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O. Henry. A. His life experience B. His writing style His major works. O . Henry’s life. William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry , was an American writer. He was born in 1862 in North Carolina, where he spent his childhood.
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O. Henry A. His life experience B. His writing style • His major works
O . Henry’s life • William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer. • He was born in 1862 in North Carolina, where he spent his childhood. • In early 1898 he was found guilty of embezzlement charges and sentenced to five years in an Ohio prison.
O . Henry’s life • After doing three years of the five years sentence, Porter emerged from the prison in1901 and changed his name to O. Henry. • He moved to New York City, where over the next ten years before his death in 1910,he published over 300 stories and gained worldwide acclaim as American favorite short story writer. • He died on June 5,1910 in New York City at the age of forty seven.
writing style • O’Henry is one of the greatest American short story writers of the 20th century. • His short stories, depicting American society of his time, are both interesting and thought-provoking. • Many take place in New York City and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen, waitresses, etc.
writing style • Human Virtues: • O’Henry is sympathetic with the poor; he praises the human virtues and denounces human defeats. Humanity, as the eternal theme of O’Henry’s works, endows his works with perpetual artistic charm. • Human Evils: • By exposing the human defects and the dark sides of the world, O’Henry wants to awaken people’s conscience and deepest desire for all good things, so that people can use their efforts to save and cleanse the whole world.
writing style • His stories usually deal with some self-sacrificing members of a family who is undergoing hardship to help a close relative. • Although his plot is full of coincidence, the surprise ending is his specialty and appeals very much to the reader. • His stories illustrate Henry’s style in various aspects: original conception exaggeration, simile and metaphor, humor, and surprise ending. • Wit, irony, cleverness, individuality and local color are also traditional earmarks of the typical O ’ Henry story.
Major works • "The Gift of the Magi" about a young couple who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst to Jim, Della sells her most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch; while unbeknownst to Della, Jim sells his own most valuable possession, his watch, to buy jeweled combs for Della's hair.
Major works "The Cop and the Anthem" about a New York City hobo named Soapy, who sets out to get arrested so that he can be a guest of the city jail instead of sleeping out in the cold winter. Despite efforts at petty theft, vandalism, disorderly conduct, and "mashing" with a young prostitute, Soapy fails to draw the attention of the police. Disconsolate, he pauses in front of a church, where an organ anthem inspires him to clean up his life—and is ironically charged for loitering and sentenced to three months in prison.
Major works “The Last Leave”TheYoung, poor painter Johnsy contracted pneumonia. Johnsy would give up completely when the last leaf fell to the ground. In order to save her ,another old artist Behrman climbed the wall to paint the ivy leave in a rainy night, which he contracted pneumonia and died two days later. Johnsy survived ,and the last leaf was painted by Behrman, became his final masterpiece.
The three short story writers of the world Guy·de·Maupassant 居伊·德·莫泊桑 Anton chekhov 契诃夫 O.Henry
O’Henry’sshort stories are famous for its unexpected ending, as well as their exquisite conception. • Let’s expect today’s learning about one of his great works After twenty years.
