To begin with, an example of irony to send a message is shown through Soapy's first attempt to go to prison for the winter. Soapy's ideal winter is spent in Blackwell's prison, The Island, rather than finding shelter because he doesn't like the way the shelter intrudes on his personal affairs. Now comes the hard part for Soapy: getting admitted to prison by the police. His first attempt is to go to an expensive restaurant and do what is now called "dine and dash." However, at first glance at Soapy's frayed pants and broken shoes, he was thrown out, before he could steal any food. Upon entering the restaurant, “Strong, ready hands turned him and carried him silently and quickly to the sidewalk and averted the ignoble fate of the threatened mallard” (O. Henry 21). Before entering the restaurant, Soapy was excited and ready to make his dreams come true, but when security immediately kicked him out, he left feeling discouraged and disappointed. Furthermore, the idea of ​​Soapy not getting what he wants is introduced early in the story by the first example, where Soapy is sent out of the restaurant because of his appearance before he can commit any crime. Based on the words of Frederick Law of Short Story Criticism, the dirty clothes Soapy wore were the reason why he was kicked out of the restaurant without hesitation during his annual trip to the Island (201). So far, in Soapy's attempt to suffer his least desired punishment, and here he is physically kicked out, instead of calling the police. The ironic situation here is a surprise because you would think that Soapy will get the punishment he wants, but the message to the readers is starting to feel... halfway through the paper... that he wants to molest a young lady in front of the police, but to his surprise she actually enjoyed his company. Soapy mentally prepared himself for his hopefully final attempt; he adjusted his shirt and approached the woman ready to complete his mission, but she immediately began to play along with his shenanigans. Everything Soapy said with the aim of offending her made her laugh and she responded to the dialogue with something completely made up instead of addressing the nearby police officer. After many minutes of trying to agitate the woman, Soapy began to get fed up: “With the young woman playing with the ivy clinging to her oak tree, Soapy passed the policeman overcome by darkness” (O. Henry 23). At the other end of Soapy's expectations, the woman was happy with what she was doing and Soapy became very angry. The irony of the situation here proves it