What Makes O. Henry's Stories Special
Five reasons you should read O. Henry's short stories:
1: Surprise ending
O. Henry is the master of twist endings. He will surprise you with either a twist of fate, an unexpected ending, or a character trait revealed in the end that changes everything.
2: Witty comments, puns, word play
O. Henry loved playing with words, using dialects, and coining new words. In fact, he's the one who coined the term "banana republic," which refers to a small country that is economically dependent on a single export commodity, such as bananas.
3: Vocabulary
If you want to build your vocabulary power, these stories will help you. O. Henry's vocabulary compared to Shakespeare's. His words are simple, but varied.
4: Setting
Many of his stories are set in New York City, where he lived during most of his writing career. Many stories are also set in the Mid-West.
5: Values
Although he went through a lot, with losing his wife to tuberculosis and being wrongly imprisoned, his stories are not dark or depressing. They talk about universal values, such as self sacrifice, true love, and loyalty.
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