World picture and its types

defeated expectancy

The most conspicuous feature of O. Henry’s stories is a surprise ending based on the psychological effect of defeated expectancy. Defeated expectancy in its turn is another type of foregrounding based on the phenomenon of predictability. It follows that each subsequent statement or event is to some degree predictable and proceed from the foregoing according the logical rules of succession. It means that the sequence of statements and succession of events described in the text are subordinated to some logical rules and each subsequent sentence is to some degree predictable. The violation of logical links causes much surprise on the part of the reader and produces a great emotional impact on him. By the way of illustration the story “October and June” can be taken. The story tells us about the Captain who was in love with a lady and proposed to her. A surprising ending consists in the fact that the reader up to the end is sure that the Captain is an elderly man. It becomes evident from the following sentences:

• 
  In the closet near by was stored his faded uniform, stained and worn by weather and service;
  
• 
  Those old days of war’s alarm;
  
• 
  Veteran that his was of country’s strenuous times;
  
• 
  How long ago it seemed now!;
  
• 
  Yes, there were many years between their ages;
  
• 
  Truly Fate and Father time had tricked him surely;
  

The author keeps the reader under suspense until the end of the story. But the end appears to be quite unexpected. To the reader’s great surprise the Captain turned out to be very young; he was only nineteen and the girl was much older.

Besides, O. Henry’s stories abound in allusions and mythologemes, the use of which activate knowledge structures necessary for text perception and interpretation:

“Had