Contents

1。 Introduction 1

1。1 Purpose and significance 1

1。2 Literature review 1

2。 The Human Nature in the Age of Realism 2

2。 1 The Age of Realism 2

2。2 Realism in America 3

2。3 What is human nature? 3

3。 The beauty of human nature in O。 Henry’ s short stories 4

3。1 Pure love 5

3。1。1 The Gift of the Magi 5

3。1。2 The Furnished Room 5

3。1。3 A Service of Love 6

3。2 Sincere friendship 7

3。2。1 The Last Leaf 7

3。2。2 Friends Sworn to Death 7

3。3 Devotion to duty---After Twenty Years 8

3。4 Precious faith in human nature---Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen 8

4。 The Reasons Why O。 Henry Focused on the Beauty of Human Nature 9

4。1 The Social Background 9

4。2 The Life Experiences of O。 Henry 10

5。 Conclusion 11

References 12

1。 Introduction 

1。1 Purpose and significance 

    O。 Henry was an outstanding American short story writer in the beginning of the 20th century, whose works were very popular with readers。 The reason why his stories are so charming lies not only in the humorous language and unexpected endings which are known as his special writing style, but also lies in the fact that O。 Henry’s short stories were mostly on the theme of human nature, which has struck an empathetic chord among readers。  论文网

    The purpose of the study is to explore the beauty of human nature reflected in his short stories to show people something more about O。 Henry’s stories except the “unexpected ending”。 There are so many people studying his “unexpected ending” and it is too common。 So in this thesis, the purpose is to investigate the beauty of human nature in O。 Henry’s short stories and find out what it is。 And it is also significant to know why O。 Henry paid so much attention to the beauty of human nature in his works。 

1。2 Literature review

    O。 Henry’s short stories are world-famous。 In China, there are so many studies about his works。 Most of the studies focus on the writing styles of his short stories, his “unexpected ending”, the analysis of the characters and so on。 There are also some studies of the human nature in his short stories and now more and more scholars pay attention to the theme of human nature。 There is still much room for the study of human nature, especially the beauty of human nature。

    Fan Yuehong(2008) believes that O。 Henry’s short stories were mostly on the theme of humanity。 She points out that “The Gift of the Magi tells us a story about true love” and the most valuable gift between them is their love。 And no gift was more precious than true love。 Duan Jihong and Wang Lei(2013) also think that The Gift of the Magi sings the praises of pure love that the couple can remember for the rest of their life。 Although they are not rich and the gifts are unpractical for them, they can keep them as the symbol of their love。 They lose their beloved things, but they obtain the steadfast love。 It is precious。 Fan Lin(2006) finds that the love between the wife and the husband in the story A Service of Love also moves us a lot。 They are also poor but love each other and do a lot for each other。 The shackles of money make the love more precious and moving。  文献综述