# Relieved explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry.

## What happens

A wealthy Houston capitalist, living frugally on eleven dollars a week despite his fortune, is confronted by a desperate man who threatens him with a package he claims contains dynamite. The capitalist is terrified until he learns the package is not a gold brick, at which point he sighs with relief.

## Themes in this chapter

### Humor and Irony

The humor lies in the capitalist's extreme fear of a gold brick scam versus his relief at a dynamite threat, highlighting ironic priorities.

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

The desperate man's package appears to be a deadly explosive but is actually a harmless item, and the capitalist's initial terror contrasts with his eventual relief.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator describes the encounter between the wealthy citizen and the desperate man.

## Key lines

> A Houston gentleman who is worth somewhere up in the hundreds of thousands and lives on eleven dollars a week, was sitting in his private office a few days ago, when a desperate looking man entered and closed the door carefully behind him.

A wealthy Houston man, despite his fortune, lives frugally on a small weekly budget. One day, a desperate-looking stranger enters his office and shuts the door.

_Sets up the contrast between the capitalist's wealth and his miserly lifestyle, and introduces the threatening visitor._

> “Is that all?” said the capitalist, sinking into his chair and picking up his newspaper with a sigh of relief. “You don’t know how much you frightened me. I thought it was a gold brick.”

The capitalist, relieved that the package contains dynamite rather than a gold brick, relaxes and returns to his newspaper.

_The punchline reveals the capitalist's irrational fear of being scammed outweighs his fear of physical danger._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/relieved
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters