-
A Guide to
Short Stories of O.
Henry
By
刘富利、黄宇
Objectives
?
Get to know the author and his style
?
Learn to read a
short story and its elements
?
Learn the
theme, plot, characters and techniques of the 4
stories in the printed selection
Part One
About the writer
1. The biography of the writer
Go to the
following or other sites and answer the following
questions
/
/o_henry/
Questions:
1) Is O. Henry an English
or American writer?
2) What was the real name of this
writer?
3)
Where and when was he born?
4) What magazine did he
start publishing in 1884?
5) List at least 3 famous short stories
by O. Henry besides this given four.
2. The style of the writer
Go
to the following or other sites and answer the
following questions
/zymi2001/articles/
/myhero/?hero=henry_belarus_ul
/~xeke/
/25/43741/archives/2007/
Question:
With
reference
to
the
background
and
the
stories
you
read,
please
list
and
elaborate
some
characteristics of the works of the
writer.
Part
Two
About the
four selected stories
1.
The Gift of the Magi
2.
The Romance of a Busy
Broker
3.
The Cop and the Anthem
4.
The Roads We
Take
1.
The Gift of the Magi
1) The meaning
and implication of some proper nouns and
historical stories
magi
the Queen of Sheba
King Solomon
Sofronie
the baby in the
manger
the
gift of the magi
2) Paraphrasing the
difficult sentences
For
example:
“
Pennies
saved
one
and
two
at
a
time
by
bulldozing
the
grocer
and
the
vegetable man and the butcher until
one
’
s cheeks burned with the
silent imputation of parsimony
that
such close dealing implied.
”
3) Understanding the themes
Analyze the
themes from the following suggested perspectives:
(1)
About the gifts: wise or silly?
(2) About the
couple: their love and their poverty
(3) About the
meaning of the title with reference to the plot
and the Bible
4) Reflection on the reading
Think about
your understanding and comparison about the
English version and the Chinese
version
(If
you
have
read
the
Chinese
version
before),
and
can
you
find
out
any
differences
between your
Chinese version reading and your English version
reading?
5) Role playing
Adapt
the
text
and
write
a
play
in
your
group.
Prepare
to
perform
it
in
the
coming
group
discussion.
2.
The Romance
of a Busy Broker
1) The meaning of the terms
used in finance
the Exchange
short
broker
Stocks and bonds
loans and
mortgages
margins and securities
2) Paraphrasing the difficult sentences
For example: 1)
“
The machine sitting at that
desk was no longer a man; it was a busy New
York
broker,
moved
by
buzzing
wheels
and
uncoiling
springs.
”
;
2)
“
He
jumped
from
ticker
to
phone,
from desk to door with the trained agility of a
harlequin.
”
3) Understanding the themes
Analyze the themes from the following
suggested perspectives: