Background: O Henrys Life and

Writings
O. Henry was born William Sidney Porter on
September 11, 1862, near Greensboro, North
Carolina.
He moved to Texas in 1882. He first settled in
Cotulla, where he worked on a ranch as a sheep
herder, before making his way to Austin in 1884.
There he met Athol Estes Roach, with whom he
shared an affinity for singing and playing music.
They eloped in 1887.
That same year, Porter got a job as a draftsman at
the Texas General Land Office. During the four-
year period he was employed there, Athol gave
birth to a daughter named Margaret.
Background: O Henrys Life and Writings
Business between the bank and its clients was
conducted in a fast and loose manner. This
led to inconsistencies in Porter's books,
which were revealed when a federal banking
examiner arrived on the scene in 1894. It's
still up for debate whether Porter had siphoned
money for his personal use, or whether his
competing interest in writing, illustrating, and
publishing his weekly humor rag The Rolling
Stone made him inept as a banker.
Regardless, Porter was convicted of
embezzlement, and in 1898 he began a five-
year sentence in federal prison in Columbus,
Ohio.
Background: O Henrys Life and Writings
During this time, Porter earnestly assumed the
pen name O. Henry and set about
transforming himself into the famed short
story writer who would go on to author such
universal classics as "Gifts of the Magi," "The
Ransom of Red Chief," and "The Cop and the
Anthem."
Upon his release from prison, Porter relocated
to New York City, where he enjoyed a
considerable amount of success before
succumbing to cirrhosis on June 5, 1910.
To this day, Porter's stories, known for their
twist endings, continue to resonate with
readers around the world.
Surprising ending and Smiles full of tears
O. Henry shows his ingenious conception
while creating the plot.
His works are full of humor and readers cannot
help smiling or even laughing; but after that,
what readers feel left in their hearts, is only
sorrow.
On the other hand, while his stories are
ingeniously conceived, the endings are always
contrary to readers expectations. Though his
stories endings are always surprising, they are
not beyond reason, for they conform well to
the logic of life.
Surprising ending and Smiles full of tears
O. Henry uses familiar forms of narrations
such as authorial voice, third person narration,
first person narration, simple dialogues, flash
back technique and recollections.
He also use the following techniques; the
author becomes the narrator or the narrator
becomes the character, or the character
narrates the story or an inanimate object
narrating its experience like a human, or an
animal voicing its feelings like a sensible
human, very strange angles of looking or
analyzing;
Surprising ending and Smiles full of tears

subtle portrayals, comparisons, contrasts,

images, similes, myths, suggestive meanings
and direct or indirect ways of telling or
showing
Surprising ending and Smiles full of tears
Mostly the common, day to day language is
used.
Single words act as the meaningful sentences,
crisp dialogues aim at the central theme of the
story. The sudden shifts, waiting for a long
time, negative turning points change into the
positive of life and an innate cry to live - all
these are also found in the narrations;
references, naturalness, flow, images drawn
from common life and surprises also abound in
the stories.