Transients in Arcadia

O. Henry's short stories generally involve an ironic twist near the end of the story and Transients in Arcadia does not disappoint in this manner. Transients in Arcadia illustrates the atmosphere and culture of the Hotel Lotus, a respite that O. Henry labels an "oasis in the July desert of Manhattan," (1). Patrons of the Hotel Lotus are typically those among the elite who are privileged and able to escape the overrun "old resorts" where the "Philistines" impose (O. Henry 3). The main theme of Transients in Arcadia is how appearances are deceiving. Madame Heloise Darcy Beaumont is considered a guest "such as the Hotel Lotus loved", but in actuality she is a common worker at Casey's Mammoth Store hosiery counter (O. Henry 3). She becomes involved with a certain Harold Farrington, another alleged elite traveler. However, Farrington's fatade is as temporarily worn as Madame Beaumont's, him being a bill collector for O'Dowd & Levinsky.

O. Henry's tale reveals the real personas of Madame Beaumont (Mamie Siviter) and Harold Farrington (Jimmy McManus) in keeping with O. Henry's use of irony. Madame Beaumont's beautiful dress is one she has purchased on installment, the only one she owns and one that has consumed nearly all of her disposable income. McManus actually collects accounts for the company through which Mamie is buying her dress, O'Dowd and Levinsky. Thus, the use of irony by O. Henry reveals the deceiving nature of appearances, as bo

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louds that drift and "do not vanish as those of nature do to our regret," (O. Henry 1). By setting the Hotel Lotus up as something more than nature, O. Henry is actually suggesting it may not be real. Even if the Hotel Lotus is able to create an environment that satisfies more than nature, it is all artifice and not real. Such a depiction foreshadows his theme that appearance can be quite deceiving. O. Henry continues with such foreshadowing in the description of the Hotel Lotus and its environment. He uses literary devices like metaphor and simile to suggest the artificial nature of existence at this oasis from the city. At one point he discusses how the hotel acts as a refuge from the harsh Manhattan heat by using a simile to describe the behavior of the guests during hot summer days. As he writes, "During the torrid day one remains in the umbrageous fastnesses of the Lotus as a trout hangs poised in the pellucid sanctuaries of his favorite pool," (O. Henry 2). The use of such literary devices reinforces the oasis-like nature of the Hotel Lotus and its atmosphere, but it also serves to remind that what is being described is something that is artificial even if it appears to better nature. O. Henry also uses characteriza

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