The final analysis

      The story under analysis was written by the american writer O.Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter. His short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings. O.Henry wrote about ordinary people: clerks, policemen or waitresses, many of his stories take place in NYC. He had an inimitable hand for isolating some element of society and describing it with an incredible economy and grace of language. His best known works are: the collections of stories "Cabbages and Kings", "The Four Million", and stories like "The Gift of Magi", "The Ransom of Red Chief", "The Cop and the Anthem", "A Retrieved Reformation" and many others.
      The title of the story is suggestive, because we can predict that the story will be about the love and feelings of the very busy broker.
      It is the story about a busy town, in which there is no time for rest and getting satisfaction from life - this is the main idea of the text. The problem raised by the author is the relationship between two very different people - a very busy worker and his wife who is the absolute antipod of her husband but who loves him very much. The author`s massage is that people should spend more time together not only just working , because they can forget or miss some very important events in their life. This topic is very urgent nowadays.
       Talking about the setting of the story - the event take place in a global power city New York. The RoaringTwenties were years of glamour and wealth, highlighted by a construction boom with skyscrapers. New York's financial sector came to dominate the national, and indeed the world economy. The whole event takes place during just one day, exactly the morning time. 
It is a broker’s office with a busy office
routine every day. 
     The story is a third person narration interlaced with descriptive passages and dialogues of the personages. Thr tone of the story is sentimental and a little bit ironical.
     As it is the whole story we can see all logical parts of it. "The Romance of a Busy Broker" has no introduction, it starts with an exposition, where the main characters (Pitcher - a confident clerk and Harvey Maxwell - a broker) and the place of the event (an office) are presented. 
       Then goes author`s narration with the development of the events. We see the author′s presentation of a busy broker′s day which consists of a chronic attack of buzzing of telephone, the thronging men in the office, the jumping clerks who are like the sailors during a storm. It is like hurricanes, landslides, snowstorms, glaciers and volcanoes but in an office. And during this crazy morning time Mr. Pitcher misunderstands his boss and call for a replacement stenographer to replace Miss Leslie . Until Mr.Maxwell finds out and gets upset, telling a clerk that Miss. Leslie will hold the job of stenographer until she can not anymore. 
        The story reaches its climax when lunch hour for the office comes around and Mr. Maxwell understands that he is in love with Miss. Leslie. He asks her to marry him and find out that they got married the previous night at a small church around the corner from the office.
         Reading the story we come across 3 main characters:
    - Harvey Maxwell
    - Miss Leslie
    - Mr. Pitcher
      O Henry describes the main character as a busy and hard-working person. When Harvey gave greeting to Pitcher, his clerk, he was in a hurry. Every second, every minute, every hour, and every day, Harvey was lack of time. It was proven when he run into his desk and did his daily work.

"Well-what is it? Anything?" asked Maxwell sharply. His opened mail lay like a bank of stage snow on his crowded desk. His keen grey eye, impersonal and brusque, flashed upon her half impatiently.

        The author shows that Harvey was in a stressful condition. His desk was crowded. He also became impersonal and brusque. He could become impatient when he had to talk with other people.

"You are losing your mind, Pitcher," said Maxwell. "Why should I have given you any such instructions? Miss Leslie has given perfect satisfaction during the year she has been here. The place is hers as long as she chooses to retain it. There's no place open here, madam. Countermand that order with the agency, Pitcher, and don't bring any more of 'em in here."
The silver heart left the office, swinging and banging itself independently against the office furniture as it indignantly departed. Pitcher seized a moment to remark to the bookkeeper that the "old man" seemed to get more absent-minded and forgetful every day of the world.

       These paragraphs show that Harvey became forgetful day after day. Besides, Harvey became angry when there was a problem with his clerk. Actually at that time the clerk misunderstood Harvey’s instruction. The clerk thought that his boss was disappointed with the stenographer and wanted to get the new one. Therefore, the clerk brought a new stenographer and Harvey was angry cause he was really satisfied with Miss Leslie who had worked at his office for one year.

"Miss Leslie," he began hurriedly, "I have but a moment to spare. I want to say something in that moment. Will you he my wife? I haven't had time to make love to you in the ordinary way, but I really do love you. Talk quick, please--those fellows are clubbing the stuffing out of Union Pacific."

        Harvey could ignore his crowded for a while when he attracted a beautiful woman. However, Harvey still forced Miss Leslie to answer his proposal quickly because he had so much to do. Even while making a proposal he is in a hurry...
    We have no detailed description of Maxwell, but with the help of indirect characterization the author reveals the character's personality through his words, doings, interactions with others.
       Then goes Miss Leslie. O Henry gives us also a detailed description of Miss Leslie`s appearance that helps us to imagine how did she look like. The author depicts her as a pleasant, beautiful and plain woman who always wears gray or dark colored dresses.
       Pitcher, confidential clerk in the office of Harvey Maxwell...
        We do not come across Pitcher`s description in the text, but with the help of some phrases and sentences we can understand that he is an obedient and curious office worker.
       To portray the setting, the main characters and events of the story the writer implies a lot of different stylistic devices. 
     The author uses a lot of epithets to portray the main heroes: "mild interest", "expressionless countenance", "the alluring pompadour", "dreamily bright eyes", "genuine peachblow cheeks", "a happy one expression", "tinged with reminiscence". Epithets like: "perfect satisfaction", "high-geared", "strong machine", "wondering eyes", "old business" give a very vivid and bright depiction of details. 
       We can find a lot of pair synonyms like "rush and pace", "fiercer and faster", "buy and sell", "coming and going", "stocks and bonds", "loans and mortgages", "absend-minded and forgetful" - they are used to make the reader feel all that atmosphere of the office where everybody is running, fussing and hastening. 
        Also the author uses synecdoche to lighten the people`s traits of character: "...and not a single picture hat or piece of pineapple chewing gum has showed up yet", "the silver heart left the office". 
    To underline the desire of the broker for spring to come the writer uses personification and writes the word "Spring" from the capital letter. 
      The author uses various language means to depict the scene and the people, like similes: "his opened mail lay like a bank of stage snow on his crowded desk", "the clerks in the office jumped about like sailors during a storm", "orders to buy and sell were coming and going as swift as the flight of swallows", "the man was working like some high-geared, delicate, strong machine".
       Among syntactis stylistic devices writer uses a climax "men began to throng into the office and call at him over the railing, jovially, sharply, viciously, excitedly" to show the growing tension of the people in the rush hour of the working day, parallelism "he jumped from ticker to phone, from desk to door" to stress the working mood of the main character, antithesis here was the world of finance, and there was no room in it for the human world or the world of nature - to draw the opposition between the people who work as machines all day long and the nature which was very romantic and calm that very day. 
     The atmosphere of the rushing and working office is stressed with the help of polysyndeton: "on the Exchange there were hurricanes and landslides and snowstorms and glaciers and volcanoes, and those elemental disturbances were reproduced in miniature in the broker's offices" and the combination of polysyndeton and asyndeton "some of his own holdings were imperilled, and the man was working like some high-geared, delicate, strong machine - strung to full tension, going at full speed, accurate, never hesitating, with the proper word and decision and act ready and prompt as clockwork".
       We can see a very bright depiction of the woman, one of the main characters of the story. The woman, the stenographer is very beautiful and as he says unstenographic, it is underlined with the help of epithets "dreamily bright eyes" ,"genuine peachblow cheeks", "alluring pompadour", "kind and frank eyes", "wondering eyes", the last two epithets give as a vivid impression of the feelings of Miss Leslie to Maxwell, she was in love with him.
       In order to impose on the reader his attitude towards the character of the broker the author employs innumerous amount of metaphors: "plunged into the great heap of letters and telegrams waiting there for him", "the machine sitting at that desk was no longer a man; it was a busy New York broker, moved by buzzing wheels and uncoiling springs", "the broker's hour is not only crowded, but the minutes and seconds are hanging to all the straps and packing both front and rear platforms" , these metaphors show the business of the main hero. 
       Summing up the analysis of the given story we see that O Henry brilliantly uses great amount of different stylistic devices.

       

    The characters of the story

     While reading the story we get acquainted with major and minor characters:
    - Harvey Maxwell
    - Miss Leslie
    - Mr. Pitcher
     Let`s start with Mr. Harvey Maxwell

Pitcher, confidential clerk in the office of Harvey Maxwell, broker, allowed a look of mild interest and surprise to visit his usually expressionless countenance when his employer briskly entered at half past nine in company with his young lady stenographer. With a snappy "Good-morning, Pitcher," Maxwell dashed at his desk as though he were intending to leap over it, and then plunged into the great heap of letters and telegrams waiting there for him.

And this day was Harvey Maxwell's busy day. The ticker began to reel out jerkily its fitful coils of tape, the desk telephone had a chronic attack of buzzing.

    In this opening paragraph, O Henry describes the main character as a busy and hard-working person. When Harvey gave greeting to Pitcher, his clerk, he was in a hurry. Every second, every minute, every hour, and every day, Harvey was lack of time. It was proven when he run into his desk and did his daily work.

"Well-what is it? Anything?" asked Maxwell sharply. His opened mail lay like a bank of stage snow on his crowded desk. His keen grey eye, impersonal and brusque, flashed upon her half impatiently.

    The author shows that Harvey was in a stressful condition. His desk was crowded. He also became impersonal and brusque. He could become impatient when he had to talk with other people.

"You are losing your mind, Pitcher," said Maxwell. "Why should I have given you any such instructions? Miss Leslie has given perfect satisfaction during the year she has been here. The place is hers as long as she chooses to retain it. There's no place open here, madam. Countermand that order with the agency, Pitcher, and don't bring any more of 'em in here."

The silver heart left the office, swinging and banging itself independently against the office furniture as it indignantly departed. Pitcher seized a moment to remark to the bookkeeper that the "old man" seemed to get more absent-minded and forgetful every day of the world.

     These paragraphs show that Harvey became forgetful day after day. Besides, Harvey became angry when there was a problem with his clerk. Actually at that time the clerk misunderstood Harvey’s instruction. The clerk thought that his boss was disappointed with the stenographer and wanted to get the new one. Therefore, the clerk brought a new stenographer and Harvey was angry cause he was really satisfied with Miss Leslie who had worked at his office for one year.

"Miss Leslie," he began hurriedly, "I have but a moment to spare. I want to say something in that moment. Will you he my wife? I haven't had time to make love to you in the ordinary way, but I really do love you. Talk quick, please--those fellows are clubbing the stuffing out of Union Pacific."

    Harvey could ignore his crowded for a while when he attracted a beautiful woman. However, Harvey still forced Miss Leslie to answer his proposal quickly because he had so much to do. Even while making a proposal he is in a hurry...
  We have no detailed description of Maxwell, but with the help of indirect characterization the author reveals the character's personality through his words, doings, interactions with others.

     Then goes Miss Leslie

 She was beautiful in a way that was decidedly unstenographic. She forewent the pomp of the alluring pompadour. She wore no chains, bracelets or lockets. She had not the air of being about to accept an invitation to luncheon. Her dress was grey and plain, but it fitted her figure with fidelity and discretion. In her neat black turban hat was the gold-green wing of a macaw. On this morning she was softly and shyly radiant. Her eyes were dreamily bright, her cheeks genuine peachblow, her expression a happy one, tinged with reminiscence.

She looked up at him with a smile. A soft pink crept over her cheek, and her eyes were kind and frank.

     O Henry gives us also a detailed description of Miss Leslie`s appearance that helps us to imagine how did she look like. The author depicts her as a pleasant, beautiful and plain woman who always wears gray or dark colored dresses.

     And, finally, Pitcher

Pitcher, confidential clerk in the office of Harvey Maxwell...

    We do not come across Pitcher`s description in the text, but with the help of some phrases and sentences we can understand that he is an obedient and curious office worker.

     The plot of the story 

       "The Romance of a Busy Broker" has no introduction, it starts with an exposition, where the main characters (Pitcher - a confident clerk and Harvey Maxwell - a broker) and the place of the event (an office) are presented. 
       Then goes author`s narration with the development of the events. We see the author′s presentation of a busy broker′s day which consists of a chronic attack of buzzing of telephone, the thronging men in the office, the jumping clerks who are like the sailors during a storm. It is like hurricanes, landslides, snowstorms, glaciers and volcanoes but in an office. And during this crazy morning time Mr. Pitcher misunderstands his boss and call for a replacement stenographer to replace Miss Leslie . Until Mr.Maxwell finds out and gets upset, telling a clerk that Miss. Leslie will hold the job of stenographer until she can not anymore. 
       The story reaches its climax when lunch hour for the office comes around and Mr. Maxwell understands that he is in love with Miss. Leslie. He asks her to marry him and find out that they got married the pervious night at a small church around the corner from the office:

      "It's this old business that has driven everything else out of your head for the time. I was frightened at first. Don't you remember, Harvey? We were married last evening at 8 o'clock in the Little Church Around the Corner."

       There is no conclusion in this story and O. Henry lets the readers make it themselves.
       Talking about types of speech employed by the author -it is a mix of narration, description and insertions of dialogue.

     The setting of the story

     "The machine sitting at that desk was no longer a man; it was a busy New York broker, moved by buzzing wheels and uncoiling springs..."

         From this quotation we can understand that the event take place in a global power city New York. I suppose it is early 20th century. For example, there is a short clothes description :" In her neat black turban hat was the gold-green wing of a macaw...", and after googling for the information I can say that such women`s accessories like hats with wings or other details characterise that period.

     The RoaringTwenties were years of glamour and wealth, highlighted by a construction boom with skyscrapers. New York's financial sector came to dominate the national, and indeed the world economy. 

       The whole event takes place during just one day, exactly the morning time. 

It is a broker’s office with a busy office

routine every day. 

    Working staff there is busy as a bee :" The machine sitting at that desk was no longer a man; it was a busy New York broker... ", "...like some high-geared, delicate, strong machins - strung to full tension, going at full speed, accurate, never hesitating... ". And nothing can disturb it, but...love)

     I`ve read the story "The Romance of a Busy Broker" and this great literary work written by O. Henry impressed me greatly. It is an interesting and realistic story, maybe because it is true to nowadays life. Shame on me, but I didn`t read it earlier and was really surprised cause I never encountered this story. My expectations about the plot and events were correct, but not about the end. Of course, I know that O. Henry is very talented in writing stories with unpredictable and surprise endings, but still. 

    There was a period in author`s life, which he spent in "the city of dreams" - New York and this influenced the settings of most of his stories. He wrote about average people`s life living in NYC and "The Romance of a Busy Broker" is not an exception. O. Henry created the main character from his own experience, as like himself, he also used to work as a bank teller in Austin, Texas. So, such a busy life is familiar to the author. Generally, I liked it because just like the protagonist most of people, so do I, sometimes are very busy and tend to forget the most important and obvious things.

     The "The Romance of a Busy Broker" is worth reading.

I suggest you also read this story http://americanliterature.com/author/o- henry/short-story/the-romance-of-a-busy-broker 

  

    So, let`s get acquainted primarily with the author and then with the story, of course)

    O. Henry, pseudonym of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), noted American author of hundreds of short stories including my favourite ones: "The Gift of the Magi", "The Ransom of Red Chief" and "The Last Leaf".

   He was born 11 September, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina, to physician Algernon Sidney Porter and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim. The two brothers of William died in early childhood. His mother wrote poetry and had a promising artistic temperament with a natural eye for drawing and painting, surely a talent which young Will inherited. Tragically she died of tuberculosis and Sidney started to drink. After Mary's death, widower Sidney and his shy, freckle-faced son moved to his mother's farm, that of Will's paternal grandmother.

   At the age of fifteen Porter began working as a clerk in his uncle Clark Porter's store. He saw the humour in the everyday, and made notes of all the colourful characters he encountered, fodder for his future stories.

   He was already writing short stories while he held a number of jobs including pharmacist before working with the Texas Land Office. Around this time he met Athol Estes Roach. They married in 1887 and had a daughter, Margaret Worth. Then O'Henry fled to Honduras. He returned to Austin the next year because his wife was dying. In 1897 he was convicted of embezzling bank fund, although there has been much debate over his actual guilt. In 1898 he entered a penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio.

   After being released from prison in just three years, Porter moved on to the next chapter in his life: New York City. Despite many of his works being panned by the critics he was becoming one of America's most popular short story authors.
   O'Henry's style had a great influence on modern American fiction, therefore, some critics called him "the founder of American stories".

      To tell you the truth, I`ve spent a lot of time hesitating and it was hard for me to choose only one story out of dozens for literary analysis. 

     Then I faced with the dilemma: whether to choose the story written by Edgar Allan Poe, best known for his tales of mystery and unusual endings, or O. Henry's short story known for its wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and clever twist endings. And, finally, O. Henry and his story under the title "The Romance of a Busy Broker" won the battle.

      Hello to everybody!

      It is my first experience in creating blogs and, finally, I did it.
I`m sure that such an activity can help us to widen imagination and creativity and, of course, to try ourselves in the role of bloggers.
I swear I`ll try to do my best to make it interesting and hope you`ll enjoy it!
So, as The Black Eyed Peas sings : "Let`s get it started"))