Squaring the Circle, by O. Henry

Audiobook

Squaring the circle (geometry)

Line of beauty

SUMMARY

The story deals about a feud between two families, or clans, along many years. The typical example of a feud is the perpetual quarrel between Capulets and Montagues in Romeo and Juliet.

In our story, the clans are the Folwells and the Harknesses. The spark of the quarrel was the death of an opossum dog, a minor incident. From that moment on, they were killing each other until only a member of each family stayed alive, Carl Harkness and Sam Folwell.

As Carl didn’t like the idea of pursuing the feud, he went away preventing Sam’s retaliation. At the beginning Sam didn’t know where Carl had gone, but when he discovered he was in New York, he decided to go there, look for him and finish the quarrel. He didn’t take the rifle: it was too conspicuous; instead he grabbed a pistol, a weapon with a more appropriate size.

So there he went. But it wasn’t easy to find Carl’s hideaway. He only knew that he drove an express waggon round the city.

Sam had lived in the country all his live, so all that he had seen was Nature, and according to the narrator’s theory, Nature is circular, and Art (or anything made by humans) goes in straight lines; so Sam was lost in New York because all the ways went in straight lines, right angles, sharp corners and squares. And the people he met while looking for his enemy weren’t nice at all; so he felt very uncomfortable there.

But at the end he found Carl coming along a street towards him. Carl was unarmed.

What was the fight’s outcoming?

 

QUESTIONS

-What is your opinion about the narrator theory in reference to circles and squares?

-What is the relation between the title and the story?

-Do you know any other classical or literary feud?

-For you, what would be the best way to stop a feud?

 

VOCABULARY

round, evened, laying out, pruning, washpot, butternut, pink, haft, rote, smote, ourn, passel, bedeckings, bootless, locust club, scowling, newsy, pelted, kith and kin

The Buyer from Cactus City, by O. Henry

Audiobook

Movie (only the first scenes)

SUMMARY, by Glòria Torner

As many others stories by O. Henry, this one, The Buyer from Cactus City, is placed in Old South settings and New York, with an exposition of the life of ordinary people, using local colours and a realistic dialogue.
The story begins with a description of Cactus City (Texas), a rich town of twenty thousand people where the important building from Navarro & Platt is located. It’s a big store full of different things you can buy.
Every year, the older partner, Navarro, is going to New York to buy new merchandises for his emporium. But this year, as he feels a little tired, he wants to stay at home. Then, he orders his junior member, called John Platt, to make the trip to the Big City, (New York) to buy for his department store goods, especially, women’s suits.
Two weeks later, Platt, a wealthy and handsome Westerner, called ironically “Mister Texas”, a ranch man who has become a businessman, arrives in New York and enters the wholesale trade from Zizzbaum & Son, located in Broadway, to purchase some things for his business. Old Zizzbaum receives Platt, who is not impressed by New York. For that reason, Zizzbaum tells his son, Abey, to show him different places of Broadway that evening.
The next day, Zizzbaum, who wants to encourage his customer in sales, calls a sophisticated model from his trade, Helen Ashley, and commands her to try on different dresses in front of Platt. The model, aware of her duty part, agrees. Immediately, he finds her very beautiful. At that moment, the narrator says: “Platt felt for the first time the wonderful bright light of romance and glory descend upon him.”
Following with his plan, Zizzbaum arranges a dinner at 7:00 p.m. between John, the customer, and Helen, her employee. Now, John notices that Helen is his ideal. He is a young, rich business Westerner in love with a model. He imagines and tells her he will buy a beautiful car and a house, but she, disgustedly, replies she “has heard that before”.  For Helen, this evening is just following her working day and, frankly, she informs Platt she is only out with him to play this role, otherwise she’ll lose her job.
Platt insists and declares his love and gives her a diamond ring he has bought. Misunderstanding him, she reacts by getting angry because she believes he wants to abuse her. Immediately, she wants to leave the restaurant telling him to take her to the boarding house where she lives. There she slaps his face. But the persistent Westerner, who only wants about marrying her, increases his infatuation looking for an honest, sincere relationship and... just then a ring falls at her feet, but it isn’t the same ring: she sees that it is actually a wedding ring.
As many times in the stories of this author, the plot goes on in one direction, and just when the reader thinks they can predict the ending, finally, it turns to another different direction.
Surprise ending?  Does she change her mind because she realizes her mistake? Is there a change of reaction when she wants to know where is Cac, Carac, Caracas City?

QUESTIONS

-Do you think a mercenary marriage could be happy? And a marriage without romantic love?
-In your view, is the girl in the story, Helen, treated like an object by her boss? In your opinion, are some jobs (like models) offensive for people’s dignity?
-Helen doesn’t mind going away to live in an unknown place. What conditions you wouldn’t agree with for a marriage, or for a job?

VOCABULARY

obtain, be sneezed at, tan, shied, whirl, lay-down collar, wholesale, smuggled, crowbait, incidentally, oilily, evening gown, tulle, Don’t get fresh 

Transients in Arcadia, by O. Henry

Audiobook

Summary and analysis

SUMMARY

This is the story of a woman who spends a holiday week in a luxury hotel on Broadway, NY The hotel  is the Lotus, and the woman goes under the name of Mme Héloise D’Arcy Beaumont. The place is splendid, and the first pages of the story are a description of all the amenities, facilities and staff of the establishment: rooms, saloons, waiters, cooks, etc. And nevertheless the fact the building is in Manhattan, inside it you feel so far from the city bustle that you can imagine you are in the country or around the mountains. And madame Héloise is so sophisticated and elegant that all the employees are happy to wait on her, the best guest of the few that sojourn in the hotel.

On the third day of her stay, another guest came in to register in the reception counter. His name was Harold Farrington, a name of aristocratic resonances. He also was elegant and classy, and dropped some hints to the receptionist about travelling. He also looked for a place to relax and enjoy quietness.

On the next day, after dinner, when Harold passed by Mme Héloise, she dropped her handkerchief. He immediately picked it up and gave it back to her owner. A conversation followed afterwards, and, from that moment on, they spend all of their time together. They liked each other.

On the last day of her residence at the hotel, they were sitting at the same table. It was in the evening, and it was the moment of telling the truth: they tell each other who really they were, but they didn’t show much surprise.

From now on, what kind of relationship would they have?

 

QUESTIONS

-What is the relation between the title and the story?

-What do you know about the Lotus-eaters (they appear in the Odyssey)?

-When you are travelling, what kind of accommodation do you prefer? Why?

-While travelling, the accommodation is usually the only thing (besides the journey ticket) we pay. Why is that we don’t make profit of it, and try to spend all the day away from it?

-What kind of holidays do you prefer? Travelling or staying at home? Mountains, beaches, cities? Relax or bustle? On your own or with family / friends? On your own or with a touristic guide?

-What is your opinion about this saying: “You don’t know a person until you’ve travelled with them”?

-What would you like to save a big amount of money for?

-Do you think children have too many holidays?

 

VOCABULARY

trout, venison, game warden, lairs, caravansary, forego, pellucid, rapiers, purlieus, haven, acme, tossed, chatelaine purse, hosiery, instalment, per

The Ransom of Mack, by O. Henry

Audiobook

Movie

Old Zip Coon (song)

Buffalo Gals, Can't You Come Out To-night (song)

SUMMARY

Two middle-aged miners decided to stop their business. They had earned a lot of money and wanted to enjoy their fortune in an easy way. Thus, one of the miners, Mack, would be able to spend his time reading a thick book of History, and the other, Andy, would learn to play the banjo. Once they had decided to take this sabbatical time, they deposited their money in a small bank and rented an elegant but small house, that is, a cabin, in Piña, near Denver, and hired a Chinese man as a cook. Their dream of tranquillity had come true.

In one of their conversations in this lapse of relax, they came to talk about women and the possibility of contacting and socializing with them, but they discarded this option because they realized that the fair sex was really an unfathomable mystery. So it seems it was clear for both of them that they would rather be bachelors than married men.

One day, Andy had to go away to solve a problem with some business. He was away for two months and, at the end of which, he missed very much his mate and their restful home.

But when he got back, he found Mack a bit changed. Instead of casual clothes, he was wearing a handsome suit, and he appeared a bit agitated. He said something had happened while Andy was away. The thing was that he had been elected justice of peace, and that he was going to marry a girl called Rebosa that evening.

Andy was astonished and decided to do something to prevent this marriage because of the singular opinion they had about women. He went and talk to Rebosa, and tried to convince her she was making a mistake, that Mack was too old for her. Then he asked her if there was someone in the village that she would like to marry. She said she liked a young man called Eddy Bayles, but the problem was that he didn’t earn much money. Andy offered her a deal: he would give Eddy a thousand dollars to buy a store for himself if she decided to get married to him at 5 o’clock, one hour before her projected wedding. After some moments of reflection, Rebosa accepted the deal.

Andy was satisfied because he thought he had prevented Mack’s marriage, and went to have a walk around the woods.

When he got back home at 6 o’clock, Mack was calm and easy as ever, but he wasn’t dressed as if he had to go to a wedding.

So, at the end, who did the girl get married to and why?

 

QUESTIONS

-What do you know about Buckle’s History of Civilization?

-Who was Sep (Septimus) Winner?

-Can you tell us a brief summary of The Two Orphans?

-What do you think it will be the future of the marriage / family institution?

 

VOCABULARY

hustling, nabobs, buck, faro, peck, I’m onto, grub, smirking, warping, scarify, ribaldry, patent leather, ptomaine, winds up, Indian summer, wildwood