O. Henry Author Study

Biographical Info Born- 0 When: September 11, Where: Greensboro, North Carolina Death- 0 Where: June 5, When: New York City

Important life events timeline Married Athol Estes Wife died leaving him with a son and daughter Wrote a story a week for New York World Magazine and wrote for other magazines Accused of stealing 4,000 while working at a bank. Fled to avoid prosecution Spent almost three years in prison and started writing short stories

Interesting Facts 0 His given name was William Sydney Porter. He changed his name to O. Henry when he was released from prison. 0 When he was running from the embezzlement accusation he eventually fled to Honduras. 0 Died almost broke and an alcoholic.

His Writing O. Henry’s stories are famous for their humor and surprise endings. Some of his famous short stories are: 0 The Ransom of Red Chief 0 The Gift of the Magi 0 The Furnished Room

Quotes 0 “The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication.” from Gift of the Magi What style is this? What is the evidence of that?

Quotes 0 “Just at daybreak, I was awakened by a series of awful screams from Bill. They weren't yells, or howls, or shouts, or whoops, or yalps, such as you'd expect from a manly set of vocal organs -- they were simply indecent, terrifying, humiliating screams, such as women emit when they see ghosts or caterpillars. It's an awful thing to hear a strong, desperate, fat man scream incontinently in a cave at daybreak.” From Ransom of Red Chief 0 Does this show the same style? 0 What is the evidence?