William Sydney Porter, known by his pen name O. Henry, was a master of surprise endings in his short stories. He was born in 1862 in North Carolina and grew up without his parents, working various jobs like on a ranch and in a drug store. In 1898, he served time in jail for embezzlement. While incarcerated, he began writing short stories to support his daughter, finding success with his twist endings. However, his later life was marked by struggles with alcoholism, divorce and unhappiness despite his writing fame.
4. Master of surprise endings, where the plot is twisted and the ending turns out differently than expected.
5.
6. Irony DEFINITION: An outcome of events that is opposite to what the reader expected. The author intentionally sets up the reader’s expectations and then delivers an ending that is the complete opposite; a surprise ending.
![O. Henry ,[object Object]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/o-henry-111015174856-phpapp02/85/O-Henry-The-Ransom-of-Red-Chief-1-320.jpg)
