Analysis of Social Criticism in O. Henry's Short Stories

摘要

O. Henry is universally acknowledged as a modern American master of short story. In most of his short stories, he succeeds in presenting the social reality of America in the early twentieth century. Through the truthful description of the society of his time, he strongly conveys sharp criticism and satire towards the government, the American state apparatus, the economic and social system in that society. The Cop and the Anthem and The Gift of the Magi, belonging to the same category with the description of the same kind of people from the low social and economic class, can serve as a mirror of the social reality of that time. This essay attempts to expose the social criticism in the two stories by analyzing the plots and the characters. It aims to disclose the corruption of the state apparatus and the miserable life of the low class, so that it can help readers to acquire better knowledge of that society in America and the failures and unfairness in the development of capitalism, as well as the miserable living conditions of the poor people caused by the failures and the unfairness.