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O. Henry begins the story with figurative language that describes the streets of Greenwich Village. He personifies them, suggesting that they have “run crazy” and fractured into “small strips.” This characterization reflects the eccentric nature of the streets, mirroring the unconventional artists who live there. The metaphor also pertains to the bill collectors who, while trying to track down indebted artists, lose their minds while trying to navigate the veritable maze of streets.
O. Henry also uses personification in describing the pneumonia outbreak as Mr. Pneumonia. Mr. Pneumonia is a cold, invisible stranger who stalks Greenwich Village, striking down people with the touch of his “icy fingers.” He is not a subtle or elegant gentleman but is instead a rough and brutal thug who victimizes the small and vulnerable Johnsy.
The doctor uses hyperbole to describe people who have lost the will to live. With morbid humor, he says that they are “lining up on the side of the undertaker,” as if to describe how many of them there are. Yet this moment of overstatement does capture the pain of the many people afflicted by illness. These people are so full of despair that they are “count[ing] the carriages in [their] funeral procession,” which suggests that they are dreaming of their own funerals. Johnsy herself will succumb to a similar despair.
Additionally, O. Henry describes Behrman as a “mastiff-in-waiting.” Mastiffs are large, strong dogs that make good guard dogs. They are loveable companions but very protective of their human families, which nicely describes how Behrman feels about Sue and Johnsy.
