A Municipal Report by William Sydney Porter or O Henry involves the encounter of the narrator with a female writer. The narrator was looking for a magazine writer. This book provides themes of hard work, patriarchy, and women’s hardships in society.
In this article, I am going to share my knowledge after finishing this masterpiece. I will cover these terms:
- Author
- Characters
- Summary
- Analysis
- Themes
- Life Lessons
- Review
- Conclusion
Author
This storybook was written by O Henry. He was a top-rated American author and quite famous because of his elegant short story books. His writing style will introduce you to themes of love, emotions, kindness, and generosity. He is my favorite short story writer from America. Some best recommended books are;
Characters
I had reviewed these characters:
Narrator
He is the main character of the story who narrates his experience as a reporter. He met a female author who was a symbol of courage.
Azalea Adair
She was the emerging writer in the story. The narrator was assigned a duty to make a deal with her for their magazine. She was married to Caswell. He was a bad man.
Uncle Caesar
He was a horse carriage driver. He always assisted Azalea.
Summary
The plot was basically about a reporter who came to Nashville. He was assigned a duty by his boss to meet Azalea Adair. She was an emerging writer. The reporter had to make a deal with her to write for their magazine. The reporter reached the city hotel in the rain and met Major Caswell. This man seemed drunk in the story. He had ordered a drink for a reporter. He narrated his life story to a reporter. He was married to a rich wife.
The reporter was tired of traveling and decided to rest. In the morning, the reporter went out to find his client. He met Uncle Caesar who was a horse carriage driver. He took the reporter to the assigned location and demanded two dollars. The reporter handed him two notes of one dollar half torn.
Soon,the reporter met Azalea Adair.She lived at 861 Jasmine Street. She greeted the reporter warmly and ordered tea. She took her purse and took the same notes given to Uncle Caesar by a reporter. She gave notes to her maid and ordered her to bring tea. The reporter told Azalea about their deal. She was a nice lady and agreed.
After meeting Azalea, the reporter came back to the hotel. azalea purse. This confused the reporter. He found Caswell there. He had notes that were found in He met Azalea again and found out a secret. Azalea was married to Caswell. He was a drunk man who took money from Azalea. It was revealed that Uncle Caesar gave money to Azalea. Then, her trant husband forcefully took money from her. The reporter gave 50 dollars to Azalea in making a deal.
The next day, the reporter found the dead body of Caswell. It was revealed he was killed by a thief when he was shipping fifty dollars to everyone. This shows that fifty dollars were also taken from Azalea forcefully.
Analysis
This short story provides the struggles and hardships faced by Azalea. Everyone gave her money but her tyrant husband forcefully took it. He was a drunk guy who showed patriarchy over her. She was the victim of her husband’s cruel behavior.
Caswell even took the fifty dollars that were given to Azalea by the magazine. Secondly, bad actions had a bad outcome. Caswell showed the snatched money. That’s why he ended badly.
Themes
The major themes are:
Misogyny
Azalea was a hardworking lady in the book. O Henry portrayed her life from a different angle. She tackled the abuse of her husband who snatched her money. Further, she lived her precious moments with a drunk man.
Patriarchy
Azalea was hurt by Caswell. He showed his tyrant nature by snatching all the money of his wife.
Resistance
Despite immense hardships, Azalea tolerated them and courage and promoted a real message of women’s empowerment.
Life Lessons
The key ideas are;
- It’s better to stay away from the bad habits that were followed by Caswell in Stoy.
- Never acknowledge people like Caswell who disrespected their spouse.
- It’s necessary to give equal rights to women.
Review
Well, you will relate the setting of the story to the present era. Most women in many areas of the world are still facing issues like Azalea. Society still needs to be educated in giving equal rights. The story was simple to read. The writing style by O Henry was easy’
Conclusion:
This article discussed The Municipal Report Summary with themes and lessons. The plot involves a meeting of a reporter with a writer named Azalea. She was married to a cruel man who always took her money.