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O. Henry (1862-1910) (pseudonym of William Sydney Porter),Content,Personal experience Literary contributions Themes Writing style Social significance Influence,Personal experience,O. Henry was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. His father was a physician. When William was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his parental grandmother and paternal aunt. William was an avid reader, but at the age of fifteen he left school, and then worked in a drug store and on a Texas ranch. He continued to Houston, where he had a number of jobs, including that of bank clerk.,Personal experience,After moving in 1882 to Texas, he worked on a ranch in LaSalle County for two years. In 1887 he married Athol Estes Roach; they had one daughter and one son. In 1894 Porter started a humorous weekly The Rolling Stone. It was at this time that he began heavy drinking. When the weekly failed, he joined the Houston Post as a reporter and columnist.,Personal experience,In 1894 cash was found to have gone missing from the First National Bank in Austin, where Porter had worked as a bank teller. In 1897 he was convicted of embezzling money, although there has been much debate over his actual guilt. In 1819, he died at Columbus.,Literary contributions,The Gift of the Magi 麦琪的礼物 The Ransom of Red Chief 红色酋长的救赎 The Cop and the Anthem 警察与赞美诗 Mammon and the Archer 爱神与财神 The Last Leaf 最后的常春藤叶 Next To Reading Matter 醉翁之意 What You Want 君欲何求,Literary contributions,An Adjustment of Nature 自然之修正 After Twenty Years 二十年后 An Afternoon Miracle 午后的奇迹 The Atavism Of John Tom Little Bear 小熊约翰汤姆的返祖现象 Babes In The Jungle 丛林中的孩子 Best-Seller 畅销品 Between Rounds 闹剧,Themes,Love, generosity, wealth and poverty are central themes in The Gift of the Magi. The Gift of the Magi describes an extremely poor young couple id determined to give Christmas presents to each other. He sells his watch to buy a set of combs for her long hair, and she cuts off her hair and sells it to buy him a watch fob. The moral of the story is that physical possessions, however valuable thy may be, are of little value in the grand scheme of things.,Themes,The Ransom of Red Chief The story tells about two kidnappers, who make off with the young son of a prominent man. They find out that the child is a real nuisance. In the end they agree to pay the boys father to take him back.,Writing style,O. Henry tended to repeat the motifs of his stories and fall into melodrama and sentimentality. He 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 circumstance. His short stories were masterworks of careful plotting and surprise endings.,Social significance,O. Henry was one of the most significant short story writers in the United States. Once he was called as the Manhattan Essayist Laureate (曼哈顿桂冠散文作家) and the Father of Modern American Short Story(美国现代短篇小说之父).,Social significance,After his death, someone set up O. Henry Prize (设立了“欧亨利奖”) which is awarded annually to honor those excellent short stories. And in each year of the May, the O. Henry Museum (“欧亨利博物馆”) which is located in Austin will hold the Global Puns Tournament (“世界双关语锦标赛”).,Influence,O. Henrys humorous, energetic style shows the influence of Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce. As his death O. Henry was regarded as a great master of the art of fiction.,Review,Personal experience Literary contributions Themes Writing style Social significance Influence,Question,Which statements about O. Henry is NOT right? A. His stories are a penetrating criticism of America of the time. B. The ends of his stories are always surprising. C. The plots of his stories are exceedingly clever and interesting. D. Many of his stories contain a great deal of slang and colloquial expressions.,Thank you!,
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