book report on OHenry由刀豆文库小编整理，希望给你工作、学习、生活带来方便，猜你可能喜欢“bookreport2读书笔记”。
Book Report on the Collection of Short Stories by O.Henry
O.Henry is the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter(September 11, 1862–June 5, 1910), whose clever use of twisted endings popularized the term “O.Henry Ending”.Most of O.Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century.Many take place in New York City, and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen, waitrees.His stories are also well known for witty narration.William Sidney Porter was born in 1862 on a plantation “Worth Place” in Greensboro, North Carolina.He relocated to Texas in 1882, then to Austin where he took a number of different jobs over the next several years, including pharmacist, draftsman, journalist, and clerk.In 1887 he eloped with Athol Estes, who was eighteen years old and from a wealthy family.Athol gave birth to a son in 1888, who died shortly after birth, and then a daughter, Margaret, in 1889.In 1894 Porter started a weekly called The Rolling Stone.In the same year, Porter resigned from the First National Bank of Austin where he had worked as a teller, after he was accused of embezzling funds.In 1895, after The Rolling Stone ceased publication, he moved to Houston, where he started writing for the Houston Post.Shortly, he was arrested for embezzlement in connection with his previous employment in Austin.In 1902, O.Henry moved to New York and became a profeional writer.At that time, the darkne in society he witneed had covered his childhood happine.However, despite the succe of his short stories being published in magazines and collections, Porter became an alcoholic.He died in 1910 of the liver cirrhosis.Here are the widely quoted The Cop and the Anthem and The Last Leaf in this corpus;here are friends meeting After Twenty Years, making people lament how helple Roads of Destiny is;here is a mysteries Girl, knocking on The Green Door, entering The Furnished Room, offering Witches’ Loaves and cheering The Marry Month of May!
After reading these short stories, I have deeply impreed by O.Henry’s profound thinking about life, destiny, humanity, love and friendship.Here are some points
which I gue the author may want to hint.First, The Cop and the Anthem tells something about time and friendship.Bob and Jimmy made an appointment of meeting each other after they have made their fortune out at Big Joe Brady’s 20 years ago.Bob and Jimmy are both at the appointed place on time.However, Jimmy recognizes that Jimmy is the very guy he is to arrest.Jimmy can not bear to do that and ask his police co-worker to send Jimmy to prison.Standing at one end of the Time Tunnel, it’s hard to predict how our life trace, appearance, even personality will be distorted by the fleeting time.We are inclined to recall old memories and indulge in such rosy pictures, but sometimes things don't work out right.With a shock we find out that’s all gone now.How can we withhold the intense feeling of the fierce power of time?
Second, The Last Leaf is a story about hope.Poor Johnsy catches a pneumonia, and conjectures that her fragile life would float away as the last leaf does.Behrman, an old painter, who has been always about to paint a masterpiece, heard Johnsy’s idiotic imaginings from Johnsy’s roommate Sue.At last, Behrman attains his whole-life chasing masterpiece——the last leaf on wall with the price of losing his life.Dramatically, Johnsy survives by the mental support of the never falling leaf.Those poeed of rich emotions tend to be sensitive to the nature changes.That’s why Lin Daiyu signs at the decayed flowers and Johnsy bases her hope on leaves.Life is fragile, especially in tough lives.Because of the selfle love and care in the world, life is endowed with the meaning of strong minds, and thus, the last leaf can cling to the branch.Not the nature power can encourage us, but also the manmade efforts and love.Third, The Cop and the Anthem is a funny but bitter story on destiny and fortune.The main character of the story, Soapy, tries every trick to get into his winter shelter——the Blackwell prison, but fails.When he is put in the right path by the power of the anthem, he is informed of the sentence of 3 months in jail.To someone, life and fortune are not seemed to be merciful to them, ups and downs in life test their patience.Compared with fighting against destiny, going to the devil is much easier.Soapy is such a poor victim, who had friends, as well as ambitions, but happens to fall
into the deep aby.When he is to return from a prodigal son, destiny makes a joke on him.Maybe it is the resignation of life.We used to hold the belief firmly that life is in the sore control of ourselves.However, the truth is beyond our fancies.You can not escape some unexpected jokes by the destiny.That’s part of my reflections after reading O.Henry’s pieces, not profound but meaningful to me.
