The Semiotic Square in the Cop and the Anthem Word 文档.doc

The Semiotic Square in the Cop and the Anthem The Cop and the Anthem is one of the best stories about the crisis of human nature, written by O.Henry (W.B. Zhao 67). O.Henry is a great master of the art of fiction and his work aimed at soothing injured minor person in the world, are known as “smiling with tears”, or “humorous Encyclopedia on people’s life” in the United States at his time (Q.G. Wang 151). Through telling a story about Soapy who is a poor, unemployed and homeless outcast who commits all kinds of crimes intestinally in order to get into the prison in an island, which is an ideal place for him to live in, the Cop and the Anthem condemns the injustice of the society toward the underprivileged, revealing the strong contrast between the material and spiritual civilization as well as political civilization (W.Y. Wang 234). The literature review addresses the analysis of characters in the Cop and the Anthem. 2.1. The character of Soapy Soapy, a street loafer, jobless, homeless and penniless, lived in extreme poverty and misery. According to W.Y. Wang, Soapy is not a devil; he has positive aspects of his character. Instead of committing a serious crime such as murder or robbery, he chose to eat without paying for money, damage the show window, molest the woman, disturb the public security and steal a tiny unimportant thing like an umbrella, which is not a serious crime but enough to satisfy his desire for the island. However, in such a bad circumstance, Soapy did not lose all his respect (Q.S. Wang and F. Wang 194). To Soapy, “law is more benign than philanthropy” (Henry 78), so “it is better to be a guest of the law” (Henry 78). This is Soapy’s essential understanding of the so-called charity affairs: a mental and soul insult to people of no social protection in charity’s name (Q.S. Wang and F. Wang 194). In addition, Soapy also has a positive attitude toward his life (Q.G. Wang 153). In Soapy’s eyes, “A dead leaf ...Jack Frost’s card and ...the north wind,