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Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years

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Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years

I. Author

II. The American West

a. General Introduction

b. the Rocky Mountain States

c. the Pacific Coast States

d. Frontier Spirit and Expansion Towards the West

e. Violence in the 19th Century

Background Background informationinformation

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O. Henry (1862—1910) was the pen name of William Sydney Porter, an American short story writer. His short, simple stories are noted for their careful plotting, ironic coincidences, and surprise endings.

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O. Henry was born William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina. He went to Texas in 1882 and worked at various jobs—as teller in an Austin bank (1891—1894) and as a newspaperman for the Houston Post.

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In 1898 an unexplained shortage in the Austin bank was charged to him. Although many people believed him innocent, he fled to the Honduras but returned to be with his wife, who was fatally ill. He eventually served three years in prison, where he first started writing short stories.

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Upon his release he settled in New York. Although his stories have been criticized as shallow and contrived, O. Henry did catch the color and movement of the city and evidenced a genuine sympathy for ordinary people.

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O. Henry's humorous, energetic style shows the influence of Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce.

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His approximately 300 stories are

collected in Cabbages and Kings

(1904), The Four Million (1906),

The Voice of the City (1908),

Options (1909), and others.

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Write what you like; there is no other rule.

--- O. Henry

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The American West is generally

considered to include the eight Rocky

Mountain states and the three Pacific

Coast states. Historically, the West

has been mainly a sociopolitical or

even mythological concept rather

than a specific geographical area.

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General Introduction

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The Rocky Mountain States: This region consists of eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

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Arizona

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Colorado

Idaho

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Montana

Nevada

New Mexico

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Utah

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Utah LakeWyoming

Yellow Stone

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The Pacific Coast States: This division includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington — and, as its name suggests, they all have coastlines on the Pacific Ocean (and are the only states that border that ocean) according to the United States Census Bureau's definition of West Region.

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Alaska

Hawaii

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California Oregon

Washington State

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Frontier Spirit and Expansion towards the West

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This spirit has shaped American history in a unique way. The frontier spirit that existed in the 19th century was born in part of a need to own land. And the government then encouraged the white to exploit the West. This mentality and historical experience is favored by most Americans today as adventurous, active, and enterprising.

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In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson sent a secret message to Congress calling for an expedition into the area west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. From then on the white Americans spared no effort to exploit the West; during this course, the West was developed but the native Americans suffered extremely especially in the 19th century.

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The Americans were a competitive, ambitious, upwardly mobile people who had a strong sense of self-reliance. The conquering of an environment by an individual was a mark of success. Fear of unknown places was unacceptable and a hindrance to movement. These traits, first formulated in western expansion, persist today with the slightest modifications.

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Violence in the 19th Century

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In the 19th century, the settlers in the west were most very tough and imprudent. The way they settled conflicts with each other was very violent as then there were no adequate system of law and governmental institutions to turn to. And gunfighters were common. To be able to handle guns seemed to be a basic survival skill under the circumstances.

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Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years

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