Language is one of the most effectively communicative ways among each other. It is also a bridge linking us with the world civilization. Besides using fluently native language, knowing foreign language is really necessary. English is the key to open the integration door. Learning English has become an indispensible need for everyone. Learning English not only know about basic skills, grammar or pronunciation but also know about culture as well as literature. Literature is a part of a country’s culture, heritage and history. It gives us a detailed preview of human experience. Moreover, literature is also important in learning a foreign language due to literature improves reading fluency through the expansion of vocabulary and grammar structure. Thanks to reading literatures, readers will be broaden knowledge about traditional culture, value and belief of people and give us a deeper understanding about language we are learning. In early 20th century, American literature had important movements in drama, poetry, fiction and criticism took place in the years before, during and after World War I. The authors at this period struggled to understand the changes occurring in society. There are various themes on war, love, people, culture…which known with many notable writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Mark Twain, Margaret Mitchel….especially O. Henry. O. Henry is a wonderful creativeness. The most ordinary events (a menu, a drab house, a walkway to the house ...) turned into the uniqueness of his work. His story expressed the life experience and therefore his characters are placed on the real people whom he was acquainted. He wrote about social issues and economics of lower class. He put the voiceless people into his work with compassion and sympathy. His works are from these experiences of his observation and the social reality has been reflected in his books so much. The America’s social reality in early 20th century was shown deeply and wholly. Due to the reason above, the researcher decided to choose the study with the title “A study on social reality’s reflection in O. Henry’s selected short stories” with the aim to do an analysis the social reflection expressed in the some short stories.
Trang 1PART A INTRODUCTION
1 Rationale
Language is one of the most effectively communicative ways among each other It is also a bridge linking us with the world civilization Besides using fluently native language, knowing foreign language is really necessary English
is the key to open the integration - door Learning English has become an indispensible need for everyone
Learning English not only know about basic skills, grammar or pronunciation but also know about culture as well as literature Literature is a part of a country’s culture, heritage and history It gives us a detailed preview of human experience Moreover, literature is also important in learning a foreign language due to literature improves reading fluency through the expansion of vocabulary and grammar structure Thanks to reading literatures, readers will be broaden knowledge about traditional culture, value and belief of people and give
us a deeper understanding about language we are learning
In early 20th century, American literature had important movements in drama, poetry, fiction and criticism took place in the years before, during and after World War I The authors at this period struggled to understand the changes occurring in society There are various themes on war, love, people, culture…which known with many notable writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Mark Twain, Margaret Mitchel….especially O Henry
O Henry is a wonderful creativeness The most ordinary events (a menu,
a drab house, a walkway to the house ) turned into the uniqueness of his work His story expressed the life experience and therefore his characters are placed on the real people whom he was acquainted He wrote about social issues and economics of lower class He put the voiceless people into his work with compassion and sympathy His works are from these experiences of his observation and the social reality has been reflected in his books so much The America’s social reality in early 20th century was shown deeply and wholly
Trang 2Due to the reason above, the researcher decided to choose the study with
the title “A study on social reality’s reflection in O Henry’s selected short stories” with the aim to do an analysis the social reflection expressed in the
some short stories
2 Previous research
2.1 In the world
In the research on “Social-realism in the short stories of O Henry and Perm Chand” by Tawnier Jehan, the researcher studied about the reality in
society was shown in stories of two writers They take whether consciously or not, what their predecessors pass on to them, through the great treasure house of thought and feeling registered in their works Then from their space in time and place, the socio-political conditions of the immediate world influencing their creativity and their contribution in turn, impact the lives of people; individual lives and also certain section or class of society
In another “O Henry and his short story” by Meng Lingmin, The
researcher showed that O Henry’s mouths-piece of lover people, the sympathy for the poor people and its origin, reflecting the ordinary people and its origin, characteristics of his writing
2.2 In Vietnam
In Viet Nam, many people like and read his stories There is also a study
on “Nghệ thuật xây dựng cốt truyện trong truyện ngắn O Henry” (The art of
building plot in O Henry short stories) by Pham Yen My, Van Hien University The researcher studied on how to build plot in O Henry stories
2.3 In Hung Vuong University
There is a study on “O Henry’s warm human sympathy for common people in his short stories: “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Last Leaf” by Phan
Thi Huyen In this study, the researcher analyzed O Henry’s warm human sympathy for common people in two stories However, this is the first time the study on O Henry’s social reality’s reflection in his short stories is carried out in Hung Vuong University
Trang 33 Research purpose
The research aims at:
- Scrutinizing the American society in O Henry’s time, the author O Henry and his social reality’s reflection
- Analyzing the social reality’s reflection in “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf”’ and “The Furnished Room”
- Finding out the messages O Henry tries to convey to the readers through the real social pictures expressed in “The Last Leaf”, “The Gift of the Magi” and
“The Furnished Room”
4 Research Questions
The research will find out the answers to the following questions:
- What is the social reality’s reflection in selected O Henry’s short stories –
“The Last Leaf”, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”?
-What is the message of O Henry through social reality’s reflection in “The Last Leaf”, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”?
5 Research Methods
In order to accomplish this thesis systematically and adequately, some research methods are used:
- Theoretical method: Studying the related documents to give background of
America society and American literature in at the end of 19th century and early
20th century, the life and work of O Henry and three short stories “The Last Leaf”, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”
- Analysis method: from data got from many different materials related to the
topic, analyzing to get the final results
- Inductive and deductive methods: are used to analyze the social reality in two
short stories
6 Scope of the research
The study focuses on analyzing the social reality’s reflection in three of
O Henry short stories: “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room”
Trang 47 Design of the study
The study consists of three parts and references:
Part A Introduction
In this part, the researcher gives an overall introduction about rationale, research purpose, research question, methods, research procedure, and scope of the study
Part B The study
Chapter 1: Literature review
In this part, the study focus on giving the relationship between reality and literature, giving the background of American society, the feature of American literature in late 19th century and early 20th century and O Henry’s biography and literary career and his works “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and
“The Furnished Room”
Chapter 2: The social reality’s reflection in O Henry’s stories and in “The Last Leaf”, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”
An analysis on the picture of social reality which is presented in three selected O Henry’s short stories about the life, destiny and love of human
Chapter 3: The messages of O Henry through social reality’s reflection in
“The Last Leaf”, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”
Through analyzing social reality reflected in O Henry’s stories, researcher will show some messages which the writer wants to send to readers
Part C Conclusion
This part summarizes the major findings of the study, gives implications, lists limitations, mentions suggestions, and presents conclusion
In this chapter, the researcher has given the rationale, previous research, research purpose, research questions, methods, scope as well as design of the study The next chapter, researcher will present the relationship between reality and literature The researcher will also present the background of American society and features of American literature in O Henry’s time, O Henry’s life and his works
“The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room”
Trang 5PART B THE STUDY CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The relationship between reality and literature
As being given in “Van hoc va hien thuc trong tam nhin hien dai” (Literature and reality in modern vision) by Tran Dinh Su (2010), literature and
reality is a central problem in the theory of literature According to the analysis
of American literary theorist M H Abrams, most of literary theories are all built
on the relationship of the basic elements of art activities: world (reality), works and artists (authors)
From the relationship between the works (literary) with the world, we have ancient stimulation theory and reflected theory today From the relationship between the works with artists, we have creative theory From the work itself in the relationship between the artists and recipients, we have content, meanings, symbols, games, entertainment Therefore, literature reflecting the reality is still a basic, important and indispensable principle
1.1.1 Literature is the mirror that reflects reality and time
From the Renaissance to modern times, the ideological of realistic simulation is still primarily thought of criticism As Stanhdal in Tran Dinh Su
(2010), “Van hoc va hien thuc trong tam nhin hien dai”, said that “Literature is the mirror of social life”, or Balzac “the writer is secretary of the times” and Lenin “if you are a great writer, your works reflects at least a few key aspects of revolution” For the masters of realism, the reality’s reflection means that looks
for the value perceptions, morality and aesthetics of life, strips of lies, exposes all ulcers, rips all mask and throw oneself into the process of social progress The ideas that were expressed quite right about the relationship between literature and historical life on the overall level, means that all the events, characters, thoughts and feelings expressed in literature are the reflection
of society
Trang 61.1.2 Reality in literature is the meaningful world created by practice
According to “Van hoc va hien thuc trong tam nhin hien dai” (Literature and reality in modern vision) by Tran Dinh Su (2010), the concept of reality as
objective existence, independent with human consciousness has been inappropriate with the fact The reality in literature is not same to the reality of the social sciences, natural sciences and politics The reality in literature closely connects to politics, but it is not entirely similar with the political reality As L.Tolstoi said that we can understand that the literature’s reality is the meaningful world that people live in it The universe, nature, people, society, culture, objects are only reality when they are meaningful for human Practice allows people to discover the sense of world for both life and arts The mean of things changes over the course of practice Literature reflects the reality comprehensively
1.2 The background of American society in late 19 th century and early 20 th
century
In late 19th century and early 20th century, industrialization has brought the society many important changes The simple, frugal, self-sustaining lives of the early pioneers were replaced with an industrial age which changed the country almost overnight Great cities were built along the coast lines and at strategic central point; railroads links every part of the country; and sprawling factories offered inducements workers to quit tilling the soil These changes were shown in many aspects about economy, politic and society As according
to C.C Regier in The Era of Muckrakers (p.5) “In the years that elapsed between the days of Irving, Hawthorne, and Poe, and those of O Henry, great and momentous changes took place in both the economic and social structures
of the country”
1.3 The features of American literature in late 19th century and early 20th century
The 19th century and early 20th century witnessed this paradigm shift across cultures and literature written there around saw it projected with sincerity and firmness of purpose
Trang 7In most people's minds, the years following the Civil War symbolized a time of healing and rebuilding For those engaged in serious literary circles, however, that period was full of upheaval A literary civil war raged on between the camps of the romantics and the realists and later, the naturalists
The writing during this period was also very regional American realists built their plots and characters around people's ordinary, everyday lives Additionally, their works contained regional dialects and extensive dialogue which connected well with the public
1.4 O Henry’s life and his works “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room”
1.4.1 O Henry’s life and works
O Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, was rated as the best short story writer in the United States in the early years of the twentieth century He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862 Porter died penniless and alone in 1910
During his 10 year literary career, O Henry wrote about 300 short stories Most of his stories are set in his own time, in contemporary present – the early years of the 20th century Many of them take place in New York City and deal for most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen, waitresses
O Henry was an outstanding humorist He worked out and enriched all the types of the short story: the anecdote, the adventure story, tales and sketches The best of his works were published in books: “Cabbages and Kings”, “The Four Million”, “Heart of the West”, “The Voice of the City” and others He was most famous for his stories of city O Henry wrote nearly 150 stories with a New York background His works have considerable influence on American literature He was a born writer of great talent The conversation is witty, humorous and often exact and precise O Henry is one of the most widely published American authors His works have been translated into nearly every language He has been called “The American Maupassant” and is ranked among the world’s outstanding short story writers
Trang 81.4.2 Some main feature of O Henry’s stories
1.4.2.1 Story Structure
“Porter's first biographer”, C Alphonso Smith, pointed out in O Henry
Biography (1916) that O Henry's stories had four stages In the first stage, O Henry gets the reader's attention with a striking opening situation, called "the arresting beginning." Exposition takes place at this stage In the second stage, the rising action, the reader begins to guess the story's ending In the third stage, the climax, the reader learns that he or she was wrong about the ending In the fourth stage, the falling action, the story concludes The ending is triumphant with a surprise involving sudden suspense This is the story's resolution
1.4.2.2 Story Elements
O Henry's stories were written to help people escape from their everyday problems The author had been a skilled storyteller since he was a teenager He used to entertain people in his uncle's drugstore and on the Texas ranch where he lived as a young man He wanted his stories to be entertaining and enjoyable To achieve this, he uses lively dialogue, vivid and quickly drawn descriptions, humor, irony, chance happenings, and surprise endings
1.4.2.3 Language feature
Porter has an immense vocabulary and an acute sensitivity to word usage The most significant characteristic of O Henry’s language is humor O Henry’s humor is sometimes supplied by character portrayal, sometimes by the lifelike dialogue, sometimes by his style It mainly derives from his style
1.4.2.4 Coincidence
O Henry's plots often involve coincidence Coincidence (chance or luck) also plays a key role in most of O Henry's stories The odd coincidences that the characters experience add another element of humor to the story Besides, the common Porter’s trademark ones, which are his reversal of the narrative and his reversal of his characters’ nature Along the story, we see that the events are interrelated to each other with coincidence and at the end there is what we call a surprise twist
Trang 91.4.2.5 Surprise Endings
O Henry's stories are perhaps best known for their surprise endings, to the point that such an ending is often referred to as an “O Henry ending.” He set the story running in one direction and then he converts completely the story just when the reader is convinced of the general direction of the narrative The reader scarcely knows that he is suspended until the very close to the end of the story Just as turn on the lights and the whole tale is revealed in it’s entirely
1.4.3 O Henry’s selected short stories: “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room”
1.4.3.1 The Gift of the Magi
The Gift of the Magi is one of the best-known American short stories,
celebrated by American short-story writer - William Sydney Porter, who wrote it under the pseudonym O Henry and was published in 1906 in a collection of his
short stories, The Four Million Like The Furnished Room, and The Ransom of Red Chief, The Gift of the Magi also bears simple yet effective use of
paradoxical coincidences to produce ironic endings The story contains many of the elements for which O Henry is widely known, including poor, working-class characters, a humorous tone, realistic detail, and a surprise ending A major reason given for its enduring appeal is its affirmation of unselfish love Such love, the story and its title suggest, is like the gifts given by the wise men, called magi, who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn Jesus
1.4.3.2 The Last Leaf
"The Last Leaf" is a short story by O Henry published in 1907 in his collection The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories Set in Greenwich Village, it depicts characters and themes typical of O Henry's works It is among the 381 short stories William Sydney Porter produced in New York City
The setting is Greenwich Village, New York, 1905 Johnsy, Sue and Behrman are three of the impoverished artists One autumn, Johnsy suffers from Pneumonia that has killed so many people at that time Johnsy is in despair that her life depends on the ivy leaves outside the window She believes that the
Trang 10moment the last leaf falls she will die Her friend, Sue doesn’t know what to do except worrying and constant nursing Then on a cold, rainy, windy night, when
it is quite apparent that the last leaf is “dying”, Old Behrman, who regards himself as “special mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists”, defies the cold, wet night to paint a leaf on the outdoor vine to restore the dying Johnsy's will to live
1.4.3.3 The Furnished Room
The Furnished Room, short story by O Henry, published serially in 1904 and then collected in The Four Million (1906)
The setting of this story is in New York City The story is about a young man who entered a district in which a goodly number of houses catered to transients He was searching for a young lady named Miss Eloise Vashner, who
he thought would be singing on the stage After a futile search for his missing girlfriend, commits suicide in his rented room, not knowing that it is the same room in which his girlfriend had killed herself one week earlier