Abstract

     O. Henry is the founder of American modern short stories. Eminent for unique humor, his works embody the theme of human nature, having sympathy and compliment for ordinary people, and satirizing hypocrisy and crime of the “upper class”. This thesis will discuss his writing style from three aspects: characterization, rhetorical devices and plot arrangement and probe into his most important feature—“smile with tear”.

Key words:  O. Henry, humor, “smile with tear”, human nature

摘 要

欧•亨利是现代美国短篇小说的奠基人。他的作品以其独特的幽默著称，同时又反映了人性的主题，表达了对小人物的同情和赞美，讽刺了“上流社会”的虚伪和罪恶。本文将从人物刻画、修辞手法和情节安排三方面来探讨他的写作手法，从而挖掘出他最重要的特征——“含泪的微笑”。

关键词：欧•亨利；幽默；含泪的微笑；人性

1.    Introduction
William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American novelist with international fame. Ranking as one of the three great maters of short stories in the world together with Guy de Maupassant and Anton Chekhov, throughout his lifetime O. Henry wrote nearly 300 stories, reputed as “humorous encyclopedia of American life”(Ruan 90), and hailed as the “Father of modern American short stories”.
Born and grown in a tranquil southern town, O. Henry suffered hardships of life from childhood. Losing his mother at early age, along with decline of his family, O. Henry left school at 15 and started his rough life. From an apprentice, to a magazine manager, to a prisoner, at last to a writer, he experienced all walks of life. This legendary and tumultuous life of early various experiences provided O. Henry with full and accurate materials for his writing.
Most of O. Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early 20th century and many of them take place in New York City, called as “Bagdad-on-the-Subway”, which he had an obvious affection for the city. Owing to his early life, his works deal for the most part with ordinary people like clerks, policemen, or waitresses. His stories are filled with delight of life and recreated the ambience of this metropolis at that time. Therefore, some critics honored him as “New York’s Poet Laureate”.