22 pages • 44 minutes read
O. HenryOne Thousand Dollars
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1919A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Selflessness
The theme of selflessness is at the core of this story. Gillian begins as a selfish and superficial man who is amused by his inheritance and cannot consider doing anything with it beyond buying something frivolous. However, as the story progresses, Gillian decides against spending the money on himself and gives it to Miss Hayden. When he learns that he could inherit much more, he still decides to give it to Miss Hayden, even at the expense of perpetuating his reputation as someone who, as his uncle puts it, spends money “in reprehensible dissipation among disreputable associates” (83).
Giving the money to Miss Hayden twice was selfless and altruistic. Instead of thinking of himself, he thought about someone else, perhaps someone who needed the money far more than he. In addition, he chose to do this after Miss Hayden rejected him. He refers to her as “the best and dearest woman on earth” (82), demonstrating even further his selflessness and a degree of generosity that was unknown in him before.
Love Is More Valuable Than Money
Gillian’s love for Miss Hayden leads him to act selflessly and establishes love as a central theme in this story. Gillian first gives Miss Hayden the $1,000 because she inherited only $10 from his uncle. Giving the money to her, without her knowledge, demonstrates his love. His love is not returned, however. She tells him, “I am sorry” (81). Yet, even in the face of rejection, he chooses to give her the $1,000 and then write: “Paid by the black sheep, Robert Gillian, $1,000 on account of the eternal happiness, owed by Heaven to the best and dearest woman on earth” (82). He acknowledges his shortcomings and gives her the money despite her not returning his love.
He further demonstrates his love and commitment to her happiness by choosing to let the lawyers believe he lost the money to gambling, stating, “I lost the thousand dollars on the races” (84). He lies and further tarnishes his reputation out of love for Miss Hayden and is happy in doing so.
Transformation
Transformation is a key theme of this story. Gillian changes from a silly and shallow man to a caring and selfless benefactor. In the beginning, he is careless with money and uncharitable, offended by the suggestions Bryson gives him about what to do with the money, even stating, “People might like you, Old Bryson if you wouldn’t moralize” (78). He was annoyed with suggestions that were grounded in charity and morality. However, we see the transformation that takes place during his journey in the cab.
Gillian is known as a gambler and womanizer, but when he gives his inheritance of $1,000 to Miss Hayden and then lies so she receives the $50,000, his transformation becomes even more evident. He is no longer out to gain a fortune but to be charitable for the love of Miss Hayden, and he puts her well-being and happiness before his own. Gillian knows that he has done the right thing as is evident when, after ripping up the envelope and leaving Tolman’s office, the narrator says, “they heard him whistling gayly in the hallway as he waited for the elevator” (84).
Related Titles
By O. Henry
