The Cactus by O. Henry
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. But there are many other things to know about his
works. His stories are also known for witty narration. 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. From
December 1903 to January 1906 O. Henry wrote a story a week for the New York
World magazine, and published several short stories in other magazines. There
are some of his famous works – “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Ransom of Red
Chief”, “The Cop and the Anthem”, “A Retrieved Reformation”, “The Duplicity of
Hargraves’. The last collection of short
stories was “Waifs and Strays”
published in 1917. “The Cactus” belongs to this book and is one of the best
stories among other. This story was written earlier and the exact time is
unknown. But the fact is that the last collection consists of stories,
including “The Cactus” that were written earlier but were not published. Also
I’d like to add that the last O’Henry’s years were not so successful. He
suffered from diabetes and cirrhosis, abused alcohol; he had not any money and
finished his life being ill and forgotten. The last book was published after
his death, and I wonder why he did not manage to do it earlier. May be that was
a clue to his triumphal ending. Still, he is a short story genius for many
readers including me and my family.
Going
further it is time to analyze the setting of the story. Undoubtedly it is a
narration. The story begins from the episode where we meet the main character –
Trysdale. The action appears
in the real present time. From the first phrase we can easily imagine the
situation and the atmosphere around him. The author gives the direct
description and many prompts to help us to deepen in the story. Firstly, we can
see the place and the occasion of the action occurred: “…Trysdale
standing by a table in his bachelor apartments…” it is a
clear hint that the main character is single and lives alone. “Trysdale's friend, the brother of the
bride, stood at a sideboard complaining at being allowed to drink alone. Both
men were in evening dress.” Here I guess becomes obvious that they are
joining some wedding, but both stand aloof. They are both in a downcast, each
has his own reason. The author describes the atmosphere in the room as a dark
and negative, for example: “gloom of the
apartment”. Also we get acquainted with one more “character” – the cactus.
Actually this particular plant is very important as far as we can find more
details about it than about Trysdale: “On the table stood a
singular-looking green plant in a red earthen jar. The plant was one of the
species of cacti, and was provided with long, testicular leaves that
perpetually swayed with the slightest breeze with a peculiar beckoning motion.” This
description takes place after the main character’s and it can make me think
that the clue is in this very plant. Except present time, the author used such techniques
as flashback and foreshadowing. After
presenting the main character and the place the story takes place we turn back
to the events that happened before. Also I can easily judge what was the end of
that story, because the young man is sad and unhappy in present. I think the setting of the story is very
realistic; the place – Trysdale’s apartments, it suits his mood. The room is as
dark and gloomy as main man’s thoughts. The atmosphere has such colors that
everyone deepens in the story and feels the temper of it. O. Henry supports the
mood of the story from the very beginning saying that the time is purely
relative.
There are many massages
in the story. I thought about the main one. But it seems that it is like a chain.
There was a little bit of lie and a little bit of ignorance. But I think that
the main point is that we always should pay attention to the details. The girl
misunderstood that Trysdale knows Spanish. And the young man did not disprove that
fallacy. It was a fatal mistake because it led to the final mistake. The man
asked her to marry him and the girl answered in an unusual way. She sent him a
cactus with Spanish name, which was meant to be her agreement. But the young
man did not guess it. So, the reason is that one lie led to other mistakes. He
did not pay enough attention to the details and it caused him love.
Talking about the plot of the story
I’d like to say that it is quite specific, because the author used such
technique as a flashback. But the rest is clear for me. So, I think that in
this story we have external conflict. Firstly, it is a conflict between Trysdale
and his girl. The reason is that the girl married another man. Trysdale’s heart
is broken. Secondly, it is a conflict between Trysdale and his fate. He missed
his chance to become happy with his beloved because he lied to her and did not
react properly. He had to pay more attention to the details and to make right
decision.
The
text begins with the exposition. The author tells us about the place, time and
the situation where the events take place. Also we get acquainted with main
character. We get to know that the main character stands in a gloomy room. He
is a guest at the wedding and he is thinking about his life:”That is what
Trysdale was doing, standing by a table in his bachelor apartments. Trysdale's
friend, the brother of the bride, stood at a sideboard complaining at being
allowed to drink alone. Both men were in evening dress. White favors like stars
upon their coats shone through the gloom of the apartment.” What is
more, we can see the important detail – the cactus. This detail adds more intrigue
to the plot: “On
the table stood a singular-looking green plant in a red earthen jar. The plant
was one of the species of cacti, and was provided with long, testicular leaves
that perpetually swayed with the slightest breeze with a peculiar beckoning
motion”. Then we observe the previous
events. The author tells us the story from the very beginning. The relations
between the man and a girl can be counted as the rising action. Their relations were nice and romantic. She
respected and adored him. But gradually the author opens the reality for his
readers. Trysdale did
not pay any attention that the girl’s love is almost blind. He did not think
about the disappointment she would feel. There were many things he had to refute,
but he liked the place of the king in her life: “She had always insisted upon placing him
upon a pedestal, and he had accepted her homage with royal grandeur”. We see that there
is some lack in these relations. Though, Trysdale made a proposal. And
the moment when the man asks the lady to marry him plays the role of the
climax. And in spite the fact that the young man was completely sure that she
would agree (“…he
could swear now, that unmistakable consent was in her eyes”) –
something went wrong. The character’s expectations were running out. This time
and their next meeting are falling actions in the story. The pressure decreased.
Then the resolution comes. The author brings us back to the real time. The
voice of Trysdale’s friend interrupted his thoughts. The final question will
open the truth to us: “Hallo! Here’s
an old acquaintance. Wherever did you rake up this cactus, Trysdale? … - Know
any Spanish, Trysdale?.. - Yes. The natives imagine the leaves are reaching out
and beckoning to you. They call it by this name--Ventomarme. Name means in
English, 'Come and take me.'" So,
that is the resolution. There is a closed ending in the story. It is very clear and easy, told in a few
sentences, much unexpected and twist ending.
There are three participants in the
story: Trysdale, his girlfriend and his friend. We meet the main character at
the beginning of the story. He seems to be very decorous, thoughtful, serious
and calm person. I can say something about his appearance but somehow I am sure
that he is handsome. There is no direct description of his temper. O. Henry
tells nothing about his attitude towards him directly too. It is possible to
guess everything from Trysdale’s speech and behavior. So there is first hint
about Trysdale: “That is what Trysdale
was doing, standing by a table in his bachelor apartments.” We see Trysdale
thinking about time. He is single, not married. “As he slowly unbuttoned his gloves, there passed through Trysdale's
mind a swift, scarifying retrospect of the last few hours.” – he does
everything measuredly and confidently. That is why I say that he is
calm and thoughtful. I can say that he has a calm and sedate temper. “From this last
hopeless point of view he still strove, as if it had become a habit of his
mind, to reach some conjecture as to why and how he had lost her. Shaken rudely
by the uncompromising fact, he had suddenly found himself confronted by a thing
he had never before faced — his own innermost, unmitigated, arid unbedecked
self. He saw all the garbs of pretence and egoism that he had worn now turn to
rags of folly.” – it tells us that responsible and conscious man and
he does not afraid to make self-analysis. “He shuddered at
the thought that to others, before now, the garments of his soul must have
appeared sorry and threadbare. Vanity and conceit? These were the joints in his
armor.” Here we see the man who changed himself, he feels
broken. I can definitely say that he is honest with himself; he repents and
bares his soul in his mind. I was deeply impressed – it is a thing that hardly
happens nowadays.
“For the
thousandth time he remarshalled in his mind the events of those last few days
before the tide had so suddenly turned.” He tends to analyze and criticize. He value himself, value his love. He
value the time he spent with her girlfriend. But the author shows us another,
previous Trysdale: “…he had absorbed the
oblation as a desert drinks the rain that can coax from it no promise of
blossom or fruit.” Her girlfriend
loved him very much. But this love was a bit fanatic. It was his duty to
balance it in order not to hurt that girl. He was too passionate about her praises.
He behaved like an egotist focused only on himself: “He allowed the imputation to pass without denial. Without protest, he
allowed her to twine about his brow this spurious bay of Spanish scholarship.
He let it grace his conquering head, and, among its soft convolutions, he did
not feel the prick of the thorn that was to pierce him later.” He was too
proud and conceited to pay attention to her feelings. “His large pride and hurt vanity kept him from seeking her.” And
this is the way O. Henry introduce the main character. I can judge only from
the character’s speech, actions and behavior.
That is what we have about Trysdale. What can I say about his
girlfriend? We understood that she got married recently. We see her only
through the eyes of Trysdale. And we see her as a loving and adoring him girl thus
mannered and reserved lady: “How glad,
how shy, how tremulous she was! How she fluttered like a snared bird when he
laid his mightiness at her feet! He could have sworn, and he could swear now,
that unmistakable consent was in her eyes, but, coyly, she would give him no
direct answer.” Here we have the
direct description. She is very tender and naïve, open and sincere like a
child: “It had been very sweet incense
that she had burned before him; so modest (he told himself); so childlike and
worshipful, and (he would once have sworn) so sincere. She had invested him
with an almost supernatural number of high attributes and excellencies and
talents…” But still his memories can show us a little bit of her
appearance:“…the careless wave of her
hair, the tenderness and virginal charm of her looks and words.” So, she
was beautiful and well-mannered as well. But what I want to add is that she was
extremely smart and resourceful. She decided not to give him a simple trite
answer, but to make it more special and unusual. She believed her beloved man
is special and bright as well. She thought Trysdale would correspond to this
answer. I wander if she tried to show that she is smart enough, or did she
start to learn Spanish in order not to leave behind? I like her idea, and
Trysdale disappointed me as well as her. Trysdale’s friend played a great role
in the story. He appeared as a flat
character at first, but then he answered all questions Trysdale has asked
himself. Finally, the characters are
quite usual people, and I liked Trysdale as a person who changed his views; and
his beautiful girlfriend who undesignedly taught him a lesson. I liked their bright-colored speech filled
with old, high-flown words of that particular time.
To tell the
story in an attractive and intriguing way O. Henry used special stylistic
devices. There were a great number of them, each has its aim.
Similes: white favors
like stars – the author wanted to contrast the grandeur of clothes and the gloom of
the character’s room;
as a desert drinks the
rain – the
author intensifies the reality of the situation occurred;
fluttered
like a snared bird – to underline the girl’s feelings;
Epithets: well-bred voices; odorous masses;
drawling words; poor consolation; swift,
limpid, upward look; convincing beauty - O. Henry used it to give more details and
give us more images.
Metaphors:
beckoning motion; garbs of pretence and egoism; incense of her admiration;
laid his mightiness; ruins of his self-conceit; turned to snow and ice – here author tried to impress the readers combining
such qualities and created a specific philosophical effect.
Hyperbole: “She had always
insisted upon placing him upon a pedestal…”; “…he had asked her to come up on
his pedestal with him and share his greatness” - the author intensify the reality.
Allegory: “twine about his brow this
spurious bay of Spanish scholarship”, “She had always insisted upon placing him
upon a pedestal”, “desert drinks the rain” – were used to make the reader
crate the images and understand all the seriousness of the situation.
Emphatic constructions: “That is what Trysdale was
doing…”, “Only little sister I had”- to intensify the importance of the given information.
Oxymoron: sullen
exultation – to contrast the feeling.
Irony: “It had
been a very sweet incense that she had burned before him”; “... he had absorbed the oblation as a
desert drinks the rain that can coax from it no promise of blossom or fruit”; “
he allowed her to twine about his brow this spurious bay of Spanish scholarship”;
“He let it grace his conquering head…”,
“… he, the indulgent, confident victor, smilingly granted the delay”; “… he
laid his mightiness at her feet!” – here we see some authors prompts about
his attitude towards this situations;
Zeugma: a
garlicky, cockroachy banana steamer – the creation of humorous effect.
Those were
lexical expressive means. Analyzing
the story we can found syntactic
stylistic devices such as:
Repetition: “So childlike
and so worshipful, and (he would once have
sworn) so sincere”;”How glad, how shy, how tremulous
she was! How she fluttered” – were used to intensify the impressions
received from the situation.
Asyndeton: “Indeed, his
conceit had crumbled; its last prop was gone.”; “As he slowly unbuttoned his
gloves, there passed through Trysdale's mind a swift, scarifying retrospect of
the last few hours” – to make the utterance more rhythmical.
The author
used rhetoric questions in order to underline the
philosophical and thoughtful mood of the character: “Vanity and conceit?”; “But why?”; ”Why had it ended thus?”; Where was his fault? Who had been to blame?”
It is very bright and amazing story and, as
usual, with an unexpected outcome. There is something to think about after the
reading. It is moderately easy to read but has a deep meaning. I admire the
author’s mastery of writing.