William Sydney Porter
William Sydney Porter’s works captured his life, ranging from his happiest moments and times in which were his darkest;he made it known to readers of his experiences in life. O.Henry’s style of writing often lead readers to envision difficult scenarios in which they could solve in unique ways. “The Gift of the Magi”, a famous work follows the life of Della, a woman struggling to make ends meet. Della resides to an unusual solution; She cuts her hair off in order to buy Jim, her husband, a gift. “The Gift of the Magi” “epitomizes” William’s style of writing the most.
O. Henry’s unique works often includes elements of imagery and irony, making his literature different from that of other writers. Irony,specifically an element in which captures the contradiction of an actuality, often showcases an author’s noteworthy or rather distinctive qualities from others. Notably, “The Gift of the Magi”, as well as “The Cop and the Anthem”, emphasize Porter’s special use of situational irony. The Gift of the Magi, a story in which characters Jim and Della’s struggle to purchase each other christmas presents, ends in a way much unexpected. Della unable to afford a gift, finds a solution in which she shaves her hair off, and earns enough to buy Jim a gift.
Jim buys Della a collection of exorbitant hair products, unaware of her now shortened hair(4-5).While the narrative itself is a typical romance story, Henry allows readers to stray away from this idea and focus more-so on the resolution. The resolution leads to a special lesson to be learned by the readers, while still steering clear of the idea of becoming a cliche. Because of O. Henry’s use of irony, both readers and writers are being influenced by his usage of literary elements.
Alternatively, O. Henry’s manipulation of imagery is quite unknown, but it does not take away from his skills in this particular area, meaning while there is a lack of recognition, adeptness is not affected. “The Cop and the Anthem”, a story written by O.Henry, leaves readers with a poignant reminder. The story allows readers to scrutinize Soapy, a homeless man, who resides to going to prison in order to fill his basic needs. When Soapy is introduced to readers, he is elucidated as having old broken shoes and torn clothes, but however when it changes to Soapy’s thoughts, he explains himself as having looked, “alright”(3).
The author emphasizes the disparity between the two perspectives by using imagery. Imagery is used in the sense of trying to get the audience to realize their perceptions and how they convey their thoughts; The moral of the story alludes to a classic lesson, “be careful how you treat people”, however due to the special use of imagery, the lesson is exaggerated in a way that helps readers to better understand the prominence of such topic. O Henry’s writing itself may not prove to be superior, but it does manifest to be different from that of many others. Not only does O. Henry’s stories incorporate senseful uses of imagery, but it also somehow depicts the reality of modern day people,while still being able to intrigue or appeal to readers of all ages. One of Henry’s more unknown stories entitled, “The Cactus”,showcases the strengths of him.
Conversely, this short story while not to the likings of specific persons, it can be admitted that this story deserves, no it needs a superb rating. This masterful art, more-so work, somehow reaches toward a readers mood the most.It all starts with a simple misunderstanding, Trysdale being characterized as egocentric, lies to a woman. This particular woman is the one in which Trysdale admires; the woman gives Trysdale a cactus. Trysdale unaware of the meaning finds himself astonished at her act of seemingly “savagery”.
He notes that an unforeseen part of him was disclosed, ” his own innermost, unmitigated, arid unbedecked self”(1). This particularquote alludes to how self absorbed Trysdale is, meaning the use of unbedecked, leads the audience to believe that this personality, human psyche is the antipode of his true self, suggesting that he himself acts in a manner of which strays from the idea of being drab and apprehensive. The character development, without a doubt, contributes greatly to the meaning of the story. To be brief, O.Henry uses character faults to his advantage, meaning heis able to make seemingly simple characters into complex beings within, who show the wrongs and how to make them into rights.
O. Henry arguably one of the most profound writers of history, is able to mesh different elements of literature into riveting stories. His special uses of these elements contribute to his stories that are often composed of irony,imagery, and unique plots. The plots often take a turn for the better, teaching readers valuable lessons. While the scenarios themselves don’t occur often, the lessons are always universal, meaning they can be applied to any situation.
Overall, because of O.Henry’s technical style of writing, readers around the world are being impacted in a positive manner.
