欧亨利小说的结构艺术特色

苏州大学应用技术学院

2008级学士学位论文

A Study of Structural Art

In O. Henry’s Short Stories

简析欧亨利短篇小说中的结构艺术

专业：08英语

学号：0816420053

姓名：周俊

导师：房红梅

2011.12.10

Acknowledgements

摘要

欧·亨利是美国最著名的短篇小说家之一，曾被评论界誉为美国现代短篇小说之父。他善于戏剧性的设计情节，做好铺垫，最后在结尾处让人物命运陡然逆转，从而形成独特的艺术魅力。近些年来有不少关于欧·亨利小说的探索研究，但多关是于欧·亨利小说语言的幽默和小说的结尾，这样不免过于片面。

本次论文主要通过概述了美国短篇小说的一些特色，与前人对于欧亨利小说结构内容编排的研究。再通过分别列举欧亨利著名小说中的经典片段研究欧亨利小说中的独树一帜的开头与小说那些出人意料的戏剧性结尾，还有欧亨利小说中从头至尾的双线结构艺术。主要通过这三方面的论述欧亨利小说的结构特色。

关键词：欧·亨利；结构艺术；双线索

Abstract

O．Henry, one of the most famous short story writers in the world, has been known as the father of the modern American short stories. He is good at designing plot theatrically, lays down the foreshadowing, and finally shows the unexpected endings which make the readers suddenly see the light, joy after sorrow. Processing novel ending is O．Henry's most creative contribution, thus cause him to enjoy the great reputation in American and in the world history of literature. O．Henry is a unique artist of short stories. In recent years, there are many researches about O．Henry's short stories, but most of them are based on the humor language and the endings of his works. But it is too one-sided. This thesis mainly analyze the fiction structure art of O．Henry. The thesis is divided into 6 chapters. The first chapter is an introduction of O. Henry. The second part is the literature review. The third chapter is an analysis of the diversified openings of O．Henry's works: opening with description; opening with comment; opening with allusion. The fourth part is about the unexpected endings, also from three aspects: happy ending; ridiculous ending; sorrowful ending. The fifth part is the dual-clue structure. The sixth part is the two clues crossed more than twice and two clues crossed once. The final chapter is the conclusion.

Key Words: diversified openings; unexpected endings; dual-clue

Content

Chapter 1 Introduction (1)

1.1 Significance of the Study (1)

1.2 Structure of the Thesis (1)

Chapter 2 Literature Review (3)

2.1 The Overview of Short Stories (3)

2.2 The Plot in O. Henry’s Novels (4)

Chapter 3 The Diversified Openings (6)

3.1 Opening with Description (6)

3.2 Opening with Comment (7)

3.3 Opening with Allusion (7)

Chapter 4 The Unexpected Endings (9)

4.1 The Happy Ending (9)

4.2 The Ridiculous Ending (10)

4.3 The Sorrowful Ending (10)

Chapter 5 The Dual-clue Structure (12)

5.1 The Two Clues Crossed More than Twice (12)

5.2 The Two Clues Crossed Once (13)

Chapter 6 Conclusion (14)

Appendix (15)

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Significance of the Study

O．Henry, one of the most famous short story writers in the world, enjoys the equal status with Chekhov and Maupassant. He is known as the father of American contemporary short stories. Some critics are not so enthusiastic about his works, but the public love them very much. O．Henry is a prolific American short story writer, a master of surprise endings. Processing novel ending is O．Henry's most creative contribution, which made him enjoy the great reputation in American history of literature.

Many critics in America and other countries comment on O．Henry and his work respectfully. People speak highly of the ingenious arrangement of his works, the typical characters and plots, and the critical implications of his works. Critics often regard him as a writer who puts moral judgment and social criticism into his unique style with humor, satire, burlesque and obvious comic inclination.

There are many comments on O. Henry and his works. Opinions on O．Henry's works from the aspects of theme, tone, object of vision, and plot to that of language and style were all found. The comment on various aspects of O．Henry's works are quite essential and necessary for us to understand the writer and his works.

Like his endings, O．Henry's openings are very outstanding. O．Henry's short stories have diversified openings. In O．Henry's works, the openings and endings are mainly the following types, opening with description, opening with comment, opening with allusion and surprise endings, ridiculous endings and sorrowful endings.

The dual-clue structure is also an interesting element in O. Henry’s works.

By studying some most famous stories of O. Henry’s, the thesis attempt to provide a new and more objective interpretation of O. Henry and explore his unique writing style.

1.2 Structure of the Thesis

The thesis consists of 6 chapters. The first chapter makes a general introduction to O. Henry, points out the necessity for the study, and further clarifies the aims and significance and structure of the thesis. Chapter 2 presents the overview of American short stories and some other’s study of O. Henry’s works. Chapter 3 is mainly about the analysis of the O. Henry’s diversified Openings.

In Chapter 4, I will study the O Henry’s unique endings, which will divide into 3 parts. The dual-clue structure analysis is in Chapter 5. The final chapter gives the conclusion of the thesis.

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 The Overview of Short Stories

Authors such as Charles Dickens, Kurt V onnegut, Jr., Nathaniel Hawthorne, Virginia Woolf, Dino Buzzati, Rudyard Kipling, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, P. G. Wodehouse, H. P. Lovecraft and Ernest Hemingway were highly accomplished writers of both short stories and novels. Short stories have their face in oral story-telling traditions and the prose anecdote, a swiftly sketched situation that quickly comes to its point. With the rise of the comparatively realistic novel, the short story evolved as a miniature version, with some of its first perfectly independent examples in the tales of E. T. A. Hoffmann. Other 19th-century writers well known for their short stories include Nikolai Gogol, Guy de Maupassant. Some authors are known almost entirely for their short stories, either by choice or by critical regard (short-story writing is thought of as a challenging art). An example is Jorge Luis Borges, who won American fame with The Garden of Forking Paths, published in the August 1948 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Another example is O. Henry, for whom the O. Henry Award is named. American examples include Flannery O’Connor, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver.

The art of storytelling is doubtlessly older than record of civilization. Even the so-called modern short story, which was the latest of the major literary types to evolve, has an ancient lineage. Perhaps the oldest and most direct ancestor of the short story is the anecdote and illustrative story, straight to the point. The ancient parable and fable, starkly brief narrative used to enforce some moral or spiritual truth, anticipate the severe brevity and unity of some short stories written today.

Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually a short story focuses on one incident; has a single plot, a single setting, and a small number of characters; and covers a short period of time.

In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); complication (the event that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and his commitment to a course of action); climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point with the most action); resolution; and moral.

Because of their length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some do not follow

patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson. As with any art forms, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by creator.

When short stories intend to convey a specific ethical or moral perspective, they fall into a more specific sub-category called Parables. This specific kind of short story has been used by spiritual and religious leaders worldwide to inspire, enlighten, and educate their followers.

2.2 The Plot in O. Henry’s Novels

The typical feature of O. Henry's stories is a twist of plot which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance. His ultimate achievement was to create a new kind of short story with a novel ending-"surprising ending”, or "twist ending", which wins him a great fame.

The real charm of O. Henry’s tales lies in his reversal of the narrative. He would arrange a story moving in one direction. And just when reader was going to be convinced of the general direction of the narrative which he took for granted, the story would be completely reversed.

With respect to the theory of prose fiction, the central formalist distinction is that between the story and the plot, An author is Sid to transform the raw material of a story into a literary plot by the use of a variety of devices that violate sequence and deform and defamiliarize the story elements; the effect is to foreground a narrative medium and devices themselves, and in this way to disrupt what had been people's standard responses to the subject matter.

Usually in a literary work, the temporal order of succession of the events in the story and the pseudo-temporal order of their arrangement in the narrative is different according to author's intention when they present one work to the public. To Tzvetan Todorov, a French narratologist, the relation between the time of the story and the time of the discourse is subtle. Furthermore, there is temporal distortions; infidelities to the chronological order of events; relationships of linking, alternation, or embedding among the different lines of action that make up the story with aesthetic value (Forster, 1974:85-88).

In order to understand later sections of any narrative, readers must connect their content with that of the earlier sections, thereby establishing reflexive reference on the level of events,

character features, etc. Especially in O. Henry's works, the events of some short stories are arranged in the specific order of occurrence by distorting the natural order in which they occurred which exceed reader's normal expectation to the arrangement of those events in his work, then exert the effect of defamiliarization to make his works new and strange.(张秀娟2007;3)

Chapter 3 The Diversified Openings

O．Henry’s short stories start with varying openings. Most of his stories do not begin immediately with an action, but the readers are supplied with a background of both time and place, and then, the hero is introduced. O．Henry is good at foreshadowing in the opening of the story. In O．Henry's works, the varying openings are mainly the following types:

3.1 Opening with Description

Usually, O．Henry begins the story with some descriptive sentences to introduce the environment or describe the dress and personal adornment of the character, giving readers a very distinct sense of being led only gradually into the story. For example, The Count and the Wedding Gust begins as follows:

One evening when Andy Donovan went to dinner at his second boarding-house,

Mrs. Scott introduced him to a new boarder, a young lady, Miss Conway. Miss

Conway was small and unobtrusive. She wore a plain, snuffy-brown dress, and

bestowed her interest, which seemed languid, upon her plate. She lifted her

different eyelids and shot one perspicuous, judicial glance at Mr. Donovan,

politely murmured his name, and returned to her mutton. Mr. Donovan bowed

with the grace and beaming smile …①

Here the writer draws the readers' whole attention to the two people in the apartment. O．Henry uses a lot of words to describe the actress’s appearance. The readers were supplied with so many details, for example, the actress’s clothing, figure, even the action details. The actor was described in the same way, even with the facial expressions.

In a general way, the descriptive sentences were used to express feelings, render atmosphere and foil characters. In O．Henry's The Count and the Wedding Gust, the opening was a serious of descriptive sentences. This series of detail description were designed to leave the readers an impression that both the actor and the actress are good mannered, and both of them belong to the upper class in society。

Actually, in the beginning, the description about Miss Conway is a prediction. The lady is in black, and she is too young to be a widow. The questions will came to the readers, and they will go on reading the story eagerly. That is the sagacity of O．Henry.

3.2 Opening with Comment

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, O．Henry's openings were popular. Many of his short stories open with comment, for example, in O．Henry's An Unfinished Story：We no longer groan and heap ashes upon our heads when the flames of Tophet

are mentioned. For, even the preachers have begun to tell us that God is radium,

or ether or some scientific compound, and that the worst we wicked ones may

expect is a chemical reaction. This is a pleasing hypothesis; but there lingers yet

some of the old, goodly terror of orthodoxy. ②

Here, the writer starts the story with a comment with a point of view about religion. Then, the author showed the dream about "lamented bar-of-judgment theory". But after reading the whole passage, the readers will realize the Capitalists lived extravagant life, their income and workers' incomes formed a striking contrast. The capitalist is very cruel to the workers. In the story, in the "lamented bar-of-judgment theory”, the capitalists should be punished.

There is another example of opening with comment. The story is opened with comment on the work itself. Springtime àla Carte begins just like that:

Never, never begin a story this way when you write one. No opening could

possibly be worse. It is unimaginative, flat, dry and likely to consist of mere

wind. But in this instance it is allowable. For the following paragraph, which

should have inaugurated the narrative, is too wildly extravagant and

preposterous to be flaunted in the face of the reader without preparation. ③Here, the author's dialogue with his imaginary readers is only one of many ways in which O．Henry foregrounds the gap between art and life that conventional realism seeks to conceal.

This kind of beginning is an expression of the author's or the narrator's feelings, ideas, also the thoughts which contain the philosophical ideas. Sometimes readers will admit that kind of opening, because it is very likely to lead the readers to the deep heart of the author. It is nevertheless true that many great authors have used it and used it well. O．Henry is such a one.

3.3 Opening with Allusion

The distinguish feature of the beginning with allusion lies in that before the character appears in the story, the narrator comes on the stage to present some other stories which will be alluded to

in this one. By telling the allusion, the narrator will forebode the ending, offer hints of the personality of character, symbolize the theme or draw an analogy between the tow. Such beginning is like an actor's opening to a drama or film, which can arouse the readers' curiosity and enthusiasm. Moreover, the allusion adopted often contains certain knowledge derived from famous works which are informative and instructive, thus broadening the readers' horizon. For example, the beginning of The Enchanted Profile

There are few Caliphesses. Women are Schehherazades by birth, predilection,

instinct, and arrangement of the vocal cords. The thousand and one stores are

being told everyday by hundreds of thousands of vizier's daughters to their

respective sultans. But the bowstring will get some of 'em yet if they don't watch

out.

I heard a story, though, of one lady Caliph. It is not precisely an Arabian Nights

story, because it brings in Cinderella, who flourished her dishrag in another

epoch and country. So, if you do not mind the mixed dates (which seem to give

it an Eastern Flavor, after all), we will get along. ④

In The Enchanted Profile, before telling the things he really wants to present, O．Henry refers to Caliph who will be alluded later in the story to contrast with the heroine, Mrs. Maggie Brown, who was greedy. If readers want to know how on earth the two are alike, they will go on reading the story eagerly. By alluding, O．Henry holds the readers' interest freely.

Chapter 4 The Unexpected Endings

On the other hand, endings are important too, especially for short-story writers. O．Henry obviously devoted special care to his “unexpected ending". Many of his unexpected endings have been conceived with deliberate care, a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out, and then he invented such incidents, after that he combined such events which may best aid him in establishing his preconceived effect and achieve it.

4.1 The Happy Ending

In O．Henry's short stories, strict words were used quite often, but in the story A Service of Love, he used a lot of words to speak highly of the character. The author tells a beautiful love story which has a happy ending. The story has an unexpected ending like other stories written by O．Henry, but this one ended with happiness.

“I couldn't get any pupils, she confessed.” And I couldn't bear to have you give

up your lessons; and I got a place ironing shirts in that big Twenty-fourth Street

laundry. …"

"My purchaser from Peoria," said Joe, "and General Pinckney are both creations

of the same art-but you wouldn't call it either painting or music”

And they both laughed, and Joe began:

"When one loves one's Art no service seems-"

But Delia stopped him with her hand on his lips. “No," she said-"just when one

loves"⑤

In A Service of Love, O．Henry sang high praise for the pure love between Joe and Delia, they both sacrificed their own time and chance in order to earn enough money to support their spouse: Delia worked in a laundry, and Joe had been firing the engine in that laundry for two weeks. They cheated each other so that one of them can win the opportunity to realize his or her dream on Art. Until one day Delia's hand burned with a smoothing-iron did they find reality. O．Henry speaks highly of their self-sacrifice out of love, instead of showing this opinion with his own mouth; he smartly presents this idea through his character's speech.

4.2 The Ridiculous Ending

Some of O．Henry's short stories finished with a ridiculous ending. The readers could not control themselves to exclaim over even laugh to tears. The author was good at holding the readers' emotion; readers cannot find any insinuation in the opening. The description about the plot or the character would make the readers think that the story he was reading is unimaginative, flat, and dry. But in the end, the writer will show the surprise suddenly, it is really an interesting thing. The story From the Cabby's Seat is a very good example to show this:

"A fare, sargeant," he continued, with a grin, "that I want to inthroduce to ye.

It's me wife that I married at ould man Walsh's this avening. And a divil of a

time we had,'tis thrue. Shake hands wid th' sargeant, Norah, and we'll be off to

home."

Before stepping into the cab Norah sighed profoundly.

"I've had such a nice time, Jerry," said she. ⑥

The narrator tells reader a story about a cabby named Jerry O'Donovan, who was so drunk after his wedding celebration that he sent his newly-married wife to the police station because he only regarded her as a customer who can't pay for the fare. This is really a ridiculous ending. The cabby sent to his newly-married wife to the police. But in O．Henry's story, it happened.

4.3 The Sorrowful Ending

O．Henry's stories have many kinds of endings. Some endings are neither happy nor ridiculous, they are sorrowful endings. The most representative story is the famous The Gift of the Magi.

…and here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish

children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest

treasures of their house.

But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts

these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the

wisest. Everywhere they are wisest.

They are the magi. ⑦

In order to give her husband an exquisite watch chain, Della sold her beautiful hair though

his husband James loved it. James realized that Della had worshipped long for the set of combs, side and back, in Broadway window; he also sold his valuable watch inheriting from his grandparents. Della’s hair and James’gold watch are the most precious property in their poor family. In order to expresses the deep sincere love to the spouse, both of them had lost the two precious at the Christmas Eve. Happiness in a twinkling had paid the expensive price, but following is the deep pain. after considering the true life ,O．Henry had screened the main plot carefully, made this ordinary theme bright again, gold watch and beautiful hair are the great wealth for the poor family that gain 20 dollar per week, this regret brought astringent feeling, caused each reader’s heart to tremble.

The Gift of the Magi told the true meaning of love. O. Henry was good at using few words to make the sketch and build atmosphere, then the reader will be lost in the article, tasting and pondering the character's destiny. The gloomy atmosphere which was built by one dollar and eighty-seven cents through the whole novel, even when the couples saw gifts, it still contained a little pain. This is the sorrowful ending of O. Henry.

Chapter 5 The Dual-clue Structure

In O．Henry’s works, two clues can be found in every piece of his works. The two clues are side by side; it is a necessary technique of the author to express his ideas. In this technique of writing, the beauty is more beautiful and the ugly is uglier, the poor people get more sympathy.

5.1 The Two Clues Crossed More than Twice

The usage of the dual-clue can be divided into two kinds; the first one is the two clues crossed more than twice.

For example, in The Cop and the Antbem, Soapy's trying to go to the jail is the light clue, the policeman don't arrest him is the dark clue. The two clues appeared seven times. In the first six times, Soapy wanted to be imprisoned; he tried and tried, but never succeeded. At the seventh trying, he didn't want to go to the jail any more, but he cannot succeed yet. Every time his action is ridiculous, but every time the action make the readers feel it is possible. Because the people who lived in New York do understand that it seemed ridiculous, but it is the fact. The police in New York are just like the character in O. Henry’s story.

As the second intersection, the author designed it like that: Soapy wanted to go to the jail, so he broke the glass intentionally. When the police asked who did it, he answered: “Don’t you figure out that I might have something to do with it?” Without sarcasm, but friendly, as one greets good fortune. But the policeman refused to accept him, even as a clue. So Soapy failed again. This plot is ridiculous, also credible.

The same as the seventh intersection, Soapy was ready to turn over a new life, he wants to be “somebody in the world”, but the results is he is sentenced three months. Such absurd thing happened in the United States from time to time. So people have enough reason to believe that it is indeed possible. This is the explanation of the wrongfully sick society? Here the author arranged the seven times collision, telling people this happening was not accidental.

So the two clues' intersection is expressional needs. It is a writing technique, not the author’s deliberately arrange.

5.2 The Two Clues Crossed Once

The second usage of the two clues is that: the light and shade clues only crossed once. In The Last Leaf, the author described Sue and Johnsy did not know each other before, and both of them lived a poor life. But when Johnsy was ill, Sue spends a lot of time to stay with her, looking after and comforting her. And call the ambulance for her when she is critically ill. This is the light clues. The highlights are the old painter Behrman’s painting on the wall in the Stormy night. It was Behrman that draws the last leaf on the wall for Johnsy. This is the dark clue. When the two clues run into together, the author achieved the climax of the story. So O．Henry’s pen just stopped there, like a high speed running sports car, stopped suddenly. But the readers’ mind cannot stop, leaving the readers endless aftertaste and deep thinking of it. What makes the very sick Johnsy back to life? It was not the treatment from the doctor, not Sue’s good care, but the old Behrman’s masterpiece, the last leaf on the wall. The crossing of the two clues showing the old artist’s life’s work---the real leaves falling down, Behrman painted it on the wall. The leaves symbolize the poor artists’friendship. The author uses such tactics, enthusiastically praised the friendship, and suggests that in the bad environment, the friendship may become people’s reason to live and become the human’s “last leaf”.

Similarly, in The Gift of the Magi, Della sold her hair to buy the watch chain, while Jim sold his watch chain to buy Della combs, these two clues also run in to cross in the end. Though it is an embarrassing ending, but as long as they loved each other, their life will never be gray. In this kind of structure, the author reached his goal, both showing his humor writing skill and leaving the readers a meaningful and thoughtful ending.

In The Gift of the Magi, that Magi sold her beautiful hair to buy her husband the watch chain is the light clue. Her husband sold his watch chain to buy her the hair combs is the dark clue. In The Last Leaf, Johnsy’s hopelessness for life was the light clue, the old Bneumonia, in the stormy night, draw the last leaf on the wall for Johnsy is the dark clue. When the two clues crossed, author’s intention to achieve the necessary means of humor is completed. Through the two clues’intersection, the author makes the story more interesting; also reach his unique writing skill.

Chapter 6 Conclusion

O. Henry has had a great influence on a generation of writers attempting to see things clearly and write the surprising ending smartly. Most of O. Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century. O. Henry's short stories have a very important position in American literature. His readers are from all around the world. He has shown to his successors how to use materials for disciplined artistic effect. As a meticulous craftsman, O. Henry is a rare creative artist with a unique vision.

O. Henry has all the gifts of the supreme teller of tales, tragedy as well as funny, of comedy and of romance, of domestic and the mystery-tale of common life, and has a delicate skill in stories of the supernatural.

In O. Henry's works, he shows readers the capitalist, the broker, the underpaid clerk, the underpaid shop-girl, the actor, the masher and so on. In O. Henry's stories, he created more than 200 characters with speaking parts, representing more than 40 distinct types drawn from towns, villages and open range country.

O. Henry was famous for his surprise endings. He also has special technique in designing the openings and the dual-clue structure. O. Henry always lay down the foreshadowing in the opening of a story. The foreshadowing could be a description, a comment or allusion. No matter what kind of opening he chooses, he will design it carefully; readers could not realize the foreshadowing until they finished the story. That is why O. Henry's readers feel surprise after reading his works. The kinds of openings and endings in O. Henry's works were combined with the dual-clue structure. The dual-clue structure made the plots more coherent.

O. Henry's plots and his characters are humorous in conception and in treatment, so the striking trait of him as a stylist is humor. The technique of defamiliarization revealed through plot, point of view and language strengthens the innate qualities of O. Henry's works. The recurrent themes, opening and ending analyzed from the perspective of structuralism all contribute to the success of the whole structure.

In conclusion, O. Henry's short stories had so many highlights. O. Henry represents a heritage.

Appendix

①O. Henry. Selected Stories. Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1977. p.184

②Ibid. , p. 60

③Ibid. , p. 51

④Ibid. , p. 530

⑤Ibid. , p. 21

⑥Ibid. , p. 56

⑦Ibid. , p. 1