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William Sydney Porter. O. Henry 1862-1910. What do you think of?. Babysitting Kidnapping Ransom Pseudonym or Pen Name Irony. William Sydney Porter. Born in Greensboro, NC, on September 11, 1862 Mother died when he was three years old
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William Sydney Porter O. Henry 1862-1910
What do you think of? • Babysitting • Kidnapping • Ransom • Pseudonym or Pen Name • Irony
William Sydney Porter • Born in Greensboro, NC, on September 11, 1862 • Mother died when he was three years old • Raised by Aunt Lina, who ran a small private school.
William Sydney Porter • Developed a taste for literature and a talent for humorous drawings • Left school at 15 • Trained as a pharmacist • Spent time at his uncle’s drugstore • Licensed as a pharmacist at age 19
William Sydney Porter • Known to be a prankster • Drew caricatures • Developed health problems • Moved to Texas in 1882, healthier climate • Worked on a cattle ranch
The Porter Family • 1887, married Athol Estes • Worked as a bank teller • Sketches sold to newspapers and magazines • Daughter, Mary
William Sydney Porter • 1894, began a humorous weekly newspaper, “The Rolling Stone” • Failed within a year • Suspected of embezzlement
William Sydney Porter • 1896, arrested and charged with stealing • Fled to Honduras • Returned to be with dying wife (age 29) • Supported daughter by working as a pharmacist and writing stories
William Sydney Porter • 1898, first short story published • Convicted of theft and sentenced to five years in prison • 1901, released from prison • Began using pseudonym O. Henry • Pseudo: false • Nym: name • “pen name”
William Sydney Porter • 1902, moved to New York City • Wrote weekly stories for newspapers and magazines • Life provided settings for many of his famous stories
William Sydney Porter • 1904, published first book of stories, Cabbages and Kings • 1906, next collection of stories, The Four Million, famous world-wide
William Sydney Porter • 1907, Married Sarah L. Coleman • Failing health • No money • Wrote seven collections of short stories in the last three years of his life • Died June 5, 1910
Interesting Facts about O. Henry • Wrote more than 300 stories, most in the last 10 years of his life • Had 23 cents in his pocket when admitted to the hospital before his death • His funeral was mistakenly scheduled the same time as a wedding… a classic O. Henry touch of irony • In 1918, a literary prize was established in his honor, the O. Henry Award
Terms to Know • Tone: feelings or emotions in a story; writer’s attitude toward subject • Foreshadowing: clues to later action; builds suspense and creates expectations to hold the readers’ attention
Terms to Know • Irony: contrast between what is expected and what actual exists or happens • Situational Irony: when a character or reader expects one thing and something totally different happens’ • Verbal: a word or phrase that is used to suggest the opposite
Give an example… • Of situational irony • Of verbal irony • Of when someone you know had a really good idea that went really wrong • Of a bad babysitting experience
William Sydney Porter • “William Sydney Porter (O. Henry)” Squidoo. Squidoo, LLC. 2014. Web. 27 March 2014. <www.squidoo.com/O-Henry>