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1、【标题】从麦琪的礼物看欧?亨利的写作特色 【作者】刘 燕 【关键词】欧?亨利；麦琪的礼物；写作特色 【指导老师】白 敏 卢 静 【专业】英语 【正文】1. IntroductionO. Henry, originally named William Sydney Porter, is a distinguished American storywriter. He wrote more than 300 short stories in his life. His stories are full of colorful characters most of whom are derived
2、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 expectations. Though his stories endings are always surprising, yet it is not beyond reason, for both way
3、s 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 expressed through humor. Therefore, some critics call him“the founder of American stories”. 1 Being gifted w
4、ith humor and a keen awareness of details, he objectively shows us what America looks like. As his experience shows, the majority of people he met in his daily life are those in lower class- clerks, policemen, and waitresses. All his stories putting together constitute a true panorama of American li
5、fe, or as someone said,“The encyclopedia of American life”.2 Since 1918 The O. Henry Memorial Award had been established to be given annually to the best magazine stories, the winner and leading contenders works would be published in an annual volume. He uses a unique method to write so-called O. He
6、nrys technique. O. Henrys technique is a big magic weapon, which leads this artistic master to his great success and brings us a huge wealth. This paper wishes to discuss some of the Writing characteristics in The Gift of the Magi.The old classic The Gift of the Magi concerns the unselfish sacrifice
7、 a young man and wife make in order to buy Christmas gifts for each other, each secretly selling his or her most prized possession. This information is revealed, of course, in the characteristic O. Henrys surprising ending. However, Della and Jim are not saddened by what they seem to have lost; each
8、 is made happier by the gift of love given. In their selfless giving, they are linked to the wise man, or Magi, who brought gifts to the infant Jesus. OHenry primarily uses the story of the Magi to compare the acts of the two characters in The Gift of the Magi. He does this through the use of symbol
9、s and by comparing the selfless giving of presents of Della and Jim to that of the Magi. From this title, we can know that he wants to write something about the gift which is the clue running through the whole story.The whole paper consists five parts. The first part is an introduction to O. Henry a
10、nd the gift of the magi. The second part is the Characterization in the Gift of the Magi. The third part is about the arrangement of plot. In this part I will discuss some main characteristics of O. Henrys short stories with example. The forth part is the main rhetoric devices employed in The Gift o
11、f the Magi. The last part is a conclusion which sums up O. Henrys achievement.II. The Characterization of Figures in The Gift of the MagiAs we know, O. Henry was from the lower rank of society and he worked in various jobs. So O. Henrys short stories have very extensive range of subjects，and he know
12、s the common peoples life style very well. In his story, the characters he portrayed are a wide range of common people include shop girls and millionaires, policemen and burglars, cowboys and tramps, confident men and southern gentlemen, and other assorted types. The Characterization of little and i
13、nsignificant common people are always the soul of his stories. He writes for the ordinary people and he is skillful in writing the civil lives and the people around him. The characters in O. Henrys short story often give me a deep impression, although they are common people, such as Jim and Della in
14、 the gift of magi.A. The Characterization of the Hero From this story, we know O. Henry does not attach great important to the role of the hero, Jim. He seems to ignore his selling and buying gift for his wife. However, his characteristic can be got in indirect way, such as Jim is never late, indica
15、ting that Jim is always punctual. While there is actually bold describing,“He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two and to be burdened with a family. He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves”. 3 He leads a hard life and struggles for living in a better condition
16、, but no enough money to change their current situation. In order to buy Della a nice Christmas present. Jim sold the watch to buy the jeweled tortoise-shell combs. But when Jim stepped inside the door, Henry describes the expression of Jim as the following:“Jim stepped inside the door, as immovable
17、 as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for, he simply stared at her fixedl
18、y with that peculiar expression on his face.”4 Evidently, Jim is confused by Dellas hair. On one hand, his wifes appearance changes, and he has just sold his gold watch to buy the comb, but Dellas hair has gone. Facing the unexpected fact, he certainly cant help thinking so much. However, Jim tells
19、Della the more surprising and more dramatic, that is, the comb is at the price of his watch. So Dellas buying the chain is as effortless as Jims buying the comb. Jim just smiles, not caring much about Christmas present, and says,“Della, lets put our Christmas presents away and keepem a while. Theyre
20、 too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on.”5 Thus, their life still goes on. As the writer says, both of them are magi, the wisest men, who have got the most precious present in the world, that is, they always care abo
21、ut each other, for the purpose of living a happy and comfortable life.O. Henry builds up to his surprise twist very artfully, he elicits the readers admiration and sympathy for the young couple whose love for each other than everything. As the writer says, both of them are magi, the wisest men, who
22、have got the most precious present in the world, that is, they always care about each other, for the purpose of living a happy and comfortable life.B. The Characterization of the Heroine Della is beautiful from the bold describing about her hair can depreciate the Queen of Shebas jewels and gifts. C
23、hristmas is coming, Della is filled with gloom after crying, but she has only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. Its not enough for her to buy her husband a present. For months she has been saving every penny she could for Christmas, but only1.87 is all she has got. She could find no way out. In New
24、 York, in America, families like Jim and Dellas could hardly keep their economy balanceincome constantly reduces down and living expenses increase. So it is impossible for them to buy present for Christmas. Suddenly, when Della stands in front of the lookingglass,“her eyes were shining brilliantly.”
25、 6 Obviously she has the idea of selling her hair,“but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds.” 7 How reluctantly she is to do it. However, Della still decides to sell her beautiful hair and buy Jim a platinum chain for his watch. She does everything just for her husband; she takes Jim as
26、 the most important person in her lifetime. The way Della expresses love under such harsh conditions, sacrificing self might be the only and also the most loving way to make other happy and rewarding. The love between them is shown by them giving up something they love to be able to buy something sp
27、ecial for their partner. To understand the true love between the couple, the reader must look deeper than what is just on the surface.III. The Arrangement of the Plot in The Gift of the MagiIts not a boring thing to read the story written by O. Henry. The plots are exceedingly clever and interesting
28、, humor abounds, and the end is always surprising. Having plots hinging on improbable coincidence and variations on the surprise ending is the main characteristic of O. Henrys short stories and the most creative contribution to the literature. It is also the reason why he is revered as a genuine art
29、ist of towering, international stature. In terms of plot, O. Henrys stories are firstly noted for perfect command of careful plotting and ironic coincidence. His stories always focus on two or three individuals, inventing imaginary situations and predicaments for them, working out ingeniously unexpe
30、cted solutions for their problems. His suggestive description about the characters just form one fine view is capable of showing vividly their real features and awkward positions. Even when choosing plots to reflect the social background, O. Henry still inclines to pick those incidents or fragments
31、from daily life of a few people, instead of directly describing the significant events in the social life. Typical is The Gift of the Magi.A. The Twist Plot and Ironic CoincidenceTypical for O. Henrys short stories is a twist of plot that turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance. O. Henry des
32、igned the twist of plot usually for showing the true between the relatives, the friends and the lovers. Unselfish love shared, regardless of difficulties or distractions. This is the idea repeatedly implied as a criterion in his fictional treatment of domestic affair. If such love is present, life c
33、an be a great adventure transcending all blocks; if it is absent, nothing else can take its place. The Gift of the Magi gives us a good example of O. Henrys twist plot and ironic coincidence. From the beginning of the story, the young couple is characterized as their true love holder showing sinceri
34、ty and loyalty through the way of sacrificing their precious treasure. First, Della cries, whirled from the window and stands on the front glass, her eyes are shining but her face has lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulls down her hair and let it fall to its full length. Later Dell
35、a makes up her mind to do one thing giving the readers an astonishing shock. Its tempting to the readers to shed tears right now. The only purpose is just to give present on Christmas. Della is full of pleasure, has thought that she would give her husband the most suitable gift on the Christmas Day,
36、 but a strong sense of anxiety accompany with her. When Jim has returned home and stared at Della, a bust of complex feeling occurs to him, his inner world fraught with many unlucky ideas. By Dellas explanation Jim has known everything about his wifes hair, just for the chain. Unexpectedly, Jim has
37、done the same thing as Della done for him, he has sold the watch to get the money to buy combs that Della loves so much, fortunately the couple presents their most precious presents to each other, real presents is temporarily useless but their mutual love is true and lasting forever. There is no dou
38、bt that it embodies the life of happiness with sadness and deepens their love. Here Henry presents the climax and later comments on“the foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house”.8 The young couple indeed sacrifices their precious po
39、ssessions, the unwise aspect lies in their decision without telling each other ahead of time and the couple just wants to bring a surprise with great happiness to show their affection.When I first read this story, I feel distressed but pleased. I begin to understand the real meaning of O. Henrys“smi
40、le with tears” 9. The two loves each other so deeply that they would like to exchange the smiling face of the other with the most precious thing they have. But the ironic coincidence happens that the sweetest gift becomes something useless.At one time I has thought if there is a happy ending in the
41、story, does she still like it? The answer is no. Without the ironic coincidence, the story is nothing but a trifle. The faulty ending makes the story perfect and demonstrates another feature of O. Henrys short stories the surprising endings.B. The Surprising EndingThe surprise ending is the main cha
42、racteristic of O. Henrys short stories and the most creative contribution to the literature. He would set a story moving in one direction, and when the readers were convinced of the general direction of the narration, the story would be completely reversed. This kind of unexpected but reasonable end
43、ing which called O. Henrys ending can make the readers feel enlightened and enthusiastic. Even if the ending may be a little sorrowful but it still gives the readers some hope, which is so-called“O. Henrys humor(smile with tears)”.10 If we look back to the total story, the ending seems logical and p
44、lausible. As a plot-maker, and designer of incident, he is an amazing genius. No one can surpass him in holding the reader in suspended. More than that, the reader scarcely knows that they are suspended until at the very close of the story. He often stresses on something important but not the most i
45、mportant in his works. The most important part always seems to write incidentally, which even the most circumspective reader may ignore it. When the stories end in a totally unexpected but reasonable way, we can do nothing but cheer for O. Henrys literary talent.In the gift of magi, we feel so pity
46、that Della has her precious long hair cut. But to our surprise, Jim has sold the watch to buy the jeweled tortoise-shell combs for her wifes hair. O.Henry does not end on the note of irony and surprise but gives to what he calls his uneventful coincidence of two foolish children the appearance of a
47、little parable with a significant meaning. The magi, he reminds the reader, were wise men who brought gifts to the Christ child. As for Jim and Della, they are the magi. This is the ending of the story with O.Henrys own style.The function of such twist ending lies in the fact that they light up the
48、humanity of the characters, show the emotions of love, and thus arouse the readers sympathy. Perhaps that is the reason why O. Henrys technique of arranging endings enjoys such a great reputation.IV. Rhetoric Devices Employed in The Gift of the MagiExcept the twist of plot and the surprising ending,
49、 characters in O. Henrys short stories are portrayed with many kinds of rhetoric tactics. With the various portraying methods, the characters are made more vivid, distinct and lifelike. So it is said that a writer is just like a magician of life since he can use his pen to make so many fictional characters with flesh and blood. O. Henry is a skillful magician too, who figured many visual protagonists very successfully. The key to the success are the rhetoric tactics, such as humor, iro
