William Sydney Porter (O.

Henry), 18621910
By Jennifer Winborne Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke After Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe, William Sydney Porter is the most read author in the world and bears the title master of the short story. William Sydney Porter, also known as O.Henry, was born on September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. His mother, Mary Jane Porter, died when he was three and his father, a medical doctor, began to care more about alcohol than his practice. His grandmother was given the task of raising him and a younger sibling. She also was responsible for their extensive education. Porter was an avid reader and, by age nineteen, had read a wide variety of books and articles that would later influence his literary works. He moved to Texas in 1884 to be with friends because they were concerned about a chronic cough that had plagued him from childhood. In Texas, he got married and obtained a job as a bank teller at one of the local banks. When faced with charges of bank fraud from the bank he fled to New Orleans and then to Honduras. There in Honduras he split his time between Trujillo and Roatan. Little is known of his activities there, although his experiences in Honduras would later be incorporated into some of his stories. He returned to the states when word came that his wife, Athol, was losing her battle with tuberculosis. On his return he was convicted for bank fraud. He was sentenced to three years in an Ohio penitentiary, where he began writing short stories. Ashamed to be in prison, he hid this fact from everyone, even his own daughter, by adopting the alias O. Henry. Two themes that are trademarks of William Sydney Porters stories are his reversal of the narrative and his reversal of a characters nature. In simple terms Porter begins a story in one direction and just when the reader thinks they can predict the ending, he sends it in a totally different direction. In his stories, people who are characterized as one thing, often are the complete opposite. An example of these two themes can be found in the short story The Princess and the Puma. Josefa O'Donnell, a princess, is a pistol wearing, roping, riding cowgirl, which is a total reversal of the princess archetype. In reading this story the reader thinks that the hero, Ripley Givens, will save the princess from a mountain lion that is crouched waiting to spring on her at a watering hole. Instead Porter sends the narrative in a whole new direction, where instead she supposedly saves him from the mountain lion and does not marry him at the end of the story. One technique that is typical of Porter is his surprise endings. In The Princess and the Puma, Josefa discovered that the mountain lion she shot was in fact a pet of Givens farm and he was trying to save him, not her. In the end the reader discovered that the mountain lion had in fact been harassing several ranches and may not have been Givens pet after all. These themes and techniques are typical of most of all Porters short stories. American Writers wrote, The stories usually have a comic tone, to be sure, but distinctly uncomic possibilities often exist just at the fringes. Although Porter was widely popular in his own time, today his reputation has suffered. Dictionary of Literary Biography: Volume 78, said Perhaps the reputation of no other American writer has undergone a more rapid and drastic reversal than that of William Sydney Porter. It also says that while Porter commanded a readership of millions he now is not as interesting to

readers as he is to critics in today's time. But although he may not have the popularity that he had in the 1900s, his works are still considered literary classics are still read worldwide.
Style William Sydney Porter writes a tightly woven story using tried and true literary tools and techniques and combining them into story style so unique that his stories were

William Sydney Porter, also known as O. Henry was a consummate craftsman when it came to his work as a short story writer. Porter understood his audience and new how to build a story that they could relate to while at the same time creating a twist, which provide them with an Oh! moment. To craft his stories, Porter understood the need to use his words effectively in order to draw the reader in quickly without wasting time on peripherals. This article looks at two common literary techniques that Porter uses to build the story Gift of the Magi and end it with the famous O. Henry twist.
Point of View

The story of Della and Jim is told by a third party narrator who seems to be telling a story directly to the reader as if they were sharing a drink in front of the fire. The narrator isnt an omniscient or indifferent narrator, he has his own personality that adds a distinctive tone to the story. The narrator directs his comments to you the listener and sometimes discreetly directs your attention away from the story so that he can discuss details with you. Sometimes he even comments on his own words such as the time when he says Forget the hashed metaphor. (A technique known as authorial intrusion).
Setting

Porter did not generally reference the world at large in his short stories. He never mentioned what was going on politically or economically and he seldom made a direct reference to the exact location of his characters. Most of Porters stories occur in one of five general locations, New York, the American South, the West, Central America, and prison. Yet even within these five categories, he seldom names a specific location. Gift of the Magi is one of his New York stories (more than half of his stories were set in New York) yet nowhere does Porter mention New York. Porter sets the stage with close attention to detail so that a reader can infer the lifestyle, mood, and position of his characters just by their activities within their sphere. Yet Porters efficient style doesnt allow him to start with a simple description of place such as many writers indulge in. His descriptions nearly always supply the information necessary to move the story forward

they are not simply stage setters. For example, Porter writes She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. This short sentence does three things, it gives the reader a brief but revealing look at the exterior view of the Youngs environment, it gives us a clear feeling for Dellas emotional state, and it bridges the crying jag that Della just finished with her subsequent melancholy ruminations on their situation. As a description of environment, the single sentence provides us with the knowledge that the Youngs live in an area of the city that is run down, here the paint is gone, and everything is dull and gray. It also lets us know that while it is Christmas Eve there is no snow to freshen their drab existence. As a description of Dellas emotional state, Porter provides us with the single word dully which resonates with the gray existence he paints and makes her dull gaze seem even duller. And finally, as a bridge it effectively moves us from a crying jag to the depressed mood from which Della reviews once again the financial situation.