Questions tagged [o-henry]
Questions about the works of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910) or his life as a writer. He is more famously known by his pseudonym, O. Henry.
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Looking for O. Henry short story about poor young man in New York, robs a bank to live indulgently before his suicide
I cannot remember the title, but the scenes are very vivid: a poor young man finds employment at a bank (in New York? It is Winter...). Every evening he passes the lit windows of restaurants filled ...
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Meaning of description of Jim waking in "The Gift of the Magi"
What is the meaning of these lines from O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi"?
Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet ...
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Did O. Henry allude to Tom Sawyer in "The Gift of the Magi"?
Sidney Porter (O. Henry) was a contemporary of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). They died the same year; Porter attended Clemens' funeral a few months before his own death.
Was Porter referring to Twain's ...
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How to understand “a dumb or a talking brute” in The Ransom of Red Chief?
But I glanced at Bill, and hesitated. He had the most appealing look in his eyes I ever saw on the face of a dumb or a talking brute.
The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
The word “brute” has several ...
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How could sixty cents of $1.87 be in pennies?
The first three sentences of O. Henry's Gift of the Magi are as follows:
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it
was in pennies.
I've always wondered about this. This ...
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"The Gift of the Magi" Literary Analysis: Symbolism and Time
In O. Henry's short story The Gift of the Magi, Della's hair is likened to a "brown waterfall." Why is that symbolism significant? I've been wracking my brain, and I was thinking it maybe ...
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Meaning of “dactylis” in O. Henry’s “The Trimmed Lamp”
In Oscar Henry's short story “The Trimmed Lamp”, Nancy describes why she declined a potential suitor who appeared to be a rather rich (or “swell”, as they refer to the rich in the story) individual:
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O. Henry story about a grandfather who sits a boy down on a porch to tell a story about a grandfather who sits a boy down etc
I once read a short story, quite convinced at the moment that it was by O. Henry, in which a grandfather figure sits down on his porch with a young boy and starts to tell him a story ... about a ...
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Meaning of "rubber" as a verb in O. Henry
"I'm one of the Sole Sanhedrims and Ostensible Hooplas of the Inner Pulpit," says I. "The lame talk and the blind rubber whenever I make a pass at 'em. I am a medium, a coloratura ...
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Looking for an O.Henry story where a young man from the country working in the city marries a socialite and then goes for a visit to his home
The young man in the question takes his bride to his home in the countryside to meet his family. The author describes the following scene in exquisite detail:-
It's night and the entire family is ...
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What is the meaning of this sentence from A Retrieved Reformation?
This is a line from O. Henry's A Retrieved Reformation.
The detective Ben Price is confident that Jimmy, now out on parole, has been to crack safes and:
He'll do his bit next time without any ...
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What does the phrase "the silent imputation of parsimony" mean in The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry?
What does the phrase "the silent imputation of parsimony" mean? It appears in the first paragraph of "The Gift of the Magi," which I've quoted below.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents.That was all. ...
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What does the line "The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them." mean in The Gifts Of The Magi?
What was not among whom? What did O. Henry want us to know from this line?
The author says this line after Jim hugs Della out of affection after seeing the magnitude of her sacrifice (her hair, which ...
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Looking for an old O. Henry story about a wealthy young man trying to woo a "genteel poor" young lady in New York City
I'm trying to pin down a certain short story by O. Henry. I remember the plot quite well, but not the title, nor which book collection of O. Henry's stories I first encountered it within. And let's ...
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