Examples Of O Henry's Writing Style

Every good classic author has their own unique writing style. Their individual style makes them different from other authors. The classic authors use everyday things from their lives to express their style, and this makes their classics timeless. O. Henry, Mark Twain and John Steinbeck each express their styles in their work. O. Henry’s situational irony, Mark Twain’s social commentary, and John Steinbeck’s social inequalities are all examples of unique writing styles that make classic authors and their classics timeless.

O. Henry’s unique style is shown in his work. A style O. Henry writes with is situational irony. Situational irony is when there is a surprise, or the story has a plot twist. In the story, The Gift of the Magi, Della

Twain uses humor and social commentary when writing. This is when he makes jokes in his writings and makes them fun and energetic. He shows this in one of his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, when the school’s superintendent is teaching a class and then sees a girl staring out the window and looking at the trees. He then makes a remark, saying, “I am afraid she thinks I am out there somewhere-perhaps up in one of the trees making a speech to the little birds” (ch 4). Because the teacher uses a strange way to get everyone paying attention, this quote shows Mark Twain's humor, (CX). Instead of being strict and boring, he does it in a fun and humorous manner. He wants to get the kids laughing, but he needs his students to pay attention at the same time (CD). This is really a timeless classic, because everyone still thinks boring teachers making funny remarks about students is humorous. It is funny to see a teacher make fun of a dumb student. Another unique style Mark Twain uses is social commentary. This is where he gives his opinion about something, or he is making fun of the outdated usage of words or style. One example from Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was when the children see the judge from Constantinople, and they notice the judge has seen a tin roof, they are in awe and start making remarks, saying, “ He lived twelve miles away, so he must have traveled the world, and he has looked upon a tin roof” (ch 4)! This shows social commentary, because he is making fun of how the kids have only seen a tin roof, and only have traveled a mile. Living in poverty, these kids lived in a place where the houses are very simple and they do not travel anywhere (SPP). This classic teaches a lesson about what this time period was like. They were not wealthy, or middle classed. It was a very poor time, and not many people had a lot of money. Mark Twain's unique style really shows how he thought about