一篇歐．亨利的作品

孩子以前小學高年級的國語課本中有篇文章--「最後一片葉子」，作者是美國歐．亨利(O. Henry)，該文十分感人。最近在書架發現一本塵封許久的英文書—Good Times Through Literature，是1957年版的文學作品選集，其中有篇歐．亨利的短篇小說 -- The Ransom of Red Chief (紅毛酋長的贖金)[註]，故事以一個綁架、勒索者的口吻講述這起綁架富商兒子的故事，出人意料的是被綁架的小孩竟將這兩名匪徒弄得七葷八素，結果綁匪偷雞不成蝕把米，故事情節令人噴飯！

看原文可感受到作者用字(語)及情節的有趣性。這作品也曾拍為電影，海報如下：

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
Good Times Through Literature蒐集了許多美國作家或英語文學作品，是供美國中學生(約九年級)閱讀的，編的不錯，例如：在一篇作品後或有 Think it over!、The author's craft、KNOW YOUR WORDS(書後亦附有Glossary解釋字義)。“紅毛酋長的贖金”篇末列出下面問題及訊息 (p.216)。                    

Now it’s your turn! (想想下面問題)

1. Who is the chief victim of the kidnapping? What incidents most humorously bring out his suffering?

2. Recall the feeling and actions of Red Chief when he was kidnapped. Do you think any lively boy might feel and act as Red Chief did under the same circumstances?

Would he be likely to have all Red Chief’s feelings and do all the things that Red Chief
did? Analyze the actions and feelings of the other characters in the same way anddecide whether O. Henry meant to portray them as lifelike persons.

The author's craft (作者的技巧)

Creating humor through incongruities

In all his popular stories O. Henry makes good use of the fact that most of us enjoy being led to expect one thing, only to discover something entirely different. For example, when we read the first sentence of “The Ransom of Red Chief,” we learn that the narrator and his friend Bill Driscoll are kidnapers—and at once we picture them as hardened criminals who snatch innocent children for ransom. But almost immediately we are surprised by the O. Henry is making his kidnapers talk—and act. One surprise follows another in quick succession.
One special quality of O. Henry’s surprises is incongruity, which refers to the unexpected putting together of unlike things or ideas…

O. Henry, master of the surprise ending (作者簡介)

… Later in New York City he loved to prowl about searching for story material. His quick eye and alert mind noted innumerable humorous situations in the varied life of the great city, which he wrote up in a clever, slangy, often sentimental or exaggerated style that intrigued his readers. But what they liked best were the clever twists or surprise endings that O. Henry gave his plots…

若給學生有趣的教材，或即便是嚴肅的篇章；重要的是如何去“教”，若能引導孩子去思考一些問題、或將它與生活相連結，才不至於填鴨。

[註]網路上可找到原文(其中之一)；中文摘譯。