O· Henry is a master of short story at the twentieth century in America. He is commonly regarded as one of the founders of modern short story. A common feature of his short stories is no doubt his description of the beauty of human nature. Skimming through O·Henry’s literary creations， we can conclude them in one expression—the strong pursuit of the healthy human nature.

1.True Love

Love is the eternal theme of human beings. Some rich men express their love for girls by flowers， chocolates， and may be some luxurious things. However， money is not the symbol of true love.

Let’s take The Gift of the Magi as an example. From that short story the love-sacrificial theme is shown. It is about a young couple who are short of money but desperately wants to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unknown to Jim， Della sells her most valuable possession， her beautiful hair， in order to buy platinum as the chain for Jim’s watch; unknown to Della， Jim sells his most valuable possession， his watch， to buy jeweled combs for Della’s hair. What a pity when Jim reveals that he has sold his watch to buy Della’s present！ However， the poor couple’s true love is shown. O· Henry ends the story so artfully that he arouses the readers’ admiration for the young couple rather than sympathy for their lack of money and material possessions. True love is lofty and worthy.

2.Sincere Friendship

As an old saying goes， a friend in need is a friend indeed. It is absolutely true. In one of Henry’s short stories， After 20 years， a true friend is the one who won’t let you commit crime anymore.

20years ago， two young good friends sign an engagement. If only they still alive after 20 years， they would reunion at the breaking-up place. 20 years passes in a sudden， one of them is listed as a wanted criminal， and the other becomes a police. The evening that finally arrives to meet， the two old friends reach the arranged place on time. Suddenly， the criminal is arrested by a plain clothes man. The plain clothes gives the criminal a memo from his police friend before arresting him.

Bob：

I was here at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar， I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn’t do it myself， so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job.

JIMMY

This is true friendship. Even Bob is a criminal， he carries out their appointment. Jimmy treasures friendship but can’t shield criminal. So true friends maybe those who tell you not to do something. Henry’s descriptions of sincere friendship among the common people are amazing and great.

Sacrifice and Unselfishness

The Last Leaf is a story about two young women artists， Suc and Johnsy， and an old painter， Mr. Behrman， living in Greenwich Village. The two girls share a studio apartment with a vinous old man. Johnsy， nearing death from pneumonia， lies in bed waiting for the last leaf of an ivy vine on the brick wall to fall. She associates the falling of the leaf to the passing away of her own life. While the last leaf lie on the tree against cold wind indomitably，which give Johnsy the courage of struggling to live. It turns out that it is Mr. Behrman who paints his masterpiece at the cost of his life.

In the story， personification， metaphor， surprise ending are applied in order to explore the theme of sacrifice and unselfishness. It is selfless that an accomplish-nothing old painter sacrifices his own life to save a girl’s life.

References：

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[2]吴伟仁.美国文学史及选读[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社， 1990：20-30.

[3]E. Hudson Long. O· Henry The Man & His Work[C]. New York： Russell & Russell， 1969：10-15.

[4]荣四才. 欧·亨利与欧·亨利奖[J]. 外国文学， 1993（6）：135.

[5]赵书颖.“含泪的笑”与“含笑的泪”浅析欧·亨利的主题[J].黑龙江教育学院学报， 2004（3）.

[6]O· Henry. The Four Million [M]. New York： Doubleday， Doran & Company， 1906：90.

[7]Medrick Fred. An introduction to American literature[M].Henan University Press， 1985：25-35.

[8]欧·亨利. 欧·亨利短篇小说精选[M].北京：人民文学出版社， 2003：79.

[9]Matthews， Franklin. “Introduction” to the Ransom of Red Chief & Other O· Henry Stories[C]. New York： Doubleday， Doran & Company， 1921：106.

[10] O· Henry. Heart of the West [M]. New York： McClure， 1907：45.

【作者简介】李静，承德医学院。