The Source: But it is not its original title. It first came out with the title A Retrieved Reformation in 1909. In 1928, it was adapted into the film, Alias Jimmy Valentine, MGM's first all-talking film. The present title of the story has been coined from that film..
Keeping this in view, who was Jimmy Valentine?
Jimmy Valentine is the protagonist of the short story "A Retrieved Reformation." He is an ex-convict safecracker who got out of his four-year prison sentence early due to criminal connections. He intends to continue his lucrative life of crime until a chance encounter with a banker's lovely daughter.
what does the title A Retrieved Reformation mean? Perhaps "salvaged" or "saved" or "preserved" would be better. Jimmy Valentine, the hero of the story, is a professional safecracker. Once he gets out of prison he goes right back to his old ways. But then he meets and falls in love with Annabel Adams and decides to go straight. This is his "reformation."
Also asked, which was more effective at telling the story of Jimmy Valentine the text or the film version?
The emotional scenes in the story are better portrayed in the film. In conclusion, the film version is better at telling the story of Jimmy Valentine because it gives us a palpable picture of the story and allows the audience to better follow the story in the shoes of the main characters.
What genre is a Retrieved Reformation?
Fiction
Related Question Answers
How did Jimmy Valentine get his pardon?
Jimmy Valentine is pardoned because he has many important friends and connections on the outside. The last sentence of the first paragraph of the story indicates this important fact. When a man with as many friends on the outside as Jimmy Valentine had is received in the “stir” it is hardly worth while to cut his hair.How did Jimmy Valentine change?
Jimmy Valentine is a hardened criminal who immediately returns to safecracking when he is released from prison; however, after he unexpectedly falls in love, Jimmy changes his behavior and attitudes and becomes an honest businessman. But, later he must return to his former self, although it is only briefly.Why did Jimmy write a letter to his friend Billy?
Answer: so that he can give his tool kit ,he used for robery to his friend because he decided to leave robbery now.What does Jimmy Valentine change his name to In A Retrieved Reformation?
So he changed his name to Ralph Spencer and became a legitimate businessman. That was the second way Jimmy changed.Is Jimmy Valentine a good man?
The first thing that makes Jimmy Valentine exceptional is that, upon his release from prison, he took the time to give some of the meager amount of money that he had been given upon his release to a blind man. This shows the reader that despite his criminal tendencies, he is a generous man.What is it about Elmore that appeals to Jimmy?
What is it about Elmore that appeals to Jimmy? It's a place where he can start a new life and the banker's daughter. Why are people so fond of Jimmy? He acted like a gentleman and dressed well.What is the role of Ben Price in A Retrieved Reformation?
Ben Price Character Analysis. An “eminent” police detective and the antagonist of “A Retrieved Reformation.” Price is portrayed as the epitome of morality and hard work, and he serves as a foil to Jimmy Valentine's criminal lifestyle.What did Jimmy write to his old friend in St Louis?
Adams and that of Annabel's married sister as if he were already a member. One day Jimmy sat down in his room and wrote this letter, which he mailed to the safe address of one of his old friends in St. Louis: I'm making an honest living, and I'm going to marry the finest girl on earth two weeks from now.What is the irony in a Retrieved Reformation?
Another example of irony in "A Retrieved Reformation" is found in the scene in which Jimmy Valentine sacrifices his fiancee, his successful new business, and his reputation to save a little girl who has become accidentally trapped inside a bank vault.What happens to Jimmy Valentine in Elmore?
Expert Answers info When "A Retrieved Reformation" begins, Jimmy Valentine is a career criminal. After receiving a pardon and being released from prison, he proceeds to return to his criminal ways. This all changes when he comes to Elmore and then catches sight of Annabel Adams.What is the conflict in a Retrieved Reformation?
The external conflict in "A Retrieved Reformation" is between Ben Price and Jimmy Valentine. One might say that this conflict had been ongoing before the story even started. Ben Price had arrested Jimmy and had him sent to prison for a bank job in Springfield.What is the setting of a Retrieved Reformation?
Written in 1903, A Retrieved Reformation takes place in a time before cars, when people traveled by train and by ''livery buggy. '' Though we begin the story in prison with Jimmy, we quickly move into the outside world. Apart from a quick pit stop to his old apartment, most of the action happens in Elmore, Arkansas.Why did Jimmy change his name to Mr Ralph Spencer?
He chooses to open a shoe store because he has had ten months experience working on shoes in prison. His choice of the name Ralph Spencer is purely arbitrary. It could have been any other alias. He sensed that he was getting too well known in his old territory in Indiana and that vicinity.What does Retrieved Reformation mean?
"A Retrieved Reformation" is a short story by American author O. Henry first published in The Cosmopolitan Magazine, April 1903. It describes the events which lead up to the reformation of an ex-convict. The story was adapted into a radio series, Alias Jimmy Valentine, that was broadcast from 1938 to 1939. 
