Retrieved Reformation worksheet

1. Why is Valentine in prison?
2. Why does the governor pardon Valentine?
3. Out of prison, how does Valentine support himself?
4. Why does Ben Price start looking for Jimmy again?
5. At what point in the story does Valentine become another man? What causes this change?
6. Find three details in the story that support the idea that Valentine really has changed.
7. Why does Valentine use his old talents once again?
8. Why does Ben pretend not to know Jimmy at the end of the story?
9. If you were Ben Price, what would you have done when you confronted Jimmy?
10. Explain the meaning of the story’s title.
11. People speak of turning points in their lives when they seem to change greatly. Can people really change? Give one example you have seen to support your answer.
12. In many of O. Henry stories, and ordinary person acts heroically. How is this true in “Retrieved Reformation”?