How we cite our quotes: (paragraph)
Quote #4
There was time; he was comparatively young yet; he would resurrect his old eager ambitions and pursue them without faltering. (41)
This is a very interesting sentence in the context of the theme of class. We know from other passages that Soapy used to be of a very different class—he had friends, family, a means of support, and he practiced religion in some depth, making him part of a religious class. Soapy has already switched classes more than once, and feels he can do so again.
Quote #5
And the anthem that the organist played cemented Soapy to the iron fence, for he had known it well in the days when his life contained such things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars. (43)
See there, Soapy used to be part of very different economic, social, and religious classes than he is today. A class is just a category, a way to classify people. Soapy would be classified as part of a lower economic class, or a homeless class, or a beggar class. He is also among the class of people who are or have been in jail. When you think about this theme, be sure and remember what you read about our author O. Henry in "In A Nutshell." O. Henry is a good example of how someone's class can change over the course of their lives. Notice that in his case, some things—like his belonging to the class of artists—remained constant.