Literary Analysis Of After Twenty Years By O. Henry

“After Twenty Years” by O. Henry Analysis
The well-known saying that states “the whole is only as good as the sum of its parts” rings true for many things. In particular, that saying can also be applied to short stories. A short story is only as good the literary components of which it is made. Together, these literary components work together to make a story effective, which in turn means that it will be enjoyable for readers to read. “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry is one example of a short story that employs many literary techniques that make the story effective and memorable to readers. The short story “After Twenty Years” is effective because of its use of setting, dialogue, and situational irony.
The setting of “After Twenty Years” helps contribute to the effectiveness of the short story as a whole. The dreariness of the weather at the very beginning of the story helps to set the mood for a tale in which something somewhat unpleasant or unexpected is going to happen to one or more of the characters in the story. For example, the narrator gives us a brief description of the dismal weather in these lines: “It was only about ten at night, but it was cold. And there was a wind with a …show more content…
Henry uses many literary techniques to make his short story “After Twenty Years” effective. The use of the setting, dialogue, and situational irony all work together to create a story that is not only effective, but also memorable to readers. The setting helps to set the mood for the story and to establish the course of the story. The dialogue woven throughout the story helps readers to better understand the thoughts and motivations of the characters and it also helps to develop each character to make them more believable. Finally, the use of situational irony helps to make the story effective, in particular because it makes the story memorable to readers. Overall, all of these literary components work together to make the story effective and enjoyable to