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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.
PART A INTRODUCTION 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 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 an analysis the social reflection expressed in the some short stories 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 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 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” 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”? 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 19 th 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 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” 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” PART B THE STUDY CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The relationship between reality and literature As being given in “Van hoc va hien thuc 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 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 1.1.2 Reality in literature is the meaningful world created by practice According to “Van hoc va hien thuc 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 19th century and early 20th 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 In 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 1.4.2 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 1.4.2.5 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, workingclass 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 moment the last leaf falls she will die Her friend, Sue doesn’t know what to 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 10 CHAPTER THE SOCIAL REALITY’S REFLECTION IN O HENRY’S SELECTED SHORT STORIES 2.1 New York City in progress in O Henry’s selected short stories 2.1.1 New York’s streets The street in this city was not divided by class All streets are numbered unanimously and not have a road named with the name of someone The road system here absolutely is no roundabout, down five, seven and no down boulevards sumptuous splendor O Henry once said that he wanted to live on New York streets in all his life The streets as well as the quarters were described in detail and vivid in his stories As in the story “The Last Leaf” published in 1907 The streets have run crazy It is the evidence to the non-systematic construction in New York This has led to that county was divided into small areas and those areas acre in strange angles and curves These roads run zigzag which made newcomers feel it difficult to move The streets is also described as narrow streets with full of moss Moreover, the streets interlace each other as chessboard The road or the corner in O Henry short stories was showed really and clearly It was created by meticulously observant and life experience of O Henry He has traveled extensively and life had many ups and downs These streets are also places where he lived and wrote his works 2.1.2 Tenement and flat In New York, as in many other cities, more than a million people lived in tenements Tenements were incredibly crowded with three, four and sometimes many more people crammed into each small room Firstly, this is flat Flat dwellers are of one type that O Henry portrayed extensively in his stories In the story “The Gift of the Magi”, the young couple lived in a very unassuming flat; drab, gray and decaying flat A terrible picture of the living conditions and of the people who occupy furnished room is given in the story “The Furnished Room” Here a young man 11 applied at the door of a brick tenement house for a room Its sordid atmosphere, the odor of dust and decaying food, the open curiosity and prying of the inmates, all conjure up a terrible world picture that is an indictment of housing condition in New York at that time In addition, the furnishing of the room was the unusual decayed furniture It seemed to be very obsolete and uncomfortable In another story “The Last Leaf”, the story depicts life as it was lived by Sue and Johnsy in a furnished room at the top of squatty, the story brick building which was covered by an old, old ivy vine, gnarled and decayed at the roots 2.2 The contrast of living condition in O Henry’s selected short stories 2.2.1 Residential component in New York in late 19th century- early 20th century In late 19th century, hundreds of thousands of women moved to the cities, therefore, in search of work and community As in the story “The Last Leaf”, two young girls, Sue and Johnsy left her home to come to New York to search for a new life and to probably have chance to fulfill their dream Or in the story “The Furnished room”, the young man also came to New York to find his girlfriend who disappeared home to go to this city At that time, New York is gathered by a lot of American artists In the story “The Last Leaf”, there are many artists coming to New York City And three main characters in this story, Sue, Johnsy and Old Behrman also were immigrants and painters In another story “The Furnished Room”, Most of immigrants in this story are artists – theatrical people In addition, O Henry also wrote about the young couple living in the boarding house with a low rent This is Della and Jim in “The Gift of the Magi” Besides the immigrants who are homeless and tenants, there is also a part of housekeeper or the owner of shops As in the story “The Furnished Room”, Mrs Mc Cool and Mrs Purdy are one of representatives for housekeepers as well as the richer Or in the story “The Gift of the Magi”, this is Madame Softronie She is the owner of hair shop She represents for the cold, uncaring world 12 2.2.2 Fate of people living in New York City The works of O Henry during his time in New York is in an important period of American history This is major environment creating crowded colors, and writer tried to create in which the lives, fates with different looks As in the story “The Gift of the Magi”, Della and Jim is a young couple They lived in a shabby flat and they were very poor They are struggling just to pay the expenses of their small flat New York at that time attracted many artists O Henry also is one of these artists So, he understands clearly and deeply about the living of them And then, he brought them into his stories He talked about destiny and their life so much And in the story “The Last Leaf”, a little district in west Washington Square became “the colony” of poor artists For another story “The Furnished Room”, at the beginning of the story, O Henry has given a picture about the life of immigrants They are homeless They lived an unstable life From residents to heart and mind, they are transient The room the young man rented was lived by many people Most of them are theatrical people 2.3 Mutual sympathy The composition of O Henry wrote about the problems of social and economic of oppression and ill-fated class In his work, love, empathy, sacrifice for others has been shown clearly As in the story “The Furnished Room”, a young man loves a young girl However the girl who he loves so much left her house to come to the city He also left to find his lover He had found for months but he has yet not had the result Another famous story of O Henry about love is The Gift of the Magi It is a popular Christmas story about love and sacrifice It is the story of a poor, young couple whose love for each other is the most important thing in their lives Such is their love that they're led to sacrifice their most valuable possessions to find Christmas gifts for each other The warm home they make together contrasts with the drabness of their poverty and the dreary world out Another story for love is The Last Leaf However, the story is deep-felt love between poor artists The love wins poverty, disease 13 CHAPTER THE MESSAGES OF O HENRY THROUGH SOCIAL REALITY’S REFLECTION IN “THE LAST LEAF”, “THE GIFT OF MAGI” AND “THE FURNISHED ROOM” 3.1 Love is more important than anything O' Henry's stories (written in the late 19th and early 20th century he died before World War I) are not exactly moral tales, but his stories conveys a simple idea: love conquers all, and love is more important than material goods In "The Gift of the Magi," the two main characters possess a love for each other that is so strong that they are willing to sacrifice their greatest treasures for each other, with no regrets Also, they not obsess over superficial things like appearances In the story “The Last Leaf”, a picture about the poor American artist’s life was shown However, the profound meaning of the story, as the main sound of the song, is the deep-felt love between poor artists That love is more valuable than art It makes art become alive Or in the story “The Furnished Room”, for love, the young man spent a lot of time and money to enter to New York to find his lover 3.2 Sacrifice and selflessness A sacrifice is the act of giving up something, or not having something or doing something yourself, to help somebody else In “The Gift of the Magi”, the young couple sacrificed their prized possessions to buy a gift for each other It is also a timeless story of selflessness They both gave their most valuable possessions to insure the happiness of their spouse In “The Last Leaf”, we saw how Mr Behrman gave up his life to help Johnsy The last leaf is Behrman’s masterpiece It takes Johnsy back to her life in which she can carries out her dream And also, the painting reminds readers of the great sacrifice of honest artist We make small sacrifices almost every day 14 3.3 Never give up or lose hope Hope is important factor in life which helps everyone overcome difficulties and achieve success In his stories, besides describing about the life of poor people, O Henry also build and create his characters hope in life This is expressed clearly through many his short stories As in the story “The Last Leaf”, the last leaf on the wall is hope and life of Johnsy Johnsy towards the last leaf, she does not toward death but towards longer life Evidence shows that when the last leaf refused to leave the life, Johnsy was cured The leaf symbolizes for Johnsy If the leaf brave battling the rain to survive, Johnsy also brave fight disease to live This aura sense: people need to have faith life In “The Gift of the Magi”, when Della sold her hair to get money to buy a Christmas gift for her husband, she still believed that her hair would grow up quickly Soon, she will have a hair as she ever had Or in the story “The Furnished Room”, although the young man does not exactly know his lover whether go to New York or not and he had found for a long time, he still find her However, he still believe that his lover enter there and she still alive 3.4 Social critique of America at that time O Henry is one of the writers of critical realism in late 19th - early 20th century The whole reality of American at the time was put into his works honestly and lively As in the story “The Gift of the Magi”, O Henry has given a picture about the poor living of a young couple Besides, he also presented the reality about the working condition which was expressed through Jim Jim is one of the representatives of employee at that time with low pay and has to work in a poor working condition In other stories “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room”, the wave of immigrants in America was shown clearly Most of them were poor artists living in shabby tenements Their destiny seemed to be unstable 15 In addition, O Henry also criticized the cold, emotionless attitude of bourgeoisie They not have love to each other Only making profit, they missed moral values They are Madame Softronie in “The Gift of the Magi” or Mrs Mc Cool and Mrs Purdy in “The Furnished Room” They are the representative of the materialistic world and primary odd to the emotional world of the story 16 PART C CONCLUSION Major findings Throughout what the researchers have done above, the knowledge of the O Henry’s life, career and features of writing style, the introduction of some selected O Henry’s short stories were showed In addition, readers can see that the social reality is reflected through three famous short stories of O Henry “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room” Some characteristic of American society at the end of nineteenth century – early twentieth century are expressed through the life as well as the destiny of a segments of the population, mainly immigrants in New York City In addition, there are some meaningful messages which O Henry wants to send to readers with hope of improving their thoughts about love and life The first is the reflection of social reality in some selected O Henry’s short stories “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room” First of all, a picture about the reality in American society is expressed The wave of immigrants has changed most of the appearance of cities, especially New York City There was too much immigrants to enter to New York The system of street and building were rebuilt There was many new street, new flat, new public building and so on However, behind the gaudy and twinkle of these building, there was not little the tenement and shappy flat where the poor immigrants lived Second of all, the fate and destiny of these immigrants is also shown clearly in three stories O Henry has brought his experience and fine observation into his stories The life of his characters was presented truthfully They are most of poor artists coming from different regions They are immigrants, so they rented the house and flat with low rent Their life is not stable Finally, this is the sympathy and love between man and man They can sacrifice their own self for the person whom they love Last but not least, O Henry sends his messages through the stories “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room” is about love, sacrifice, selflessness and hope Besides, the author also gives social critique of 17 America The first is about love Love is more important than anything For love, they can give up the most precious things, even the life Besides, believe and hope is also always presented in each characters This helps us overcome all difficulties In addition, the author also expose the real appearance of America society and criticize the cold, uncaring world in America at that time Implications This section provides some implications for teaching and learning literature Through literature, the readers can explore about history and culture Especially, the study also provides readers the knowledge of literature and American life through three selected short stories on the major findings described in the previous section The main findings of the study show that O Henry’s outlook on life, which he expresses through his works, is affected mainly by social background in his time Thus to know about O Henry’s plots of works students should learn about the historical context in late 19th century– early 20th century This is the time occurred many historical events in O Henry’s time In addition, the researcher suggests that students should watch documentary films and other types of films related to American in late 19th century – early 20th century In addition, the study is very helpful because it helps learners have more understanding about literature, the country and people of the language we are studying It also means for readers approach to American history Due to American life is one of the elements that express in many aspects of American such as politic, economy, education and literature is no exception In addition, from the major findings, O Henry can introduce the messages to the readers to apply in the real life The readers know the significance of true love Love can make anything Love is more important than anything These messages will become the good advices for university students who are standing on the threshold of life because in real life they will get into more new relationship firstly is love then marriage One more message that the author wants to send to the readers is about selflessness and sacrifice Everyone has a 18 heart However, the heart is good or bad depending on each one In addition, the last but not least message is about hope Never give up your hope in any circumstance If you have hope, you can overcome anything to have a happy life The author has also given a full view about the America’s society Through this reality, we have a look comprehensively about America at that time Thus, the messages withdrawn from these stories are good at educating the personality for the learners So they should be paid attention to and properly applied in the real life Thanks to this finding, it suggests the learners who want to research on every aspects related to literary works that every literary works carry the hope and wish of the authors with the aim to improve the society or develop people’s personality Therefore, after analyzing a novel or a story, you should try to find out the message authors aims to convey Finally, the universities should allocate more time for teaching and learning literature Besides, they should invest more facilities and equipment for teaching and learning foreign language such as reference books and visual aids to help students learn literature well Limitations of the study and suggestions In spite of all the efforts the researcher has made and the advices and assistance she has received, her study cannot avoid some shortcomings Firstly, because of the limitation of time and the lack of books for references, the analysis on the reflection of social reality in some selected O Henry short stories may not be as deeply as expected Secondly, the study has analyzed some aspects of American’s society expressed in three short stories about the life in urban and the destiny of immigrants; it cannot cover all aspects Thus, the researcher herself hopes that other aspects which have not been mentioned here will be completed fully in further studies Moreover, this research is the opinion of the researcher, so it is encouraged for the further studies to find more creative ways to analyze a literary works 19 Conclusion In conclusion, after an introduction about O Henry and his career, writing style and her works, after an analysis on the reflection of American social reality through three stories “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Furnished Room”, the study finally withdraws his messages to readers The researcher hopes that all of you have the overall look on the reality of American society as well as the life of a class in American at the end of 19 th century – early 20th century Readers should have time to feel and understand about the life and people Each person is an example of life and fate The researcher highly appreciates all the comments and remarks from lecturers as well as students about the limitations of the study so that it can be improved 20 ... 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 an analysis the social reflection. .. 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,... 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,