Sometimes we can tell a few white lies to get ourselves out of tight situations. In the story, Heart and Hands by O Henry, a man meets his old friend on a train, and has to lie his way out of embarrassment. As I read through the short story, I noticed that there were two major themes of stereotyping and kindness.
Kindness is something that can be shown by even the least expected. This is represented in Hearts and Hands, because The Marshall went out of his way to protect Easton’s reputation. I can affirm that the action of kindness is a key theme, because The Marshall didn’t even hesitate to sacrifice his public respect to save Easton out of being embarrassed. He does this by willingly pretending he was the prisoner, instead of telling Mrs. Fairchild that Easton was being taken to jail. This theme can tell a lesson on how kindness comes from the bottom of your heart, and that generosity is a prime of human nature.
Many may stereotype people based on how they look or act. In the short story, Mrs. Fairchild does just this when she assumes The Marshall as the prisoner. Stereotyping and the deception of appearances are a main theme because of a few reasons. The reason why stereotyping and deception is a main theme is that when The Marshall tells Mrs. Fairchild that he is indeed the prisoner, she does not suspect anything. This proves the theme, because since Easton was much more proper and handsome, and The Marshall was ruffled up and roughly dressed, Mrs. Fairchild assumed The Marshall as a prisoner based off her stereotyping. O Henry’s use of common stereotyping based on appearances can tell a moral of not judging a book by it’s cover.
In conclusion, the main themes of Heart and Hands, are stereotyping and deception, and kindness. The book represents these aspects/themes, when The Marshall saves Easton’s reputation, and when Mrs. Fairchild assumes based on appearance. “Kindness comes from the bottom of your heart.” “Never judge a book by it’s cover.”