O. Henry is an outstanding American short story writer whose works disclose to us a panorama of American society in the early 20th century. His unique writing techniques, for which he is most famous, establish his reputation not only in the realm of American literature but in the realm of world literature as well. His works are mainly characterized by surprise endings, humor and irony.
This paper, which consists of five parts, aims to analyze three of his major writing techniques: surprise endings, humor and irony. The first part is a brief introduction to O. Henry. The second part discusses his surprise endings, which are mainly achieved through attempts to mislead, the shifting of the angle of narration and the withholding of information. The third part elaborates on humor in his works, which is, for the most part, achieved through diction, using the comparison and contrast of characters. The fourth part is dedicated to irony, exemplified by “The Cop and the Anthem”, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”. Finally, the paper sums O. Henry’s main achievements, especially in terms of his writing techniques.
Contents
中文摘要………………………………………………………………...………… i
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… .ii
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………iii
Introduction………………………………….……………………………………...1
I. Surprise Endings………………………….………………………………………2
A .Surprise Effect Achieved through Attempts to Mislead.………….………. 2
B. Surprise Effect Achieved through Shifting of the Angle of Narration…. 3
C. Surprise Effect Achieved through Withholding of Information…………... .4
II. Humor………………………………………………………………….………...6
A. Humor Effect Achieved through Diction…………..……………….……....6
B. Humor Effect Achieved through Comparison of Characters……….………7
C. Humor Effect Achieved through Contrast of Characters……………….…..7
III. Irony….…………………………………..………………….…………………..9
A. Irony in “The Cop and the Anthem”….……..……….……………….……...9
B. Irony in “The Gift of the Magi”………………………………….….……....10
C. Irony in “The Furnished Room”…………………………….………....……10
Conclusion……………………………………………………….………..………..12
Notes………………………………………………………………………………..13
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………..14