摘 要欧•亨利(1863-1910)是世界三大短篇小说巨匠之一。他的短篇小说以出人意料的结尾和独具匠心的情节著称。本文简述了欧•亨利的生平、主要作品以及社会背景；从幽默文学的定义和分类两方面阐述作家通过语言运用、结尾以及不同修辞格所创设的幽默效果。欧•亨利的作品语言平实，善用讽刺和黑色幽默是其独特魅力。本研究有益于加深读者对欧•亨利及其幽默写作风格的理解。83221

毕业论文关键词：欧•亨利；幽默；幽默写作

Abstract  O。Henry is one of the three literary masters of short novels。 His novels are well known for unexpected endings and unique designs of plots。 The paper gives a brief introduction of his whole life, main works and social backgrounds。 In addition, it explains the humorous effects created by using the humorous language, unexpected endings and different figures of speech from the two ways of definition and category of humorous literature。 His works are full of plain words, irony and black humor, which is the unique features。 The study is benefit to deepen the readers' understanding of O。Henry and the humorous writing style。

Key words: O。 Henry; humor; humorous writing

Contents

摘 要。。。i

Abstract。。。ii

I。 Introduction。。1

II。 Definition and Formats of Humor2

2。1 Concept of Humor。。3

2。2 Formats of Humor4

2。3 Black Humor 。。5

III。 O。 Henry’s Humorous Writing Style7

3。1 O。 Henry’s Humorous Writing Style。。8

3。2 Representation of O。 Henry’s Humorous Writing Style9

3。2。1 Styles of the Languages。。10

3。2。2 Styles of the Endings。。11

3。2。3 Figures of Speech。。11

IV。 Effects of O。 Henry’s Humorous Writing Style。11

4。1 From the Perspective of Readers。。。。12

4。2 From the Perspective of the Writer。13

V。 Conclusion14

Bibliography15

Acknowledgments。 16

A Brief Analysis of O。 Henry’s Humorous Writing Style 

I。 Introduction 

 O。 Henry (1863-1910) was an outstanding American short story writer in the beginning of the 20th century, and his works were very popular and have drawn a lot of interests from readers。 He was called the American Guy De Maupassant。 The similarities of their works were twist endings, but the differences were that O。 Henry’s stories were much more playful and optimistic。 The reason why O。 Henry’s works were so popular originated from his humorous language and surprising ending。 This paper tends to briefly analyze his humorous writing style。 

O。 Henry, originally named William Sydney Porter, was born in North Carolina。 His farther, Algernon Sidney Porter, was a physician。 When William was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his parental grandmother and paternal aunt。 William was an avid reader, but at the age of fifteen he left school, and then worked in a drug store and on a Texas ranch。 After moving to Texas in 1882, he worked in a ranch Lassalle Country for two years。 In 1887 he married Athol Estes Roach; they had one daughter and one son。 

O。 Henry was a distinguished American storywriter。 As a prolific American short-story writer, a master of surprise endings, he wrote about the New York City people’s ordinary life。 O。 Henry was most famous for his surprising ending, which was called “O。 Henry-end”。 Some critics were not so interested in his work, but the public loved it。 He was called Prose Laureate of Manhattan and Father of short stories。 During his lifetime, he wrote more than 300 short stories。 Porter's most prolific writing period started in 1902。 At that time, he moved to New York City to be near his publishers, where he wrote 381 short stories。 He wrote a story a week for over a year for the New York World Sunday Magazine。 His readers were absorbed by his wit, characterization and plot twists, which were often panned by critics。 In 1907, Porter married, Sarah (Sallie) Lindsey Coleman, whom he met again after revisiting his native state of North Carolina。 However, despite his short stories were published successfully in magazines and collections (or perhaps because of the attendant pressure that success brought), Porter drank heavily, which has caused his poor health conditions and also affected his writing。 In 1909, Sarah chose to leave him, and Porter died on June 5, 1910, of cirrhosis of the liver, complications of diabetes and an enlarged heart。 After funeral services in New York City, he was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina。 The O。 Henry Award is a prestigious annual prize given to outstanding short stories, and named after Porter。 Several schools around the country bear Porter's pseudonym。 In 1952, a film was made, called O。 Henry’s Full House。 The episode garnering the most critical acclaim was The Cop and the Anthem, starring Charles Laughton and Marilyn Monroe。 The other stories are The Clarion Call, The Last Leaf, The Ransom of Red Chief, and The Gift of the Magi (Tian 154)。