The Artistic Charm of Endings of O’ Henry’s Short Stories_英语论文

摘要

美国著名现实主义作家欧・亨利，被称为“世界三大著名短篇小说家”之一，同时也被誉为美国短篇小说之父和曼哈顿桂冠散文作家。其小说对美国短篇小说的发展起到了重要的推动作用。他一生笔耕不辍，共出版和发表了近300篇短篇小说。欧・亨利出人意料的结尾方式的运用是他的文学作品深受读者喜爱的一个重要原因。在他的短篇小说中充分运用了这一写作技巧。本文在借鉴国内外学者研究成果的基础上，尝试将符合作者在欧亨利短篇小说创作中的小说结局所采用的具体手法分为四类。本文试图探讨每一类的艺术特色，以及这些结局对于主题的视角、读者的反应和作者的创作动机的独特魅力和效果。

关键词：出乎意料的结尾；类别；独特作用

Abstract

O. Henry, the famous American realist writer, is called one of the three famous short stories writers around the world. He was also praised as the father of American short stories and Manhattan laureate prose writers. He published more than 300 short stories in his lifetime. The application of O. Henry’s unexpected endings is an important reason why his literary works are loved by so many readers. This writing technique is fully employed in his short stories. On the basis of the views of domestic and foreign scholars, the paper attempts to put into four categories the fictional endings special to O. Henry’s short story writing in line with the specific techniques the writer used. The paper attempts to explore artistic features of each of the categories, and the unique charm and effect that these endings produce from the point view of theme, readers’ response and the writer’s creative motive. 

Key Words: Unexpected Ending, Categories, Effect 

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Demonstration 2

2.1 The Types of Endings .2

2.1.1 Implied Ending 3

2.1.2 Contrary Ending 4

2.1.3 Puzzle-solved Ending 5

2.1.4 Ironic Ending .6

2.2 The Unique Effects of O. Henry’s Endings 7

2.2.1 The Effect on Theme .7

2.2.2 The Effect on Readers’ Response 8

2.2.3 The Effect on the Author’s Creative Motive .9

3. Conclusion 10

Works Cited 11

Bibliography .12