O. Henry Essays

In the short story, “The Gift of the Magi”, written by, O' Henry, the theme is, when a person truly loves someone they are willing to sacrifice just about anything to see a loved one happy. Such message was demonstrated in the story through the usage of the following literary devices: irony, symbolism, and diction to set a tone. Irony is when the opposite of what is expected does not happen. Symbolism is a person, place, or thing that suggests more than its literal meaning. Diction is the word choice

O. Henry’s life was melancholy. Born on September 11, 1862, O. Henry is known as one of the most talented and influential writers in the history of literature. (Martin) He was born between his dad “Algernon Sydney Porter” and “Mary Jane Virginia Swaim” in Greensbro, North Carolina. He had two brothers “Shirley Worth”, and “David Weir”, but both of them died when they were young. (Merriman) His aunt “Lina Porter” taught him writing, reading, storytelling and literature when he was a child. (Martin)

Conflicts are the central issue that makes the story move in a literature. Conflicts in literature consists of internal and external conflicts. The internal conflict is one which exist inside the character and must be resolved by the character alone while the external conflict deals with the problems of the world. The external conflict manifests as man versus man or man versus the society. In, “good people”, the story had an internal and external conflicts. The story is centered typically around

“The Most Dangerous Game,” a short story by Richard Connell, dives into the discussion over whether animals have feelings, and if it is fine for them to be hunted for a human’s own entertainment. The main protagonist, Sanger Rainsford, an American author and hunter, and the antagonist, General Zaroff, a hunter as-well, have similar views in the concept of dominance and killing animals for their own pleasure. Throughout the events of the story, both characters, ironically, switch between being the

What are the aspects of loss? The characters in the short stories “Gwilan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, Isaac Singer’s“The Washwoman” , and “The Last Leaf” by O’ Henry, all suffer great losses in different aspects. Ursula K. LeGuin characterizes Gwilan as a skillful, lighthearted harper; however she suffer a great loss later in her life. Unlike Gwilan, in the short story of Issac and O’Henry, the washwoman and Behrman both live a tragic life since the beginning of the story. The characters in three

I Capture the Castle Picture yourself in an old medieval castle near the coast. This place you call your home, is keeping you from living to the fullest. Do you choose to make the best of your situation or do you run away from your problems? "I Capture the Castle" is the story of the Mortmain family living in a castle in 1930s England. The story is revealed through the journal entries of 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain who writes every day to perfect her writing skills. Dodie Smith, the author,

In Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger, readers follow the story of Mersault, a young man living in Algiers who is dealing with his mother’s death. Right away readers can look at Mersault and see his careless and unemotional life. He clearly does not care for what people think about him, and he would never lie about himself to be recognized. He does not accept the society’s idea of happiness by the way he deals with the moments in his life. He does not believe in life after death and has no religion

In his short story, “Little Things,” Raymond Carver uses a mixture of imagery and symbolism to argue that the main characters of his story do not have their child’s best interests at heart and, therefore, do notgh deserve the child. Its similarity to the well-known Bible story of Solomon’s choice also helps Carver make his point. In the story, King Solomon is presented with a child and two women whom both claim that they are this child’s real mother. Solomon asks for a sword and says he will cut

Certain literary elements, when used with style and strategy, can significantly enhance the quality of a story. In "Everything Stuck to Him," by Raymond Carver, literary elements such as his minimalist style, symbols, and indirect characterization enrich the story. Carver uses concise language in this short story. This has the effect of making this story feel very simple at first glance. This simplicity of the story takes out the author's feelings and opinions and allows the reader to insert their

Alexie, S. (2003). What You Pawn I Will Redeem. The New Yorker. The article by Sherman Alexie talks about a homeless Indian man trying to recover his late grandmother’s powwow regalia. The story takes us through the character’s ordeals as he tries to raise money to pay the pawnbroker. From the story, society’s compassion and sympathy are clearly seen, through specific individuals that help Jackson along the way, for example, the Police Officer and the newspaper boss. The climax of the story comes

Daniel Wallace’s essay “Killings,” which was recently featured in The Bitter Southerner, is a very honest explanation as to how the author ended up killing a chicken. The essay features a section in which the Wallace discusses “the early years” of his experiences with death, and the childhood he describes is one that is very stereotypically Southern. Playing outside and messing with bugs are much more common in the South than in the North, so this essay embodies Eudora Welty’s idea that the location

Love in the Forest “A little girl was driving home her cow, a plodding, dilatory, provoking creature in her behavior, but a valued companion at that” (Jewett). Sylvia’s attentiveness to the wellbeing of the cow speaks to her care for animals; the creatures of the forest trust her and come to eat food from her hands. Cruelly, an intrusion into the way of life that Sylvia has made for herself tests her connection and dedication to the natural world. In Sara Orne Jewett’s short story “A White Heron

There are several ways that people can react to conflicts. There are many people that react to conflict by being seemingly paralyzed by their current situation, but there are also many who face their conflicts by acting hopeful and search for successful solutions to the conflicts that they face. By facing a problem with optimism, people can often find ways to solve their problems. There are several people who act nervous during difficult situations and often do not find ways to clearly think of

In a perfect world, there would be no fights, arguments or disagreements that result in destruction and pain. Unfortunately, the world is full of constant battles that cause many relationships to fail. Divorce rates have skyrocketed over the past years and young families are slowly falling apart. Although each relationship is different, one of the main reasons that arguments occur is because of a lack of proper communication or hidden secrets. Either of these things can create chaos. Similarly, in

Blindness is known as the lack of sight and is seen as a disability. This disability is normally thought of as a limitation of what an individual can do. Though what happens when a blind man can see more than his counterpart? Other than being an obvious juxtaposition you get Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral”. “Cathedral” is told from a first-person perspective by an unnamed narrator. The narrator is portrayed at the start of the short story as an ignorant and prejudice man. Carver uses a theme

What is the first word thought when the word “heritage” is said? The theme of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is two ideas of heritage in showing characterization, setting, and imagery. The main characters are: Dee (Wangero) the oldest daughter, Maggie the youngest daughter, and Momma the mother. The short story is about how Dee comes back home for a visit and “heritage” is now important to her but in a different way. Momma and Maggie are outside waiting for Dee’s arrival, they both have true value

Heritage in “Everyday Use” Heritage means something different to everyone, since most of everyone comes from a different background. Everyone has different opinions on heritage and how it should be preserved. In “Everyday Use” written by Alice Walker, it shows what heritage means too both Mama and Dee, how they both have different ways they would like to preserve their heritage, whether heritage is still considered important, and how different they are Dee compared to Mama and Maggie. Heritage

Fritz the Cat (1972) is a film about the 60s. Being the first animated feature to receive an X rating, Fritz the Cat attempts to unveil all the violence, sex, racism, and disillusionment of the 1960s through an unfiltered, and debatably unfocused, lens. Ralph Bakshi is the director behind this film, and he aimed to show that the 60s was not a very perfect era, but in fact quite hypocritical one. Fritz the Cat and the numerous people that surround him are, for the most part, confused souls with often

In his contemporary short story, “Cathedral,” Raymond Carver tells the story of an unnamed narrator, his wife, and an old friend, a blind man named Robert. Robert has come to visit the narrator’s wife, who is quite excited to see this man whom she hasn’t seen in ten years, yet the same can’t be said of the narrator who is noticeably and vocally uncomfortable about his visit. The story is told through the narrator’s first person point of view, showcasing his thoughts and the events that take place

Segregation is the act of setting someone apart from others as to friendship is the act of emotions or conduct of friends. Although these two themes seem completely distinct from one another, they both tie in with the moral or theme of the stories. Segregation is highly seen in the short story “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor. The characters in this story are very opinionated about their opposite race as they all live in a time in which segregation is frequently seen. As