Comparing O. Henry, Mark Twain, And John Steinbeck

“A literary work can succeed in making us forget it as such, but it leaves its seed in us.” This is from Why Read the Classics, and it is just one way that shows how classic authors’ unique style help their stories remain timeless. Classic literature is literature that is widely acknowledged as having outstanding or enduring qualities. The styles of O Henry, Mark Twain, and John Steinbeck helped them withstand the test of time and create classic literature because
O.Henry has a very unique writing style. He used word craft, or the use of vocabulary, figures of speech, descriptive language, and clever wording. For example, "Ransom of the Red Chief" is about two men who kidnap the son of a mortgage fancier in order that they get ransom money. On the first morning with the boy, Sam looks at the landscape and thinks, "Over toward Summit I expected to see the sturdy yeomanry of the village armed with scythes and pitchforks beating the countryside for the dastardly kidnappers." (page 16) He …show more content…
Regional dialect is a distinct form of a language spoken, such as slang, in a particular geographical area. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is about a boy who gets in a lot of trouble. Chapter 2, "The Glorious Whitewasher," is about Tom Sawyer having to whitewash a fence as punishment. Other boys see him whitewashing and Tom is able to trick them into thinking it is cool. So, Tom charges items in exchange for the boys having an opportunity to whitewash. "Hello, old chap, you got to work, hey?" (pg 14) This quote shows that Mark Twain used Western style in this writing. “Old chap” is a word term that was used in the western days, not modern. Also, the grammar in the quote is different than modern times. He uses regional dialect to show the rural setting and location. Mark Twain uses regional dialect in his story because he lived in many places. Because of the places he lived in, he heard a lot of slang and used that in his