The Analysis of O.Henry’s Artistic Animation in His Short Story The Gift of the Magi

1、从麦琪礼物中分析欧亨利小说的艺术手法the analysis of o.henrys artistic animation in his short story the gift of the magicontentsabstract.1key words.1 i. o.henry and his position.21. his life.22. the key to success.3ii. introduction about artistic animation.3iii. comments on twist ending.41. the humanity of characters

2、reflected from the twist ending.41) the human virtues.52) the human defects.63) the human virtues and the human defects-individualism with no ill-will.72. twist ending writing devices on the humanity of characters.81) social background.82) plot making technique.93. comment on the twist ending.101) h

3、umanity are fully-depicted102) twist ending combined with wry humor to create “smile with tears”.11iv. conclusion.12references.13the analysis of ohenrys artistic animation in hisshort story ：the gift of the magiabstract：this thesis mainly analyses the artistic animation in o. henrys short stories. w

4、ith his humorous, ironical and comic writing style, o. henry reveals the humanity from the twist ending. part one introduces the author and his position. it not only gives the readers sudden fall but also makes us think plausibly. part two give a brief content about the article and mainly artistic a

5、nimation. in a capitalist society, the specific characters are the special society. they also foretell the fate ending. part three is about some comments on the twist ending. some critics considered wry humor as “smile with tears,” or “tears with smile.” this part elevates the charm of the theme. in

6、 a word, the artistic animation directs readers to think about the humanity. meanwhile, the humanity elevates the artistic twist ending. part four conclude the whole paper. this thesis on o. henrys short stories will improve my literary learning. more than that, it will attract more people to pay at

7、tention to o. henrys works.keywords: twist ending; humanity; wry humor; smile with tear摘 要：本文从欧亨利短篇小说的艺术结尾与人性层面分析。作者运用了幽默、讽刺的喜剧手段揭示了关于善恶的人性主题及其出奇不意的结尾,让主题升华。第一部分,介绍作者及他的地位。使读者被其出奇不意的结尾所震撼,同时其结尾在情理之中。第二部分,简介文章及主要的艺术手法。在资本主义社会,人物具有典型的性格特征,这些都预示了他们的结局。而作者通过各种手法将其跃然纸上。第三部分,评论小说的艺术结尾,作者的作品也曾被认为是庸俗的小说,但他们

8、忽视了艺术结尾所饱含的荒诞与幽默所产生的“含笑带泪”和“含泪带笑”的艺术效果。总之,艺术结尾激发了人们对人性特点深思,而人性特点又升华了艺术结尾,对读者的心灵产生了持久的震撼力。第四部分，总结全文。本文对欧亨利及其短篇小说进行的研究，对本人今后的文学路有一定的帮助。而且，可以让更多的人关注到欧亨利。关键词: 艺术结尾; 人性; 幽默; 带泪的微笑i. o.henry and his position1. his lifeo. henry (1862-1910) was a prolific american short-story writer, a master of surprising

9、endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in new york city. a twist of plot, which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance, is typical of o. henrys stories. william sydney porter (o. henry) was born in greensboro, north carolina. his father, algernon sidney porter, was a physician

10、. when william was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his paternal grandmother and 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 moved to houston, where he had a number of jobs, including that of bank cl

11、erk. after moving to austin, texas, in 1882, he married. in 1884 he started a humorous weekly the rolling stone. when the weekly failed, he joined the houston post as a reporter and columnist. in 1897 he was convicted of embezzling money, although there has been much debate over his actual guilt. in

12、 1898 he entered a penitentiary at columbus, ohio. while in prison o. henry started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter margaret. his first work, whistling dicks christmas stocking (1899), appeared in mcclures magazine. after doing three years of the five years sentence, por

13、ter emerged from the prison in 1901 and changed his name to o. henry. o. henry moved to new york city in 1902 and from december 1903 to january 1906 he wrote a story a week for the new york world, also publishing in other magazines. henrys first collection, cabbages and kings appeared in 1904. the s

14、econd, the four million, was published two years later and included his well-known stories the gift of the magi and the furnished room. the trimmed lamp (1907) included the last leaf. henrys best known work is perhaps the much anthologized the ransom of red chief, included in the collection whirligi

15、gs (1910). the heart of the west (1907) presented tales of the texas range. o. henry published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime.o. henrys last years were shadowed by alcoholism, ill health, and financial problems. he married sara lindsay coleman in 1907, but the marriage

16、 was not happy, and they separated a year later. o. henry died of cirrhosis of the liver on june 5, 1910, in new york. three more collections, sixes and sevens (1911), rolling stones (1912) and waifs and strays (1917), appeared posthumously.2. the key to successo. henrys humorous style and surprise

17、endings help to explain why his short stories are still enjoyed these many years after his death. his works have also been compared to the works of mark twain and ambrose bierce, both of whom clearly influenced o. henrys stories. although some of his works are considered quite well, his writing suff

18、ered from the affects of alcoholism (with his daily dose of two quarts of whiskey), which became a more chronic problem in the last years of his life.ii. introduction about artistic animationo. henry, originally named william sydney porter, is a distinguished american storywriter. he wrote more than

19、 300 short stories in his life. his stories are full of colorful characters most of whom are derived from his inclination to wander streets and parks, and to talk to people of every kind and condition. and all of his stories are ingeniously conceived, with the endings always contrary to readers expe

20、ctations. though his stories endings are always surprising, yet it is not beyond reason, for both ways conform well to the logic of life. he creates an original, typically american democratic form of short stories with, at its best, a valuable critical awareness of life and society tellingly express

21、ed through humor. therefore, some critics call him the founder of american stories. being gifted with humor and a keen awareness of details, he objectively shows us what america looks like. as his experience shows, the majority people he met in his daily life are those lower class in society clerks,

22、 policemen, and waitresses. all his stories putting together constitute a true panorama of american life, or as someone said, the encyclopedia of american life. o. henrys trademark is the surprising ending that each of his stories contains. he sets a story moving in one direction, and just when the

23、reader is convinced of the general direction of the narrative, the story will be completely reversed. and if we look back to the total story, the ending seems logical and plausible. as a “plot-maker”, and designer of incident, he is an amazing genius. no one can do better than him to holds the reade

24、r in “suspense”. more than that, the reader scarcely knows that he is suspended until the very close of the story. just as turns on the lights and the whole tale is revealed in its entirety. he uses this device of dramatic and humorous effect in the short story collection the four million which incl

25、uding “the ransom of red chief”, “the gift of the magi”, and “the cop and the anthe”, “the service of love”, “the last leaf.” at the same time he uses irony and satire to disclose the essence of american society: the weak are the prey of the strong, which is regarded as the law of the jungle univers

26、ally. in addition, right and wrong are confused, good and evil are disordered. take his works as examples, “mammon and the archer”, “the furnished room” and “a double-dyed deceiver”. those jocular methods in rhetoric can move you to tears as well as laughter. moreover the author vividly presents the

27、 humanity of characters. so if you look back the total story, the ending seems logical and plausible. the real charm of o. henrys tales lies not only in the twist ending, but also in the reversal reflected from the twist ending of his characters humanity. the kind of endings serves to light up the h

28、umanity of characters, to show the authors love and hatred and thus to arouse the readers sympathy. if we ponder deeply over those twist endings and those radiant effects, we will find the root of society system is the field of the humanity. therefore the author uses different kinds of devices to ad

29、d wry humor to enhance the theme. next, lets unfold the magic travel of o. henrys works.iii. comments on twist ending 1. the humanity of characters reflected from the twist endingas we know, the ending of an article has long been considered as a conclusion or just a summary of the whole passage. how

30、ever, o. henry illustrates a new way, the so-called twist ending or sometimes the o. henrys ending. it means that at the end of an article the mental status or the fate of the character has changed greatly. but the whole passage is suddenly endowed with a great charm because of the ending. and the t

31、wist ending not only gives the readers a sudden fall, but also let us thinks a lot. think what? from the twist ending, the humanity is clearly presented. among o. henrys short stories, the eternal theme proves to be the humanity. whether simple or complex, the mystery of human motives controlled by

32、human nature is exposed. there are good and evil elements in human nature, for the two are often mixed with each other more or less. when the good elements in human nature occupy the predominant portion, man will carry forward his virtues such as kindness, generosity, hospitality, self-sacrifice for

33、 love and friendship, helping others without asking for rewards. while the evil things defeat the good in human nature, man will display such human defects as being gluttonous and lazy, rapacious, officious, vain arrogant, cowardly, impetuous etc. the human motives become more and more mysterious an

34、d various. when tempted, good man would do evil things; when moved by noble-minded people or touching things, the demon will forsake darkness for light and turn over a new leaf in his life. in o. henrys world, established figures become boobs and rich men become dunces, while rogues become heroes an

35、d down-and-outers become gentlemen. 1) the human virtueshuman being has many virtues from ancient times to the present. they are kind, brave, honest, hard working, polite, thrifty, generous, hospital and so on. some people still pay a great deal in order to maintain these virtues, they sacrifice the

36、ir own happiness even their life for lofty love and friendship; they help others without asking for rewards and regard it as a pleasure; they give up their own treasure and chance to others etc. such people bring love and fine things to the world; they are the ones who endow the world with light and

37、 hope. o. henry has a great understanding of the trials of the lower class, and he frequently pictures the lives of ordinary people of early twentieth century america with warm and sympathetic colors. these characters are frequently the overlooked: the struggling shops girl, the unsuccessful artist,

38、 and the impoverished. even theodore roosevelt said: “it was o. henry who started me on my campaign for office girls.” there is no denying that the narratives of humanity by o. henry have everlasting influence. although they are poor, leading the life “made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sni

39、ffles predominating”, they still think, “if a home is happy it cannot fit too close.” most of o. henrys stories show that the humble little insignificant people of new york are just as admirable and their lives are as worthy of attention and interest and, as he implies, as respectable as the members

40、 of the four hundred.take “the gift of the magi” as an example, we will find the ingenuity of o. henrys unexpected endings. from that condensation of the charm of human virtues the love-sacrificial theme is shown. it is about a young couple that is short of money but desperately wants to buy each ot

41、her christmas gifts. unknown to jim, della sells her most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order to buy platinum as the chain for jims watch; unknown to della, jim sells his most valuable possession, his watch, to buy jeweled combs for dellas hair. the author arranges the entire plot just

42、 to get the readers to wait, to cause suspense, the pleasurable excitement and anticipation of the outcome. from the beginning, the readers keep guessing what jim and della will buy for each other, and the coincidence of their gift is the great suspense the author put in his article. and then he giv

43、es the answer to the question. here is the ending: “here i have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely scarified for each other the greatest treasures of their house. but in the last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all

44、 who give gifts.” 2(p59) however, the story end comes when jim reveals that he has sold his watch to buy dalla her present, from where the poor couples love is show. therefore, o. henry ends the story artfully, and with deft touches he elicits the readers admiration and sympathy for his young couple

45、 shows love for each other more than compensates for their lack of money and material possessions. though confronted with cruel reality and dull daily routine, della and jim can never change their eagerness toward love. to them the most valuable material possession is so slight and insignificant bef

46、ore the spiritual possession of love romance. that is sparkling with fragrant charm.moreover, sometimes the ending repeats the beginning and strings the whole article to elucidate the human virtues. in “a service of love”, o. henry inputs the comment to an inside view, which is conveyed by the conve

47、rsation between joe and delia: “when one loves ones art no service seenjust when one loves”. the theme is straightly revealed from the beginning and restated by to the end. o. henry praises for the pure love between joe and delia. they both sacrifice their time and chance to earn enough money to sup

48、port their spouse. delia works in a laundry for two weeks. they cheat each other so that one of them can win the opportunity to realize his or her dream or art. until one-day delias hand is burned with a smoothing-iron, do they find out the reality. this kind of ending eulogize of the love between o

49、rdinary people. the art is also a kind hearted, self-sacrifice, hardworking and perseverance. after all, in the world of o. henry, american society still has charm, has not become vicious.by and large, through the portrayal the panorama of a throng of people either of upper class or lower class, o.

50、henrys eulogizes the specious and precious human virtues. the virtues of the character reflected from the unsuspected ending.2) the human defectson the other hand, human beings have many defects, too. they benefit themselves at the expense of others. in order to make money they never show mercy and

51、sympathy to the poor. they realize their own aims by hook or by crook. their evil deeds make the world vicious. by exposing the human defects and the dark side of the world, o. henry wants to awaken peoples conscience and their deepest desire for all good things, so that people can make their effort

52、s to save and clean the whole world.in the gift of the magi o.henry follows a standard formula, dealing with commonplace events in the lives of the ordinary people and arriving at a surprise ending through coincidence. the author uses pungent rhetoric methods not only to show us the humanity vividly

53、, but also to enhance the theme-love is supreme than anything in the world. 3) the human virtues and the human defects-individualism with no ill-willo. henry has deep insights into human destiny and human nature. among the story of new yorkers, the theme of pretense strikes the dominant chords of th

54、ese stories-the pervasive desire to pose for what one if not, if only for a brief spell of time and regardless of the acknowledged risk involved7(p66). in daily life, when one feels that he is not flawless; when one is not content with what he has, it is understandable for him to find something or c

55、hange something to regain the balance in his heart. everyone will choose a way to pretend to be another man for a short while to get the sense of compensation. after all, that is a comparative and efficient solution for poor people. when he disguises himself, his daily frustration of the ego will di

56、sappear from his head for a while. and the transient awakening of self-esteem will occupy his head and soul for a short time. thus he can escape from the cruel reality successfully and relax himself. such a person is worthy of sympathy, so o. henry never looks down upon them. although the ending of

57、the story is ironical, he never despises them. there is no exactly distinction between the kind and the evil in o. henrys stories. most of the time, characters in o. henrys stories are always endowed with both good and ill will, the characters change according to the conditions. humanity is complex thing that combines no absolute right or wrong, no absolute good or bad. but those human virtues displayed in o. henrys works show the fine side of the world, which e