards Mr Easton by pretending to be the prisoner. This symbolises that he is moved by Easton's plight and hence his 'heart' goes out to Easton.
Additionally, Miss Fairchild seems to be romantically interested in Mr Easton and thus had given him her 'heart".
Similarly, his fictitious life in the adventurous West away from her present dull life was truly what her 'heart desired'.
Hands
The word 'hands' also can be seen scattered symbolically across the story. We learn how the marshal took matters into his own 'hands' by pretending to be the prisoner.
Miss Fairchild's little gloved hands along with the handcuffs symbolise the class differences and prejudices in society. Seeing the handcuffs on Easton made her instantly uncomfortable, despite her obvious fondness for him.
Foreshadowing
The author has also included foreshadowing as a device to subtly hint about events that will occur later in the story. Examples:
My butterfly days are over, I fear.
"Yes," said Easton, "I must go on to Leavenworth."
The younger man...seemed to struggle with a slight embarrassment which he threw off instantly...
Easton's comment about his 'butterfly days' being over, his need to go to Leavenworth and his obvious embarrassment on meeting Miss Fairchild all are instances of foreshadowing.
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