One Thousand Dollars

“One thousand dollars.”

This is the first sentence of the story and sets the tone, establishing the $1,000 as a key factor in the story and pulling the audience’s attention to the theme of money and value with one short sentence.

“Young Gillian gave a decidedly amused laugh as he fingered the thin package of new fifty-dollar notes.”

This line characterizes Gillian and his attitude toward money. He has always had money, so an inheritance of $1,000 is amusing to him. In addition, by using the word “thin,” O. Henry demonstrates that Gillian does not consider $1,000 a sum of any consequence.

“A thousand dollars means much or little.”

This is a philosophical statement by Bryson in the men’s club that highlights the subjectivity of wealth: $1,000 may seem like a trifle to one person, but to another it can cure a disease or prevent starvation. In a highly unequal society like O. Henry’s New York, the rich and poor are incomprehensible to one another because money means different things to each class.