The best stories of O. Henry: list of works, reader reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The best stories of O. Henry make up the golden fund of American literature. This American writer, whose real name is William Sidney Porter, worked at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. He is a recognized master of the short novel. His works are characterized by unexpected endings and subtle humor. In this article we will talk about the most famous short stories, readers' reviews about them.

Creativity

Most of the best stories of O. Henry were written by him already at the beginning of the 20th century, although the first literary experiments date back to the 1880s. Then it was mostly humorous journalism.

It is known that he worked in a bank, was accused of embezzlement, hiding from prosecutors in Honduras. When he returned to take care of his sick wife, he was nevertheless sent to prison. Possibly a false accusation. The writer spent three years in prison.

In 1904, he wrote the only novel "Kings and Cabbage", which, in fact, is severalstories united by a single place of action. After that, collections of short stories "Four Million", "Heart of the West", "Noble Rogue", "Business People" were already created, which brought him popularity.

In all the best stories of O. Henry there are a lot of amazing characters, an original plot. All this allowed him to quickly gain popularity among readers.

At the end of his life he suffered from diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver. In 1910, he died at the age of 47.

Gifts of the Magi

One of O. Henry's top 10 stories always includes his novel "The Gift of the Magi", which has become an exemplary essay about sincere and pure love.

The main characters are a couple of young spouses. Their names are Della and Jim. They are preparing a Christmas present for each other. The girl successfully trades in the shops, but still she manages to collect only a dollar and 87 centers. This is all she can spend on a gift for her husband.

A newlywed couple rents a furnished room in which eloquent poverty reigns. Their only treasures are Della's luxurious and long hair and Jim's gold watch.

A girl comes across an advertisement for a hair salon that accepts hair. She sells her treasure and buys a platinum chain for her husband's watch for $20. As she prepares dinner, all she thinks about is that he won't like the short haircut.

Jim, who came home in the evening, examines his wife either with anger, or with surprise, or with horror. He did not stop loving his wife, but in no waycan realize that she no longer has her chic braids. After all, for Christmas he prepared for her a set of tortoiseshell combs with precious stones - something that Della had long dreamed of. In return, she gives him a chain, but this gift has to be postponed for now, as Jim pawned the watch to buy combs.

Feedback on the story

In the reviews, most agree that this is O. Henry's best story about love. This is a true classic of world literature.

Readers who have already got acquainted with this work notice that this is a touching and small story about the most important thing that a person can have in life. This is Love. Heroes strive to sacrifice the most precious thing they have in order to please a loved one.

This is the case when a very small work becomes very capacious and important in content.

Chief of the Redskins

If "The Gift of the Magi" is a classic love story, then "The Leader of the Redskins" is O. Henry's best story for children. Its main characters are adventurers Sam and Bill. They need money to start speculating with land. They decide to make money dishonestly by kidnapping the son of one of the we althiest residents of a small town in Alabama, Ebenezer Dorsett. The scammers have no doubt that the father will quickly shell out the $2,000 they need for their child.

They steal the boy, take him to the mountains on a wagon, where they hide him in a cave. To their surprise, the prisoner is enthusiastic aboutthis adventure. He declares himself the leader of the Redskins, declaring that he does not want to go home. He calls Bill the old hunter Hank, who was captured by the Indians, and Sam calls the nickname Snake Eyes.

He promises to scalp Bill, and soon actually makes such an attempt. The scammers figure out that there are no signs of disturbance in the Dorsett house.

At the same time, the situation in the cave is heating up, as the crooks are no longer able to resist the antics of the stubborn youth.

Readers' Impressions

This is one of O. Henry's most famous and best stories. He is always included in the list of outstanding works of the author.

Thanks to this work, the American writer wins the love of readers when they are still in elementary school. It is at this age that it is recommended to get acquainted with the story.

This short novel contains so much wisdom that one can only marvel at the author's talent and lament that he managed to write so little. Such an opinion can be found in most reviews of the best works of O. Henry.

Last leaf

This story is one of the examples that O. Henry was not only a talented satirist, but also a subtle lyricist, who succumbed to amazingly dramatic plots.

This piece is about young artists Jonesy and Sue. They rent a small loft apartment in New York. In late autumn, Jonesy becomes seriously ill with pneumonia. The doctor gives disappointing forecasts, warning thatlittle chance of survival. In addition, the girl herself is so dejected that she loses all interest in life.

She looks out the windows, counting how many leaves are left on the ivy in the yard. For herself, Jonesy decided that when the last leaf fell, she would die.

Sue talks about her friend's sad thoughts to their neighbor, the elderly artist Bergman. All his life he was going to create a masterpiece, but he still could not succeed.

The next morning, there is only one leaf left on the ivy. Jonesy watches closely as he resists the gusts of wind. By evening, a strong wind rises, the girl doubts that in the morning the leaf will still remain on the tree. It turns out she was wrong. To her surprise, the leaf continues to fight against bad weather day after day. This makes a strong impression on her. She is ashamed of her own cowardice, realizing that she is obliged to live. The doctor who visited her notes that the girl is on the mend, and soon her life is already out of danger.

But Bergman caught pneumonia. He caught a cold the night the ivy lost its last leaf. The artist drew a new one and then attached it to a branch despite the wind and downpour. He dies after having created a masterpiece…

Amazing conciseness

After reading this short story, which is included in the list of the best works of O. Henry, readers are amazed how the author manages to create a captivating and mysterious world in just a few pages.

This short story confirms that he is a real genius who can be analyzed long and hard, but still never stopadmire his best lyrics.

Furnished room

Among the best stories of O. Henry there is another work that is not as popular as the previous ones. The protagonist of the novel "A Furnished Room" in 1906 is a young man who is looking for an overnight stay in a poor area of the city. Closer to midnight, he manages to check in.

Describing the virtues of a furnished room, her owner notes that most of the neighbors are actors, as there are many theaters around. The main character is interested in a girl named Eloise Weshner, but the hostess does not know anything about her, admitting that the tenants change often, it is simply impossible to remember everyone's names.

It turns out that the young man has been looking for Eloise for 5 months. He goes to theater agents and music halls, but nowhere can he find the girl who won his heart. She is of medium height with golden hair and a mole on her left temple.

This night he stays in this furnished room. Closer to the night, the protagonist smells mignonette, realizing that Eloise was here recently. He begs the hostess to tell about the recent guests. But it turns out that none of the tenants have anything to do with Eloise. When he returns, he realizes that the smell of mignonette has evaporated.

In the evening, the hostess talks about the new tenant with her friend. At the same time, he remembers who lived before him. It turns out that the room was rented by a girl who committed suicide a week ago by carbon monoxide poisoning. She was pretty, only she was spoiled by a mole on her left temple.

Tragedyone room

This is how many readers describe the experience they have after reading this story.

This is a tragic and simple story. Reading it for the first time, you won’t even think that the author has prepared such a sad ending for the main character. The story keeps in suspense, until the very last moment there is hope for a happy ending, but it turns out that everything was in vain. A dramatic finale lies ahead, as is often the case in life itself.