欧亨利短篇小说选读导读

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

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ohenry.htm

/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/14366.html

/myhero/hero.asp?hero=henry_belarus_ul

/~xeke/twoframe.htm

/25/43741/archives/2007/359030.html

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: