There are many people today who think that a life of crime is easy, glamorous, and luxurious. Most of them end up in prison sooner or later. They build records and are hounded by the law. They are perpetually on the lam and can never put down roots or make real friends. They can't trust anybody. They live in furnished rooms and eat in fast-food places. They get hooked on liquor and drugs. A lot of them die young.
O. Henry used Jimmy Valentine as an example of a crook who thought he was smart. Ironically, when the story opens he is serving time in prison. His success as a safecracker has not brought him a lot of money, but it has brought him a lot of notoriety. He would like to keep a low profile, but he can't. He is forced to move to a different state and assume a new identity. Ben Price, the detective, is after him because his last three bank jobs were so expertly done that they practically bore Jimmy's signature. Once Jimmy decides to go straight, he discovers that a person who has the qualifications to be a successful criminal can use those same talents--brains, personality, nerve, specialized skills--to become successful in the "real world." This is as true today as it was in O. Henry's day. O. Henry meant his message sincerely, based on his personal experience and observation of career criminals he met while serving three years in state prison for embezzlement.
O. Henry's message to young men is contained in the letter Jimmy Valentine writes to an old criminal pal.
Say, Billy, I've quit the old business—a year ago. I've got a nice store. I'm making an honest living, and I'm going to marry the finest girl on earth two weeks from now. It's the only life, Billy—the straight one. I wouldn't touch a dollar of another man's money now for a million.
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