Literary Probe of O. Henry’s Short Stories

HAN+Rong

【Abstract】O. Henrys short stories are popular all over the world. His stories are diversified in subjects， and the artistic features of his works are prominent as well.

【Key words】O. Henry； Short stories； Subjects； Artistic features

0 Introduction

O. Henry is one of the most famous short-story writers in America. His stories are mostly mellow， humorous， ingenious， and conspicuous with surprising endings. In the depiction of the events and incidents taken from everyday life， O. Henry presents the reader with a full picture of American society at his time. His stories enjoy high popularity in readers all over the world.

1 Subjects of O. Henrys short stories

O. Henrys short stories are diverse in subjects， which can be classified into several types.

The most prominent subject in his stories is the pure love. Can readers forget the moving story of “The Gift of the Magi” after they have read it？ Can they remain untouched when Jim and Della “most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house？”[1]In order to make the overwhelming love more pure， O. Henry often makes it bloom between couples under a poor living condition and accompanies it with self-sacrifice. In addition to the story mentioned above， “A Service of Love” is among other illustrations： the two artists have to give up his or her own specialty so as to make a living and to support the other to continue artistic pursuit. They lose art， but they gain love.

Another impressive subject is the true friendship among people. In his famous story “The Last Leaf”， the old painter paints the last leaf on the wall on an icy， wet night， contributing his life as well as his masterpiece in order to save a young neighbor from desperation. Another instance is “A Blackjack Bargainer” which makes an anthem of sincere friendship. The disreputable Goree “sells” his feud in madness for gamble. When he comes to his sense， he dies willingly for his friend — the former enemy of him， making “the best showing that was in his power”.[2]

Parallel to the praise of the virtues of human being， criticism of the vice is another important subject which runs through many of O. Henrys short stories. In the daily life， no doubt there are some people with bright souls， but others are cold， cruel and crafty. In contrast to those couples who live for love， there are also people like Peters in “The Omen of Spring” who may handle his wife by all shameful means he can think out， just for the purpose of getting one dollar for drinking. The collection of The Gentle Grafter tells many stories about deceivers. Through the narration of Jeff Peters， who is the leading character in the book， readers can see that for a deceiver， almost every device can be employed， provided it can bring money.

2 Artistic features of O. Henrys short stories

The artistic features of O. Henrys short stories are prominent and they are worth discussing. First comes the surprising ending. O. Henry introduces such a means of artistic expression into a wide use and develops it into a characteristic of his writing. In his stories， O. Henry arranges the plot skillfully and keeps the key point in secret. Not until the last passage of it， does the story springs an unexpected ending which answers all the readers wonders and lifts the story one-level higher. In “The Gift of the Magi”， Della sells out her hair to buy a watch chain for Jim， who comes back with a set of combs for her. When the story comes here， it is already a moving one， but the author does not let it stay where it is； he further exposes that Jim has sold the watch in order to get the money to buy the combs. Neither of the two gifts can be put into use， but the pure love is represented in a best way. In another impressive story “The Last Leaf”， readers feel happy for Johnsys survival， though they wonder in the meantime why the last leaf always remains on the branch. They may guess some possibilities， but who can imagine that it is a false one， painted there by a friendly neighbor？ Such twist endings teem in O. Henrys collections and they contribute to make his works more popular.

The second remarkable writing feature should be the coincidence. It can be drawn that O. Henry could not establish the unique style of his own if there were no coincidence. Again take the above-mentioned story “The Gift of the Magi” as an example. Both of the couple may have planned to sell out his or her own treasure to buy gifts for the other； yet it could be nothing but coincidence that Jim and Della happen to choose combs and a watch chain as the gifts， when she only has old jacket and old hat to wear， and Jim “needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves”.[3]The artistry lies in the fact that it is an incredible yet acceptable coincidence. Readers know clearly that such a story is unlikely to happen in real life， but they would rather take it for granted than doubt it. They want it to happen， so they will believe in the reasonable assumption.

The third characteristic of his writing skill is what can be called “tearful smile”. Most of O. Henrys short stories， especially those on love and friendship， have a satisfying ending， causing peoples approving smile. Yet as O. Henry often lets the heroes live in poor conditions and makes them struggle to survive， those stories tend to arouse readers tears in the meanwhile. Readers shed tears in sympathy on the one hand， and on the other they are moved to tears by the pure feeling and the self-sacrifice. Such “tearful smile” makes his story more attractive.

Lastly， it is the turn to discuss the rhetorical skill in O. Henrys short stories. Among the various rhetorical devices employed by the author， simile is the most conspicuous one. O. Henry achieves success in the fitness and novelty of the simile. In “A Service of Love”， he writes that “it was a lonesome flat—something like the A sharp way down at the left-hand end of the keyboard”.[4] Is there any other simile better than such one that compares a plain flat rented by a musician and a painter to the base key in the piano？ In the story of “The Cop and the Anthem”， when Soapy is pitched upon the callous pavement， he “arose joint by joint， as a carpenters ruler opens”.[5] In addition to the fitness of that simile， readers can even sense a touch of black humor. The author seems talking with ease； but readers may consider it further. What a pitiful scene it is！Such wonderful similes can be picked up here and there in his stories. Apart from simile， O. Henry also employs a lot of puns， slangs， and allusions in his works. Those factors help to make the language more rich and colorful.

3 Conclusion

O. Henrys short stories are lasting treasures in literature. They are popular in many countries. His works， especially those singing the praises of love and friendship， bring warmth to peoples hearts. They glitter in the history of literature both in America and in the world.

【References】

[1]O. Henry. Best Stories of O. Henry [M]. New York： Doubleday & Company， Inc，1945：7.

[2]Ibid.， p.231.

[3]Ibid， p.4.

[4]O. Henry. The Complete Works of O. Henry[M]. New York： Doubleday & Company， Inc， 1953：25.

[5]O. Henry. Best Stories of O. Henry [M]. New York： Doubleday & Company， Inc，1945：22.

[責任编辑：朱丽娜]