O. Henry's work is wide-ranging, and his characters can be found everywhere. The Cop and the Anthem has only one character who is given a name, the protagonist "Soapy." Furthermore, no last name is given. It is made clear that Soapy is homeless, a member of the substantial army of and women who flocked to New York City during the earliest years of the twentieth century. When it's warm, Soapy lives in Madison Square Park. Now that winter is coming, the park will be too cold. So, Soapy decides to do what he's done for several winters: get himself arrested so he can spend the winter in jail. Soapy decides to fill his belly and get arrested at the same time by eating in a fancy restaurant and then not being able to pay for the meal. But the waiter figures out what he's up to just by looking at his clothes - Soapy doesn't make it through the door. Next, Soapy breaks a shop window. Since he doesn't run away, the policeman doesn't believe Soapy is responsible. After that, Soapy finds a cheaper restaurant to try his initial plan on. But nothing works! From there, Soapy pretends to hit up on a lady, right in front of a cop. Soapy runs away from her and tries to get arrested by yelling and dancing like a maniac on the street in front of a policeman. But policeman thinks Soapy is a drunk college guy, and he leaves Soapy alone. Will he finally get in the jail? Try to listen online to English audiobook "The Cop and the Anthem” for free and enjoy the story about a New York City hobo named Soapy.
