week1

O‧Henry's Short Stories

1.Who is O‧Henry?

    O‧Henry is his pen name. His real name is William Sydney Porter. 
    He is absolutely more than an author.
    At his young age, O‧Henry was forced to drop out from high school. He worked in his uncle's drug store for five years, with the dream of being a painter in his mind.Then, he has tried a lot of works, such as shepherd, chef, babysitting staff, singer, comedy actor, reporter, cashier...etc.
    These experiences stimulated his humor, and also became his subjects of the stories.
    In 1898, he was arrested for embezzlement.
    He whole-heartedly wrote short stories when he was in the prison,
   only because its writing time is short, so that he could get the payment soon!
    After leaving the prison, he published hundreds of well-known short stories and his only long novel  Cabbages and Kings, and became a world-famous author.

    Many of his stories were adapted into comics, cartoons, or short movies for children.

2. O‧Henry's stories
    Since there are too many stories (almost 300!)which were written by him, I can't talk about every of them.
    So, I choose two most famous ones, The Gift of the Magi and The Last Leaf.

    The Gift of the Magi 

 
    I choose this video because it can help us learn how to read a story.
    People who want to practice their listening ability can ignore the caption and see if you can understand the whole story.
    The Last Leaf

    Both two stories has a common point:
        O‧Henry endings──
            unexpected, but reasonable
     O‧Henry often used some ambiguities or wordplay to create a totally different end from our thought.
    Although some critics say O‧Henry always use this immutable way in his stories, it's the most major reason why his stories are so famous.

3.my thought
    For those who spend lots of time on the bus or the MRT, reading these short stories may be a good pastime for you. 
    Spend 15 minutes enjoying the surprise that O‧Henry endings brings to you, maybe it will change your outlook on life!