Characteristics Of O Henry's Writing Style

To become a classic author, a writer must have their own characteristics, personality, and obvious traits. A classic author is different from the average writer. They possess a certain style that makes them identifiable to the reader, and can be distinguished from other authors and classic writers. Classic authors are timeless and recognizable due to each author having their own unique style. O. Henry, Mark Twain, and John Steinbeck each have their own observable styles and unique traits. O.Henry’s unique writing style is reflected through situational irony and moral characters. Situational irony is shown in a short story called After 20 Years by O.Henry. In After 20 Years, two friends promise to meet each other in the exact same place

Speaking to Bob, (SPP) Jimmy realized that the man was a wanted criminal and his friend, so he told another man to arrest Bob. This is a classic connection between life and style because, just like Bob (the criminal), O.Henry was arrested under surprising circumstances and in a surprising way. Bob and O.Henry had similar conditions of their respective arrests, thus creating a connection between O.Henry’s writing style and life. Another example of O.Henry’s unique writing style is moral characters. This is shown in The Gift of The Magi. In The Gift of The Magi by O.Henry, a poor young woman, Della, who just married, desperately attempts to get her husband a delightful Christmas present. When she cannot get the funds, she resorts to selling her hair. When her husband Jim sees this, she says, “I had my hair cut off and I sold it because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without getting you a present.” This quote proves that O.Henry enjoyed writing about moral characters, for he often writes about characters like Della (the poor, kindhearted, young woman) who is in difficult situations but desperately try to do the right thing. The Gift of The Magi serves as a great example for O.Henry’s