The protagonist of “A Retrieved Reformation,” Jimmy is a safecracker and thief living in the American Midwest in the early 1900s. When first introduced, the well-connected Jimmy is being released from prison after serving just ten months of a four-year sentence for robbery. Jimmy initially responds to his freedom with disregard, quickly resuming his life of crime. It is clear that Jimmy has not been rehabilitated; his punishment was a sham and he has no intention of working an honest job. Yet despite Jimmy’s criminal lifestyle, he remains a kind and likeable character. Indeed, Jimmy is witty and compassionate, and he is undeniably a dedicated and skilled safecracker. After a succession of burglaries, Jimmy attracts the attention of Ben Price—the very police detective who had arrested him in Springfield, resulting in his incarceration in the first place. After then traveling to the town of Elmore in search of fresh safes to crack, he falls in love with Annabel Adams, the daughter of a local bank owner. His love for Annabel changes Jimmy, and he adopts the identity of Ralph D. Spencer, an honest shoe salesman. As Ralph, Jimmy finally lives the straight life, wins the heart of Annabel, and gains the respect of her family and the entire town. He even decides to gift his suitcase of burglar’s tools to an old friend in Little Rock, convinced that he “wouldn’t do another crooked thing for the whole world.” On the surface, Jimmy has been rehabilitated by Annabel; however, since Jimmy is not who he pretends to be, their relationship is based on a lie and therefore on shaky ground. It is not until he sacrifices his identity as Ralph, by saving Agatha, Annabel’s niece, when she becomes accidentally locked in Mr. Adams’s safe, that Jimmy is fully redeemed for his past sins. Through cracking the safe, Jimmy, in part, betrays his true identity—risking his relationship with Annabel in the process. He sacrifices Ralph D. Spencer so that Agatha may live, thereby using his criminal trade for good. In that moment, Jimmy is wholly reformed.
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