“Mammon and the Archer”

by O . Henry

O . Henryis a pseudonym, the real name is William

Sydney Porter. He has become a symbol to represent a recognizable species of short

story writing. He wrote nearly three hundred stories. Most of O. Henry` s were

translated into foreign languages. His stories are very American in language.O. Henry intentionally avoids sharp social

problems. In his stories we find inhabitants of big cities and ranches, highway outlaws as well as self-made business tycoons come

into wealth and power through freak of chance. And one of the most popular and

famous story is “Mammon and the Archer”

The plot develops surround people` s feelings.

The antagonist of this story is old Anthony, because he think that money rule the world and the opposite character (protagonist) is Richard, because he think that only love can save the world. Old Anthony is a wealth tycoon of Rockwell` s Eureka Soap. He is very fond and proud of his son Richard. Old Anthony is absolutely sure that money is omnipotent and he tries to convince his son that money can do everything. Richard fall in love with

young lady, but he couldn` t say that he really loved her. He had only one chance to do it. Aunt Ann gave him a golden ring. They drove by car in the theatre, but the entire traffic of Manhattan seemed to have jammed itself around them. There were a lot of different cars. They were there so long that Richard proposed to Miss Lantry and she agreed. Next morning Aunt

Ann came to Old Anthony and told him everything. She was very surprised. Aunt Ann thought that it was freak of chance. She went away. Than Kelly

came to old Anthony. He said him everything. Kelly went to receive his pay for his work. He said that he overpaid and he wanted to return his money

back. Old Anthony was very happy that everything was ok. He was glad that his son was happy. With great pleasure he gave that man his money.

The title of this story is

metaphorical.

Mammon is the God of riches

and the symbol of wealth;

The Archer is a symbol of love.

The theme of this story

is an eternal

opposition between

money and love!!!

The main idea of this

story the problem

of wealth (money) and

feelings (love).

The message of the story is “Money never can buy love and

happiness”.

Plot Structure:

Setting:The action takes place in America, the 1st part of 20s century. We can find some facts of it in the text: “We drive down Broadway… He saw a congested flood of

wagons, trucks, cabs, vans and street cars…”The main characters of this story are Old Anthony and his son Richard, the minor characters of this story are

Aunt Ann, Miss Lantry and Kelly. The antagonist of this story is old Anthony, because he think that money rule the world and the opposite character (protagonist) is Richard, because he think that only love can save the world. Old Anthony is a wealth tycoon of Rockwell` s

Eureka Soap. He is very fond and proud of his son Richard.

The Conflict:External conflict is a conflict between father and son. Old Anthony thinks that

money can do everything, but his son has opposite opinion

Internal conflict is a conflict of feelings and emotions of both heroes. In reality

old Anthony love his son very much, that`s why he tries to help him, he can buy

everything for the happiness of his son. Richard can`t understand his father, but

he loves him too.

The climax of this story we can find in the end, when we see dénouement of this story. In

reality everybody from us thought that story ended when Aunt Ann came to Old Anthony and told him everything, but it

wasn` t so.

At first, we are led to believe, like Ellen, that it was the ring that led to the successful

engagement. "A little emblem of true love—a little ring that symbolized unending and

unmercenary affection—was the cause of our Richard finding his happiness." However, at the very end of the story, O. Henry turns the tables

on his readers. The day after the traffic jam, Kelly shows up to receive payment for something and tells Anthony that he will need to be paid more: "I

had to go a little above the estimate. I got the express wagons and cabs mostly for $5, but the trucks and two-horse teams mostly raised me to

$10." As Kelly goes into greater detail about what he is being paid for, the reader realizes that Anthony paid Kelly to create the traffic jam. Says Kelly, "It was two hours before a snake could get

below Greeley's statue." With this surprise ending, O. Henry's readers have the sudden

realization that Anthony did have a part to play in the success of Richard's engagement.

Characters:

Anthony Rockwall is a wealthy, retired soap

manufacturer, who believes that money can buy

everything; Anthony is a wealth tycoon of Rockwell` s Eureka Soap.

He is very fond and proud of his son Richard. Old Anthony is absolutely sure that money is omnipotent and he tries to convince his son that money

can do everything.

Richard Rockwall is Anthony Rockwall's son, who has just returned from college; Richard is desperately in

love with Miss Lantry.Even though Richard has as much money as the

aristocratic young men, he does not spend as much as they on clothes and soap. This humbleness and economy

make his father happy.Miss Lantry is the young woman who

is the object of Richard Rockwall's affections; she comes from an

aristocratic family.

Aunt Ellen is Anthony Rockwall's sister and Richard Rockwall's aunt. Whereas Anthony believes that money can buy everything, Aunt Ellen does not

believe it can buy love. Because of this, she gives Richard a special ring—which Richard's mother had entrusted to her—to help him to be lucky in love..

Kelly is a man whom Anthony Rockwall hires to create an elaborate traffic jam so that

Richard will get the time he needs to propose to Miss Lantry. Like Anthony, Kelly believes in the power of money, which he uses to pay for

the traffic jam.

StylisticDevices:

The title of this story is Metaphor. The author tries to show us a difference between money and love.

“a fat boy without any clothes on shooting arrows around with a bow” – the author says it with a part of irony. “Like a gray-

haired angel that had been left on the earth by mistake” – simile + irony.

looking like a grey-haired angel- simile.

Epithets: true affection,quaint ring,soft meadows,

true love, piratical adventures, Gold diggings

Hyperbole: Love is all-powerful, thousands of

spectators

“he will have his house painted red, white, and blue “;“He saw a congested flood of wagons, trucks, cabs, vans and

street cars…; That night came Aunt Ellen, gentle, sentimental, wrinkled,

sighing, oppressed by wealth; -enumerations ;

Conclusion:

As for me I like this story very much, because

its end is uncommon and it`s a big plus.

I`d advise everybody to

read this story!