A Brief Comment on O Henrys Short Stories欧亨利短篇小说述评.docx

A Brief Comment on O Henrys Short Stories欧亨利短篇小说述评.docx

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ABriefCommentonOHenrysShortStories欧亨利短篇小说述评

欧亨利短篇小说述评

摘要:

作为世界三大小说家之一，欧亨利与契诃夫和莫泊桑齐名。

他的作品因奇巧的艺术构思，出其不意的结尾而著称。

其中歌颂人性的小说是欧亨利文学创作的主流，并且许多作品已经成为了脍炙人口的名篇佳作。

同时也涌现了许多感人至深的经典人物。

表现了欧亨利对人性理想的执着追求。

本文主要分析了欧亨利的写作手法，包括精巧的情节设计，出人意料但符合逻辑的结局和幽默智慧的语言三方面，并在这基础上深刻探讨了欧亨利作品中表现出来的人性的善与恶。

关键词:

写作技巧；善；恶；人性

ABriefCommentonO’Henry’sShortStories

Abstract:

O.Henry,oneofthethreemostfamousshort-storywritersintheworld,enjoysequalstatuswithChekhovandMaupassant.Exquisiteplot,wryhumorandtwistendingdominatehisworks.Themainstreamofhisworksiseulogyofhumanityandhismanyclassicalworksarenotable.ThisthesismainlyanalysesO.Henry’swritingstyleincludingtechniqueplotmaking,surprisingbutlogicalendingandhumorousandwittytone,thendeeplyanalysesthehumanvirtuesanddefectsreflectedinO.Henry’sworks.

KeyWords:

artisticstyles;virtues;defects;humancharacter

Contents

1.Introduction

O.Henry,originallynamedWilliamSydneyPorter,isadistinguishedAmericanstorywriter.Hewrotemorethan300shortstoriesinhislife.Hisstoriesarefullofcolorfulcharacters.Hecreatesanoriginal,typicallyAmericandemocraticformofshortstorieswith,atitsbest,avaluablecriticalawarenessoflifeandsocietytellinglyexpressedthroughhumor.Therefore,somecriticscallhim“thefounderofAmericanstories”.Beinggiftedwithhumorandakeenawarenessofdetails,heobjectivelyshowsuswhatAmericalookslike.AllhisstoriesputtingtogetherconstituteatruepanoramaofAmericanlife.

ThisthesismainlyemphasizesO.Henry’suniqueartisticstylesandthehumancharacters.Itincludestwomainaspects.Partoneisontheuniqueartisticstyles.O.Henryisagoodplotmaker,heshowsreadersthereallifeofAmericanpeoplebygivingpeopleasurprisingbutlogicalendingthroughaplausibleplotmakingusinghumorandwittytonewhichgivesreadersanewopensight.Parttwostressesonthehumannaturethatcontainsthevirtuesanddefectssides.Inacapitalistsociety,thespecificcharactersarethespecialsociety.O.Henryshowspeopleclearlyinhisworks.

2.Uniqueartisticstyle

O.Henry'strademarkisthesurprisingendingthateachofhisstoriescontains.Hesetsastorymovinginonedirection,andjustwhenthereaderisconvincedofthegeneraldirectionofthenarrative,thestorywillbecompletelyreversed.Andifwelookbacktothetotalstory,theendingseemslogicalandplausible.Asa“plot-maker”,anddesignerofincident,heisanamazinggenius.Noonecandobetterthanhimtoholdsthereaderin“suspense”.Morethanthat,thereaderscarcelyknowsthatheissuspendeduntiltheverycloseofthestory.Justasturnsonthelightsandthewholetaleisrevealedinitsentirety.HeusesthisdeviceofdramaticandhumorouseffectintheshortstorycollectionTheFourMillionwhichincluding“TheRansomofRedChief”,“TheGiftoftheMagi”,and“TheCopandtheAnthem”,“theServiceofLove”,“ThelastLeaf.”Heusescompactandvividlanguagetosetaplotandportraytheplotthroughhumorousandwittytone.

2.1Techniqueplotmaking

Theshortstoryistheonefundamentalandself-containedgenreinAmericanprosefiction,andthestoriesofO.Henrycertainlymakestheirappearancesinconsequenceoftheprolongedandincessantcultivationofthegenre.Asa“plotmaker”,heisanamazinggenius.Noonecanbetterhiminholdingthereaderin“suspense”.Morethanthat,thereaderscarcelyknowsthatheissuspended,untilattheverycloseofthestory.O.Henrydeliberatelydesignsthelittletrickswithwords,forheisamasteroflanguageandnotitsslave.

ThetypicalfeatureofO.Henry’sstoriesisatwistofplot.Hisultimateachievementistocreatethetwistendingbytheplotmakingandcompactstructure.Hearrangesastorymovinginonedirection,andjustwhenthereaderisgoingtobeconvincedofthegeneraldirectionofthenarrative,whichhetakesforgranted,thestoryiscompletelyreversed.

Forexample,in“TheRansomofRedChief”,twokidnappers,SamandBillmakeoffwiththelittlesonofaprominentman.Accordingtothegeneralexpectation,readersmayassumethattheywilleitherobtaintheransomfromtheboy’sfatherorkilltheboyintheend.Buttheplotistotallydifferent.Theboyissuchanuisancethattheyagreetopaytheboy’sfathertotakehimbackbecausetheycan’tstandhimanymore.Althoughtheplotfarexceedsexpectations,readersappreciatetheclevernessofplotsituationandendingagreatdealwhileenjoyingthedelightofreading.

InO.Henry’sworks,theeventsofsomeshortstoriesarearrangedinthespecificorderwhichexceedreader’snormalexpectationtothearrangementofthoseeventsinhisworks,maketheendingunpredictableandstrange.O.Henrydeliberatelydesignsthelittletrickswithwords,forheisamasteroflanguageandnotitsslave.

Thesuspenseinthestoryisusuallyemployedintheplot.Itistheseeminglyinsignificantcharactersthatfinallybecomethenotablefiguresthatrousereadersponder.In“TheLastLeaf”,Mr.Behrmanwhoisonlymentionedinonlyashortparagraphinthemiddleofthestorytoshowwhoheis,andtwoparagraphtellthereaderhisrageaboutSue’sfullythought.ThemainthemeofthestoryisthatSuetakesthelastfallenivyleafastheendofherlife.Beforetheyknowtheend,readerswillnodoubtasksomequestions.HowdoesSue’sillness?

Whydoestheleafstickagainstthewall?

Doestheleaffalldown?

DoesSuedie?

WhydoestheauthormentionMr.Behrman?

Thelastparagraphreveals.Allsuspensedissolves.TheleaveispaintedbyBehrman,whileSuelives.ButtheoldpainterdiedinhopelesspainbyPneumonia,orrather,torescueSue.Hehastowithstandtoughwindandheavyshowerandthelife-longmasterpiecepaidoffbyhislife.Whenwefindtheplausibilityofendinginthepreviouspassage,whenMr.Pneumoniawaiscalledin,theJohseyscarcelymoves,onlylookingthroughthesmallDutchwindowpanesattheblanksideofthenextbrickhouse,the“blankside”ofbricklaterprovidesthelocationforMr.Behrman’smasterpiece,thedescriptionofMr.Behrman.Heispast60andhasaMichealAngeo’sMosesbeardcurlingdownfromtheheadofasatyralongthebodyofanimp.“MichealAngeo’sMoses”leavesreadersanimpressionofartisticpotential.“Imp”canexplainwhyhewassoweaktofightagainstdisease.

ThecompactstructureisO.Henry’soutstandingwritingtechnique.Eventsinthestoryarecloselyconnectedaschainsofrings,whichmakereaderseagerlyinterestedintheendingofthestory.Assoonasthehighlightofthereverseofplots,thestoryendswithoutanyredundantexplanations.In“TheLastLeaf”,thedescriptionofMr.Behrman,thetruehero,onlytakesup500wordsinmorethan5000words.Meanwhile,thestorydismissesapart,rousingusreadersagreatdealofimagination:

Howcanoldman,above60yearsoldstandontheladder,drawingaleafonthewallinthedreadfullystormingnight,whilehis“shoesandclothingwerewetthroughandicycold.”?

Therefore,themainstreamofO.Henry’sworksiseasilyperceived:

thesuspenseinadditiontowryhumorendingishismainrhetoricmethod.

2.2Surprisingbutlogicalending

Theendingofanarticlehaslongbeenconsideredasaconclusionorjustasummaryofthewholepassage.However,O.Henryillustratesanewway,theso-calledtwistendingorsometimestheO.Henry’sending.Itmeansthatattheendofanarticlethementalstatusorthefateofthecharacterhaschangedgreatly.Butthewholepassageissuddenlyendowedwithagreatcharmbecauseoftheending.Theauthorhasyournervesallaquiveruntilthelastsentence.Thesurprisecomesquicklyandthestoryisfinished.O.Henryissuchamasteroftheunexpectedendingthatonemustadmirehisskills.

InthestoryTheCopandtheAnthem,Soapy,ahomelesstramp,decidingtobesenttotheprisonontheIslandwhichhecalledhiswinterquarteragainsttherigorandthehunger,attemptedtopracticeseveralillegalactivitiesforthepurposeof“wooingcapture”;（O,Henry2004:

09）butthecop,whostoodnearbywhenSoapywastryingtoattracthisattentionbyhisanti-lawbehavior,paidnospecialattentiontoSoapyeverytime,even“seemedtoregardhimasakingwhocoulddonowrong”.（O,Henry2004:

09）Developinguphere,thestorymustgivethereadertheconclusionthatSoapyhadtogobackdisappointedlytohishome—aparkbench.Onhisway,thesweetmusicofanthemfromthechurchplayedbytheorganistandthebeautifulmoonlightscenery“wroughtasuddenandwonderfulchangeinhissoul”,（O,Henry2004:

10）hemadeuphismindto“pullhimselfoutofthemire”（O,Henry2004:

10）and“makeamanofhimselfagain”.（O,Henry2004:

10）Movinglikethis,theplotisnotcompletelyunderstandableatonce.Whenthereaderispuzzledabouttheuseandmeaningofgrowingplot,andjustwhileSoapywasplanninghistomorrow’sactionforbeing“somebodyintheworld”,（O,Henry2004:

11）anunforeseenplot,andjustwhileabruptly:

hewasarrestedbecauseapolicemanthoughthimdoubtful,andthenextdayhewassentenceto“threemonthsontheIsland”.（O,Henry2004:

11）Thestorystopsheresuddenlyinspiteofthereader’snotimmediateunderstanding.Butafteramomentofconsideration,thereader’ssurpriseturnsintoadmirationforhisastonishingcontrivanceoftrickyendingwhichrevealsrigorouslytherealfactsofreversalbetweentruthandfalsehoodincapitalistsocietywhichconfusesrightandwrong.

2.3Humorousandwittytone

O.Henry,agreatdesigner,isskillfulenoughtodyesomecolorofpinkinatragedy,orkindofsadnessincomedy.O.Henry’sstoriesarehumorousencyclopediaofAmericanlife.