# Babes in the Jungle explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry.

## What happens

Billy Keogh reunites with Montague Silver in New York, where Silver boasts about the ease of swindling naive city dwellers. They meet a man posing as J.P. Morgan, who mentions a rare painting he desperately wants. Silver and Keogh buy the painting from a pawnshop for $2,000, only to discover it is a common print sold in department stores for $3.48.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

Silver and Keogh attempt to deceive a fake J.P. Morgan with a supposedly rare painting, only to be deceived themselves by a common print.

### Humor and Irony

The irony of the con artists being outsmarted by a pawnbroker and the absurdity of the 'J.P. Morgan' character.

### Crime and Consequence

The planned swindle and the eventual loss of $2,000 highlight the risks of criminal schemes.

## Character check-ins

### Billy Keogh

Narrator and partner of Montague Silver; recounts their scheme in New York.

### Jeff Peters

Referenced as Montague Silver, the street man and art grafter who advises moving to New York.

### The Captain

Not present in this chapter.

## Key lines

> In the West a sucker is born every minute; but in New York they appear in chunks of roe—you can’t count ’em!

In the West, there is a constant supply of gullible people, but in New York, they are so abundant that they are impossible to count.

_Silver's cynical view of New Yorkers as easy targets for con artists._

> I’d hate for my mother to know I was skinning these weak-minded ones. She raised me better.

I would be ashamed if my mother knew I was cheating these simple-minded people, as she taught me to be better.

_Silver's ironic moral qualms about swindling._

> The department stores have all got that same picture on sale, framed, for $3.48. And they charge $3.50 for the frame alone—that’s what I can’t understand.

The painting they bought for $2,000 is sold in department stores for $3.48, with the frame alone costing $3.50, which baffles Silver.

_The ironic twist revealing the con artists were themselves conned._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/babes-in-the-jungle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters