“the Cactus” Stylistic Analysis

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“The Cactus” Stylistic analysis The story under analysis “The Cactus” is written by well-known American writer O. Henry. William Sydney Porter (O. Henry is his pen-name) is considered to be popular and outstanding author. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings. His works are very important in all times, topics which arose in them are still vital and often discussed. Among his famous works are: “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf”, “The Futnished Room”. When people try to describe O. Henry’s writing style, they always use the term “smile with tears,” which implies his twisted way of thoughts and endings about every story. These stories usually end in a humorous but also cruel kind of way. It’s absolutely useful to elevate the artistic thought in writing a thoughtful story. “The Cactus” belongs to one of the major works of the great writer. The analyzed short story was written in 1882. For O. Henry, the short story was not just a literary act of communicating his artistic imagination, but also a vehicle to explore the extreme possibilities of such an endeavor. His stories are characterized by extreme unpredictability, transforming the genre into an active, pulsating living presence. ”The Cactus” is no exception. The readers are , for the principal part of the story, invited into an assurance of predictable dullness when suddenly their trance is broken and they are awakened to a revelation. The title of the story is rather intriguing. We can only guess what the story is about and what can happen next. From the very beginning we can not say that the title of the story correlate with its plot. The most potent device that O.Henry uses to ensure that the readers go through such a climactic experience is the deft use of the narrative mode. From the viewpoint of presentation the story is the 3rd

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