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t: confronted with the Mammon even Archer has to be bent his head down. To Anthony and his peers, the only thing worthy of their thought is money. With the ironic rhetoric method, O. Henry ends the story with a fat boy without any clothes on shooting arrow around with a bow. That is pictured Cupid, in a new, unexpected way, thus bringing readers a new sense to the topic “Mammon and the Archer”. This usage of the twist ending adds artistic effect to the person’s character described.
In a capitalist society, many people even do evil things against their conscience, so as to earn money. In “The Furnished Room”, the housekeeper, Mrs. Purdy, cheats a young man who is seeking his lover, in order to let him rent the room. Then the young man commits suicide out of despair. At the end, after the young man dies, we find the man’s lover commit suicide at the same rented room. Mrs.Purdy talks about it with another housekeeper in an indifferent tone as if it were only a trifle that could be the topic for gossip over dinner. The society is so doomed by an atmosphere of gloom and indifference that it makes people treat others or even friends without sympathy, equaling to committing murder.
Even more jocular is the way that O. Henry describes a rapacious businessman Maxwell in “The Romance of a Busy Broker”. He is so crazy about his golden eternal business---- make big money against the clock. More than that he even forgets he has married or not. And in a tumult of a preparation out of his work, he asks his wife to marry again. Those twist ending explose the whole theme of the article. Are the readers to deride the broker or to show sympathy for the broker’s tender wife?
The author uses pungent rhetoric methods not only to show us the humanity vividly, but also to enhance the theme ----the gluttonous and cruel side of those bourgeoisies.
3. The Human Virtues and the Human Defects----Individualism with No Ill-will
O. Henry has deep insights into human destiny and human nature. Among the story of New Yorkers, the theme of pretense strikes the dominant chords of these stories----the pervasive desire to pose for what one if not, if only for a brief spell of time and regardless of the acknowledged risk involved. [11](P66) In daily life, when one feels that he is not flawless; when one is not content with what he has, it is understandable for him to find something or change something to regain the balance in his heart. Everyone will choose a way to pretend to be another man for a short while to get the sense of compensation. After all, that is a comparative and efficient solution for poor people. When he disguises himself, his daily frustration of the ego will disappear from his head for a while. And the transient awakening of self-esteem will occupy his head and soul for a short time. Thus he can escape from the cruel reality successfully and relax himself. Such a person is worthy of sympathy, so O. Henry never looks down upon them. Although the ending of the story is ironical, he never despises them.
In the story “While the Auto Waits”, which is recognized as one of his best story of the theme of false pretense. A comely young woman pretends to be a noble lady and tries to impress a young man who stops to chat with her in a park. The man masks his real identity by pretending to be a humble restaurant cashier, which the ending shows to be the position she holds. Meanwhile he is also the wealthy owner of the chauffeured sedan, which she has pointed to as her own. The loss to both individuals is the result of what O. Henry perceived to be a natural human urge. Though this is a world where the fittest survives, the lower class still has its code of ethics. The poor and humble pretend to be the noble and derive pleasure from doing this and they won’t injure anyone else. They are not insignificant but worthy of our respect. [12](P12)
In addition, there is another story about the human nature’s complex or we can say comprehension and meddle with different humanity. In “A Double-Dyed Deceiver”, Llano Kid is a young fellow with cruel character. He once kills a card-player in Old Justo waldo’ gambling house because of fierce wrangle, then he flees away. When he flees, he steals a horse. After three days he reachs Buena’s Tierras by sailing. Then Thacker, the United States consuls, discusses with him to defraud a rich old couple of their money and belonging by pretending to be their long-absent son and he agreeds. But when he learns that the son of the old couple he is coincidentally the young man he has killed, he changs his ideas. He is deeply touched by the old mother’s love and tears. He does not want to hurt the sad mother again. So he decides to be their son to comfort them. He once is a gambler, a killer, a deceiver and a thief. He finally chooses to be a gentle son to compensate the old couple for his wrong doings. The return of the prodigal son brings happiness to the couple and calmness to Kid’s上一页 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] 下一页
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