COMPLETE STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE SHORT STORY "A LICKPENNY  LOVER" 

  The extract under consideration comes from a collection of the short stories  "The Voice of the City" written by a prominent American writer O. Henry ( William Sydney Porter). The book was firstly adopted in 1908 and contain many other stories - "A Comedy in Rubber", "One Thousand Dollars", "The Shocks of Doom", "Roses, Ruses and Romance", etc.

  

   All pieces of  literature created by this famous writer reveal his extraordinary style of writing. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm caracterization and clever twist endings. In his day he was called the American answer to Guy de Maupassant. Both authors wrote plot unexpectable endings, but stories by O.Henry were much more playful. Besides, his stories are also known for witty narration.

  This prominent writer wrote  primarily about his own time - the early 20th century. Most stories were set in New York and the characters were ordinary people. His brilliant writing style and his optimistic and often playful tone make O Henry's stories a delight to read.

   From the point of view of presentation the story I have chosen is an extraordinary mixture of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narration:

"That is the shopgirl smile, and I enjoin you to shun it unless you are well fortified with callosityof the heart, caramels and a congeniality for the capers of Cupid."

"She stood behind her counter in the Biggest Store; and as you closed your band over the tape - line for your glove measure you thought of Hebe; and as you looked again you wondered how she had come by Minerva's eyes"

"His words penetrated the heart whose very lightness was its armour. She looked up at him with eyes that saw. And a warm glow visited her cool cheeks..."

   It is not clearly known who is the narrator of the story, but seems like it is the author by himself. As an observer of the events, O. Henry gives a detailed description of the main characters, their feelings and actions both directly and indirectly:

   "There were 3.000 girls in the Biggest Store. Masie was one of them. She was eighteen and a selleslady in the gent's gloves."

   "Will you please pardon me", he says, "if I seem too bold, but I earnestly hope you will allow me the pleasure of seeing you again."

   "As Carter glided away from the Biggest Store with his mother in his electric runabout, he bit his lip with a dull pain at his heart. He knew that love come to him for the first time in all the 29 years of his life."

    The basic theme of the story is the connection between being wealthy and being  in love. An authoritative respectable 29 year - old man named Irving Carter by chance happens to drop into the Biggest Store and from the first sight falls in love in a beautiful young selleslady Masie, who is only 18. They seem to be people of quite different circles of society, with different ideas, interests and plans for the future. Still, the author represens a detailed description of both main characters and emphasizes on some features of their personalities with the help of a great number of stylistic devices.

  Thus, O.Henry compares Masie to Maltese cat and Psyche, to mythological goddesses Hebe and Minerva  describing her good - looking appearence with the help of simile and antonomasia:

    "She had listened to the promulgated wisdom of the 2.999 other girls and had stored it in a brain that was  as secretive and wary as that of a Maltese cat"

   "Masie confronted him behind her counter with a questioning look in eyes as coldly, beautifully, warmly blue as the glint of summer sunshine on an iceberg in Southern seas"

   "She curved an arm, showing like Psyche's through her shirt - waist sleeve..."

  With the help of irony and repetition the author shows that even this female character is young, unexperienced and naive, she knows the way of behaving with men and that you dont have to believe them, but be exacting and harsh:

   "If I could meet a man that got stuck on me the third time he' d seen me I think I'd get   mashed on him."

   "But I've got to be back home by eleven. Ma never lets me stay out after eleven."

   "Masie knew men, especially men who buy gloves"

   Afterwards, when feelings between Masie and Irving becomes mutual, the autor describes an emotional state of the young girl using exclamations and rhetorical questions:

   "The gentleman asked permission to call!" answered Masie with the grand air , as she slipped Carter's card into the bosom of her waist.

   "Gee!", sighed Masie thankfully. Why didn't you ever think ot that before?"

  "Oh, aint you a kidder!" smiled Masie. "How many other girls did you ever tell that?" 
   As well with the help of exclamation and enumeration we get to know that Masie is a poor girl who is a little bit ashamed of the conditions in which she lives, maybe that is why the  girl has to work being so young:
   "Oh, gee, no!", she said emphatically. "If you could see our flat once!"

  "The street - corner is her parlor, the park is her drawing - room, the avenue is her garden walk..." 

   At the end of the story when both Masie and Carter are sure that they are a perfect couple, the young girl is shown from a bit different side. She criticizes her man for being naive and greedy when discussing Carter with her friend Lulu in a store. The point is that Irving has an intention to marry her and take abroad, but Masie seems to understand him in a wrong way and believes that he is a poor liar:

   "Oh, him?" said Masie, patting her side curls. "He ain't in it any more. Say, Lu, what do you think that fellow wanted me to do?"

   "Go on the stage?" guessed Lulu, breathlessly."

   "Nit; he is too cheap a guy for that. He wanted me to marry him and go down to Coney Island for a wedding tour!"

   As far as we can assume, Masie is a two - faced person. Firstly she believes that her feelings with Carter are real ( as she knows that he is a millionaire). On the other hand, Speaking when Masie realizes that he is just one of those talkative "cheap" guys who can promise much but do nothing, she breaks the relations with him.

   Speaking about the other main character, Irving Carter, the first impression of him the author presents with the help of enumeration  and  irony:

   "One day Irving Carter, painter. millionaire, traveller, poet, automobilist happened to enter the Biggest Store."

   "Fillial duty took him by the collar and dragged him inside, while his mother philandered among the bronze and terra - cotta statuetts"

   Using antonomasia and epithets O. Henry tries to depict Carter's  feelings end state of mind when he suddenly notices Masie at the counter. It is clearly that he falls in love with her:

   "As he neared the vicinity of his fate be hesitated, suddenly conscious of this unknown phrase of Cupid's less worthy profession."

   "And then Irving Carter, painter, millionaire, etc., felt a warm flush rise to his aristocratically pale face. But not from difference. The blush was intellectual in origin."

    Within the setting of the events in the story Carter changes completely from a self - assured wealthy man to a shy half - hearted fellow. This is how O. Henry portray him with the help of antithesis and metonymy:

   "Carter had never before encountered a situation of which he had not been perfect master. But now he stood far more awkward than Bill or Jack or Mickey."

   "His mind struggled to recall the nature and habits of shopgirls as he had read or heard of them."

  His manner of behaving and intensions to be acquainted with Masie the author underlines using aposiopesis and anaphora:

  " If you would allow me to call at your home, I - ... "

   "He didnt know the shopgirl. He didnt know that her home is often either scarsely habitable tiny room or a domicile filled to overflowing with kith and kin."

   Further development of the events shows that Carter desperately belives in his and Masie's future. The man asks her to marry him and in order to express his feelings O.Henry uses repetition and polysyndeton:

  "I can furnish you all the proofs you want", said Curter, gently. "And I want you, Masie. I loved you the first day I saw you."

  "After the European cities we will visit India and the ancient cities there, and ride on elephants, and see the wonderful temples of the Hindoos, and Brahmins, and the Japanese gardens..."

     At the end of the story its getting clear that Carter is a man who is in love but at the same time who nas no chance to be with the subject of his passion. As for Masie, she helps to understand how petty - minded and double - faced women can be. Fitslty her feelings towards Irving seem to be mutual, but when it turns out that he is "a cheap guy", all the feelings have gone.

     Drowing a conclusion I would like to mension that Im greatly impressed by the story " A Lickpenny Lover". The speech of the author, profound American short-story writer O. Henry is really bright and fertile. Using of various enmphatic consrtuctions, complex sentence srtuctures and numerous stylistic devices makes the tone of this piece of literature humorous, ironical, passionate and intriguing.

   As you see, O Henry's manner of writing is realy unique. Of course, sometimes it is not so easy to understand the content and hidden hints within the setting of the events in the story. With the help of using various stylistic devices the author's short story becomes emotional, intriguing, cheerful and passionate. 
   Detailed way of portraying the main characters and their feelings or actions reveals either positive or negative attitude of the author. For sure, O. Henry tries to stir the imagination of the readers and stimulates them to make their own judgements. That is why he tends to use a great number of stylistic devices in order to:

• show how good - looking, industrious kind - hearted the main heroine Masie is; ("For Masie was beautiful. She was a deep - tinted blonde, with the calm poise of a lady who cooks butter cakes in a window. She stood behind her counter in the Biggest store; and as you closed your band over the tape - line for your glove measure you thought of Hebe*; and as you looked again you wondered how she had come by Minerva's*  eyes.")

*Hebe is the goddess of youth in the Greek mythology

*Minerva is the goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade and defence in Rome

      ("That is the shopgirl smile and I enjoin you to shun it unless you are well fortified with calosity of the heart, caramels and a congeniality for the capers of Cupid. This smile belonged to Masie's recreacion hours and not to the store...)

 For describing this character O. Henry uses a great number of repetition, enumeration, epithets, similies, exclamations and antonomasia. So there is no wonder that the author expresses great delight towards Masie and put emphasis exclusively on her positive features of character.

  However, at the end of the story we see this girl as an experienced one who really knows how to behave with men and that they are not creatures she can rely on. Masie assures her friend Lulu that they are all the same, and Mr. Carter is not an exception. When Masie ia asked by Irving to marry him, she does not take it seriously; the girl believes that his promises to take her to far - away countries only mean that everything he wants is to get married 

( he is already 29) and go down to Coney island for a wedding tour. So we can make a conclusion that closer to the end of the story Masie exposes a little bit different side of her perconality, that is сapricious and even childish.

• reveal the character of Irving Carter; ( "One day Irving Carter, painter, millionaire, traveller, poet, automobilist, happened to enter the Biggest Store. Filial duty took him by the collar and dragged him inside...")

  Describing this male character the author uses epithets, enumeration, anaphora, polysyndeton and periphrases. 

("And then Irving Carter, painter, millionaire, etc., felt a warm flush rise to his aristocratically pale face. But not from difference. The blush was intellectual in origin.")

( " He didn't know the shopgirl. He didn't know that her home is often either a scarcely habitable tiny room or a domicile filled to overflowing with kith and kin.")

   For the first time the author represents Carter as a welthy honorable man. On the one hand, it is clearly that he has a wide rаnge of interests - poetry, travelling, art and cars, though we have no idea about the way he gets his money. But still he is used to spend them however he wants. 

   On the other hand, emotional state of this character changes greatly when he notices at Masie for the first time. Their eyes met in the Biggest store, and from that first sight he fall in love with Masie. Self - assured and respectable 29 year-old man at ones turnes into shy and decent teenager. He is afraid and uncertain to say a single word to the subject of his admiration. But still when the young girl agrees to have a date with him, Carter's сonfidence comes back and he even expects to сonquer Masie's heart with the help of his money. The man gives promises to visit abroad places and spend great time together. His feelings and intentions towards a young lady seem to be sincere, however she does not believe him and refuses his proposal as for the marridge.

   Making a conclusion I would like to mention that both Masie and Irving  have positive and negative traits of character. Still, the author described them in such a way that we can either condemn or support them. Wide usage of different stylistic devices helps us to understand and empathize the main characters of the story. 

  The extract which is devoted to the connection between love and money in people's relations is very instructive and thought - provoking. The tone of this piece of  literature is agitated and ironical. O Henry's individual style of writing and rich language becomes obvious due to using of the following stylictic phenomena:

- simile;
  "She had listened to the promulgated wisdom of the 2.999 other girls and had stored it in a brain that was  as secretive and wary as that of a Maltese cat"
   "Masie confronted him behind her counter with a questioning look in eyes as coldly, beautifully, warmly blue as the glint of summer sunshine on an iceberg in Southern seas"
   "She curved an arm, showing like Psyche's through her shirt - waist sleeve..."

- antithesis;

   " Perhaps nature, foreseeing that she would lack wise counsellors, had mingled the saving ingredient of shrewdness along with her beauty..."
   "And a warm glow visited her cool cheeks."
   "... and we will go away from this ugly city to beautiful ones."

- antonomasia;

   "... and as you closed your band over the tape - line for your glovemeasure you thought of Hebe; and as you looked again you wondered she had come by Minerva's  eyes."

   "That is the shopgirl smile, and I enjoin you to shut it unless you are well fortified with callosity of the heart, caramels and a congeniality for the capers of Cupid" 

   "He is the Shylock of the stores"

- periphrasis;

"a floorwalker" - an owner of the store 

"electric runabout" - a car

- repetition;
   "When he comes nosing around, the bridge of his nose is a toll - bridge.", "I want you and I must have you."

   "Masie knew men, especially men who buy gloves"

  "But I've got to be back home by eleven. Ma never lets me stay out after eleven."

- irony;

  "Of course not all floorwalkers are thus. Only a few days ago the papers printed news of one over eighty years of age"

  "Fillial duty took him by the collar and dragged him inside..."

  "I ain't as green as I look"
 "If I could meet a man that got stuck on me the third time he' d seen me I think I'd get   mashed on him."

- epithets;

"glove - counter flirtations", "cheap fellows", "vivacious seconds", "strident string of coquetry", "questioning look", warmly blue eyes", "aristocratically pale face", "intellectual blush", "virginal being", "bright - idea look", "friendly leer", "swell things", "tree-shadowed bench", "golden - bronze head", "amused laugh", "lovely bosom", "eternal summer", etc.

- aposiopesis;
  " If you would allow me to call at your home, I - ... "

  "The streets of the city are water, and one travels about in ..."

- exclamations;
"Oh, gee, no! If you could see our flat once!"
"Permission to call!" 
"Oh, cheese it!"

"Oh, ain't you a kidder!"

- colloquial coinages;
"ma" - mother, "gee" - God, "gent" - gentleman, "kidder" - liar

- rhetorical questions;

"Did you make a hit with his nobs, Masie?", 

"Why did not you ever think of that before?"

"How many other girls did you ever tell that?"

- enumeration;
"The street - corner is her parlor, the park is her drawing - room, the avenue is her garden walk..."

"One day Irving Carter, painter. millionaire, traveller, poet, automobilist happened to enter the Biggest Store."

- metonymy;
  "Tremblingly, awfully her moth wings closed and she seemed about to settle upon the flower of love."
 " Perhaps nature, foreseeing that she would lack wise counsellors, had mingled the saving ingredient of shrewdness along with her beauty, as she has endowed the silver fox of the priceless fur above the other animals with cunning"
 "His mind struggled to recall the nature and habits of shopgirls as he had read or heard of them."

- polysyndeton;
"After the European cities we will visit India and the ancient cities there, and ride on elephants, and see the wonderful temples of the Hindoos and Brahmins..."

- anaphora;

"He didnt know the shopgirl. He didnt know that her home is often either scarsely habitable tiny room or a domicile filled to overflowing with kith and kin."

          Main Characters in "A Lickpenny Lover"

   In the following story there are only two main characters as in was mentioned previously - a young shopgirl Masie and a rich fellow Irving Carter. Among the minor characters of the story we see other shopgirls and consumers of the Big Store. 

  All the characters are described both directly and indirecty through their own speech and actions, and the speech of other people or narrator express his attitude by himself. 

   Speaking about Masie, the story opens with the description of  her working  place and then the author pays our attention on her character and appearence. Owning to copmosite sentence structures, usage of enumeration, comparison and epithets O. Henry tries to express his positive and even affectionate attitude towards this nice girl. At the same time, he wants to arose feeling of admiration in the readers of the story:

  " For Masie was beautiful. She was a deep-tinted blonde, with the calm poise of a lady who cooks butter cakes in a window. She stood behind her counter in the Biggest Store; and as you closed your band over the tape - line for your glove measure you thought of Hebe; and as you looked again you wondered how she had come by Minervas eyes"

  As for the male character of the story, Mr. Carter, he appears in the shop by chance looking for his mother. It is said in the text that Irving is a painter, traveller, poet and automobilist, so it seems like he does not have a particular job but only spends his ( or maybe not his) money however he likes. Firstly the narrator introduces him as an authoritative self - asuured person, but something changes when he notices Masie in the shop among the other saleswomen:

 "And then Irving Carter, painter, millionaire, etc., felt a warm flush rise to his aristocratically pale face. But not from diffidence. The blush was intellectual in origin. He knew in a moment that he stood in the ranks of the ready-made youths who wooed the giggling girls at other counters. Himself leaned against the oaken trysting place of a cockney Cupid with a desire in his heart for the favor of a glove salesgirl.”

 O. Henry is best noted for his wit, characterization and twist endings. This prominent writer wrote primarily about his own time the early 20th century. Most stories were set in New York and the characters were ordinary people. His brilliant writing style and his optimistic and often playful tone make O Henry's stories a delight to read. 

   When reading the story for the second time it's quite noticable that the author uses irony and detailed description of the main characters and their actions in order to make the plot of the story intricate but emotional and humorous.

  From the point of view of presentation the text is the mixture of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narrative with some insertions of direct speech. It is obvious that the narrator is merely an unspecified entity or uninvolved person that conveys the story and is not a character of any kind within the story being told.  As a sipmle observer of everything what goes on within the story the  narrator describes its main characters and the setting of the events. 

  At the very beginninf of the text the reader gets to know about 18-year old girl Masie and her occupation.   The plot centres around Masie's place of work - a Big Store where she sells gent's gloves.  The narrative flow is straight; the climax of the plot  development is presented  when the young girl gets aquainted with a millionaire named Irving Carter who is willing to ask Masie for a date. The point is that he tried to impress attractive, but at the same time hardworking girl with his money. 

  The anticlimax  is shown in Masie's attitute towards this man. Despite his wealth and belonging to "upper society" a young girl does not think of  Cartet as a different person. She still believes him to be a regular man, one of a thousand. 

   It it known that O. Henry's language is very rich and full of great quotations. For reading and analyzing I've chosen one of his great short stories called "A Lickpenny Lover". As far as I know, this story is included in the author's collection of short stories "The Voice of the City" (1908).

   Judging by the title I considered it to be for sure connected with some love affair and money. So, when I read this text for the first time, it came up to my expectations. Besides, as it is preferable for all O. Henry's writings this story has intricate plot and funny unexpectable ending.

   

            Here are some web - sites where one can read  facts of biography and literary works by this outstanding   American writer!

• http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/
• http://www.literaturecollection.com/a/o_henry/
• http://www.readbookonline.net/stories/Henry/108/

   William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer. O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.
   In his day, he was called the American answer to Guy de Maupassant. Both authors wrote plot twist endings, but O. Henry stories were much more playful. His stories are also known for witty narration.
Most of O. Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early 20th century. Many take place in New York City and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen, waitresses, etc.
    O. Henry's work is wide-ranging, and his characters can be found roaming the cattle-lands of Texas, exploring the art of the con-man, or investigating the tensions of class and wealth in turn-of-the-century New York. O. Henry had an inimitable hand for isolating some element of society and describing it with an incredible economy and grace of language. Some of his best and least-known work is contained in Cabbages and Kings, a series of stories each of which explores some individual aspect of life in a paralytically sleepy Central American town, while advancing some aspect of the larger plot and relating back one to another.
 

Write what you like. There is no other rule. (O. Henry)

Finally I'm here...)) It was a little bit puzzling to get on this site, but I succeeded to do that. Stylistics is actually one of the first disciplines which are going to be checked on-line. I hope that it will be interesting and not quite complicated to read the suggested literature...and analyze it )