O Henry - 3034 Words

After Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe, William Sydney Porter (known as O Henry) is the most read author in the world and bears the title of  « master of the short story  ». He has been called many things. Some people have called him the twentieth-century Balzak. Some have called him the American Maupassant because of his so well made surprising endings. The short story is the one fundamental and self-contained genre in American prose fiction, and the stories of O. Henry certainly made their appearance in consequence of the prolonged and incessant cultivation of the genre The real O. Henry is found in an irony pervading all his stories, in a keen feeling for form and traditions. Americans cannot help wanting to prove a resemblance in outlook†¦show more content†¦Then when the police officers came, they said that they had orders to leave these kinds of guys be, because they are no harm to the public. There are more, but I will let you find them and I dont want to give the story away to you. At last, while walking around a church he hears an anthem. He unconsciously comes in there and stays for a while to listen more carefully to that melody. In the meanwhile, Soapy decides to change for the better. Suddenly, a cop comes to him and arrests him for loitering. The next day, the Judge sentenced him to the Island. O. Henrys stories have a variety of settings, but most of them are laid in either New York City or Texas. The Cop and the Anthem has the perfect setting for the story. It took place in New York, in the late 1800s, early 1900s. Soapy originally lived on a bench in Madison Square. It was autumn and the leaves were falling. Soapy realized that winter was coming and he needed to plan something. He cant stay on the park bench, while its snowing, all winter. Hell freeze, get sick, and maybe even get frostbite. Soapy then figured out that he wanted to go to The Island, a nickname he used to call a prison in New York. He tryed to do bad things to get arrested, so he could have food and be warm for the winter season. That was a great setting for such story. Coincidence vs Fate, as I have noticed, are the most prominent themes O.Henry has dealt with in this story. Besides, the common Porters trademarkShow MoreRelatedEssay about Analysis of OHenrys Short Story, The Gift of the Magi891 Words   |  4 PagesO’Henry’s â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† O. Henry’s short story â€Å"The Gift of the Magi,† is about a couple who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. The story takes place on Christmas Eve in a furnished apartment at eight dollars a week. I feel that the narrator mocks Jim and Della for being poor. â€Å"It did not beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.† (O. Henry 165). Della and Jim’s income shrunk from thirty dollarsRead MoreText Analysis THE GREEN DOOR BY O’HENRY1504 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis THE GREEN DOOR BY O’HENRY The text under analysis is a story written by O’Henry. His real name is William Sidney Porter and O. Henry is his pen name. O. Henry is an American short-story writer of the late 19th century. He is a representative of realism, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City. Typical for O. Henrys stories is a twist of plot which turns on an ironic or coincidental [kÉ™uËÅ'É ªn(t)sÉ ªdent(É™)l] (Ð ²Ã ¸Ã ¿Ã °Ã ´Ã ºÃ ¾Ã ²Ã ¸Ã ¹) circumstance. Although some criticsRead MoreBiography of William Sydney Porter1712 Words   |  7 Pages Porter left her husband again, this time for good. No matter what happened in Wills personal life, his books continued to roll off the presses. Two books often appeared in the same year because the demand was so large. No other author could match O. Henrys popularity; his stories were being read in Sunday papers all over the country. Will sold to a total of thirty-four different outlets. In 1904, a volume of short stori es titled The Four Million, became a big success. In this book appeared â€Å"TheRead MoreThe Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry Essay1234 Words   |  5 Pagesgifts impractical. This bittersweet narrative, â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† by O. Henry, illustrates the moral idea that a person, motivated by nothing but love for another, can possess a willingness to give in a self-denying way which necessitates that the reader consider that wealth be measured by something more than having money and material possessions. One of the most famous books containing parables is the Bible, and O. Henry utilizes biblical characters and ideas to help cement certain points inRead MoreThe Gift Of The Magi O Henry Analysis787 Words   |  4 Pages In The Gift of the Magi O. Henry brilliantly uses vivid imagery, laughable irony, and a sentimental tone to fully develop an overlaying theme of sacrifice. Imagery is very important in this story, especially when it comes to describing Della and Jim’s treasures so the reader can fully grasp their significance. There are so many good examples of the rich imagery including, â€Å"There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigatesRead MoreLove And Selflessness In The Gift Of The Magi By O. Henry702 Words   |  3 PagesIn the â€Å"Gift of the Magi† by O. Henry, there are many ideas about love and selflessness. These concepts are communicated throughout the story through Della and Jim’s hardships. The couple is unprivileged, but they seem to sacrifice what they have, to bring happiness to the other, like the Magi. In the end both find enjoyment in their gifts since they sacrificed something they love, but it shows how much they actually love one another. In O. Henry’s, â€Å"The Gift of the Magi†, the theme explainsRead MoreThe Thing s They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 Pageshis mastery of words. I wanted to hear his truths. I just wanted to know him (I still do). I felt his words in my heart—in a way that not even real life can make me feel. Author Biography: Taken from www.bookreporter.com/authors/tim-o’brien â€Å"Tim O Brien was born in 1946 in Austin, Minnesota, and spent most of his youth in the small town of Worthington, Minnesota. He graduated summa cum laude from Macalester College in 1968. From February 1969 to March 1970 he served as infantryman with the URead More A Glimpse of Dorothy Parkers Life Essay examples1355 Words   |  6 PagesA Glimpse of Dorothy Parkers Life Dorothy Rothschild, later to become the famous writer Dorothy Parker, was born on August 22, 1893 to J. Henry Rothschild and Eliza A (Marston) Rothschild in West End, New Jersey. Parker’s father, Mr. Rothschild, was a Jewish business man while Mrs. Rothschild, in contrast, was of Scottish descent. Parker was the youngest of four; her only sister Helen was 12 and her two brothers, Harold and Bertram, were aged 9 and 6, respectively. Just before herRead MoreBiography of Annie Prolux 993 Words   |  4 PagesStories. She published her first fictional book called Heart Songs and Other Stories, in 1988, followed by a novel, Postcards, in 1992. She won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for the comic novel, The Shipping News. In 1998 Proulx won two O. Henry prize stories for Brokeback Mountain and The Mud Below. Brokeback Mountain later became an academy award winning film. In Prolux’s short story 55 Miles to the Gas Pump, a drunken rancher named Mr. Croom hides a secret from his wife. He gets drunkRead MoreAnalysis of the Last Leaf, by O’ Henry Essay917 Words   |  4 PagesThe short story â€Å"The Last Leaf† portraits two young women named Sue and Johnsy living together in New York. Pneumonia has hit the area they are living in and Johnsy, not being used to the climate - as she is from California, is suffering from the disease. Sue takes on the role as the caretaker of Johnsy. Because Johnsy is terminally ill, she is therefore in need of medical help. The unnamed doctor, who is called in to Johnsys aid, is portrayed as a presumptuous and nonchalant man. He seems presumptuous