What Changed The Life Of Jimmy Valentine

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Some may go through drastic measures for the sake of love, much like how Jimmy Valentine changed his life’s morals in the short story “Retrieved Reformation”. When something like that happens, it’s forever. Jimmy did time in jail for stealing and cracking safes. Shortly after getting out of jail, Jimmy turned his life around for a girl he fell in love with. But not all change is absolute, some may ask if Jimmy changed his life’s morals. Jimmy Valentine changed and started living a moral life by: deciding to quit his crimes, creating an honest business, starting a family.

One way that Jimmy turned his life around, was by deciding stop stealing and cracking safe. This is shown in his letter to his friend when he says,“Billy, I’ve quit the old business.” This shows that Jimmy is telling his old friend Billy that he’s done with stealing and cracking safes. By doing this, he’s decided to stop committing crimes, which helps contribute to leading a moral life. To help stop his criminal actions, he also decided to sell his safe cracking tools in order to stray from temptation. Along with these actions, he also vowed to never touch another man’s money when he says, “I wouldn’t touch a dollar of another man’s money now for a million.” …show more content…

He opened a store that people needed. The clerk that Jimmy spoke to said,“There wasn’t an exclusive shoe store in the place.” This means that there is little competition and he would have easy income. The story says “his shoe store was flourishing.” This shows he is making a lot of money. By having a good source of income through honest work, Jimmy discovered that he didn’t need to live a life of crime in order to make money. In the letter to Jimmy’s friend, he says “I’m making an honest living.” This shows that he is making an honest living and he wants to keep it that

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