I was doing a crossword puzzle this morning, and the clue was O. Henry. The answer was ironist. This, of course caused my mind to wander back to my early days, when I loved O.Henry stories. They were well written, romantic, and had that special treat, the surprise ending. Even if that ending made you cry.
He was born William Sidney (later Sydney) Porter in 1862, the son of a physician. He was an avid reader as a child, but quit school at the age of 15, and subsequently moved from job to job. (He started a weekly paper called "The Rolling Stone". You may have heard of it. Wait...it's not THAT Rolling Stone...).
In 1897, in a case of life imitating art, he was accused of embezzling money from a bank, and fled to Central America. He subsequently returned to the United States and spent three years in a penitentiary for this crime, though there has been much debate over his guilt.
Released from prison in 1901, he changed his name to O.Henry. He wrote prolifically, but his life was cut short by alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver, and he died in 1910, at the tender age of 48.
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(Aside) Irony is a form of speech in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the words used. This is Wikipedia's definition. Good thing, for I could not have put words to what I believe "irony" means. I was listening to NPR not long ago, and the interviewer was asking people (including actress Winona Ryder, thought I can't imagine why) if they could define "irony". None could. They, like I could not put a definition in words, but knew they would recognize it if they fell over it.
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O.Henry wrote many well known stories. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is one of the best known, and tells the story of two kidnappers who have their hands more than full when the snatch the son of a prominent citizen.
Equally well known is "The Gift of the Magi". Read it here. This is the story of newlyweds who sacrifice something dear to themselves to buy a special Christmas present for their loved one.
Last, by no means leaf..I mean least...is "The Last Leaf" which is my favorite O. Henry story. It is the tale of a young woman who is very ill, and watches a vine on the wall outside her window. She knows she will die when the last leaf falls from the vine. I won't spoil it for you but would encourage you to read it yourself.
I just reread the three stories I cite here. You can too, in just a few minutes. See if you can do it without tearing up.
That Wikipedia definition is really lame. Here is the American Heritage Dictionary version, which seems to sum it up pretty well (especially if you are referring to O. Henry plots):
"Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs."
Like when you kidnap a 10 year old, and they wind up holding YOU hostage...and YOU have to pay money to their parents to get them to take the kid back (Lance, are you reading this?)
Posted by: Rita | September 12, 2005 at 07:29 PM
Every time anyone talks about irony, ironically, it always reminds me of something I heard on NPR. During the Alanis Morissette heyday, when you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing "Isn't it ironic, don't'cha think?", NPR was interviewing a literature professor who proved systematically that none of her examples were truly ironic - they were just cosmic bummers.
I was glad I was out of grad school by then, because I imagined all of the literature professors running around saying, "It's really not ironic. It's just not."
I've been there. I know it could happen. ;)
Posted by: Shawn Lea | September 12, 2005 at 09:36 PM
Thanks. You helped me finish this crossword puzzle
Posted by: venita | August 14, 2007 at 05:26 PM
Thanks. You helped me finish this crossword puzzle
Posted by: venita | August 14, 2007 at 05:28 PM