Truth and fate in O Henry's The Cop and the Anthem

Man Proposes- God Disposes

Man proposes but God disposes

Life hands us what it wills and these may not necessarily be in line with the desires of our hearts and the intent of our actions. We often plan as man and God who controls all nature is not duty bound to bring our plans, however noble or ignoble they may be, to completion. Man can always propose but God disposes at His own will and liking.

Soapy's case is a perfect example of the lessons that man can be derive from the adage 'man proposes but God disposes'. Having seen that winter was fast approaching and being aware of the rough conditions that accompany the winter season, Soapy pondered over the best solution out of his impending predicament and concluded that going into incarceration over a petty crime would be the only option. He decided therefore to venture out in search of a petty offence that would see him thrown into jail for three months, a duration that would be sufficient to get free provisions as see the winter season pass by.

His first attempt was to walk into a very expensive restaurant for a very expensive meal thereafter declares that he had no money. This plan never worked out as his tattered trouser and shoes sold him out. The next misdemeanor that Soapy hoped would throw him behind bars immediately was breaking the glass window of a shop, yet even this never got him arrested despite confessing to the police that he did it.

The third attempt at being arrested was in a restaurant where he succeeded to venture in and had a meal only to declare that he had not money. Despite prodding the waiters to call the cops, he only ended up being publicly embarrassed and sent out. The next target was a neat and expensively dressed woman standing a few yards from a policeman. He took this as the best opportunity to throw despicable words and gestures towards the woman, only for the woman to boomerang the gesture back to him in a jest. He went on and stole an umbrella only to turn out that the person he stole it from had just picked it from a restaurant and apologized to soapy for picking his umbrella earlier on in the day.

The efforts of having failed he thought engaging in misbehavior towards the cop directly would land hi the arrest he needed so badly. He therefore acted drunk and disorderly towards the police only to be totally ignored. He gave up on all these. His resolution was then to try and be somebody in the community, he resolved to check out the driver job that he was offered and be a man of sense and meaning in the society. Unfortunately, it was at this time that his mind had changed, his intentions straight and his plan drafted out, that he was arrested and sent to the island, against his plans.