O. Henry
All readers enjoy a book that not only interests them, but surprises them. O. Henry offers surprises in all of his writings. He sets up his readers to believe one thing is coming, but then he completely changes the outcome of the story. He is a talented writer who knows how to get the attention of his readers. O. Henry successfully develops his plot and his characters by using coincidence, humor, and irony.
O. Henry has coincidence in his stories. He makes sure that the endings happen seemingly by chance. So he will not bore his readers, he puts his characters in surprise circumstances that keeps readers wanting more.
O. Henry makes his short stories humorous in order to define his characters. His humor allows his readers to connect with the characters and understand why they do what they do in the story. He also expressed his humor through the action and dialogue of the characters. Not only does he use humor with his characters, but also with his plot. He plans out the way the story will go so that in the end readers will be shocked by the outcome and want to read the story again.
When readers take a minute and analyze O. Henry’s characters, they will notice that they never stay the same. The personalities of his characters are always dynamic, always changing by the end of the story. He makes sure the “people who are characterized as one thing, often are the complete opposite” (Winborne). Besides his characters changing, the direction of the story changes as well. He ends his stories in an unexpected way in order to add surprise. He “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” (Winborne). One way he surprises his readers is by adding a “twist of fate” (“Porter”).
One prime example of O. Henry’s style is his story “The Ransom of Red Chief.” In this story O. Henry changes the ending in an interesting way. The story is about two men who kidnap a small...