What would you spend your time doing if you were incarcerated? Well, O. Henry spent his time writing short stories.  O. Henry was arrested and put into prison for bank embezzlement. During this time, he wrote countless short stories to support his daughter. His stories are known for their surprise endings and the suspense in his stories. Because O. Henry was influenced by his prison experiences, his stories are characterized with suspense, imagery, and unexpected endings.

In the short story “A Retrieved Reformation,” the reader is left wondering what will happen next. The reader is intrigued by the suspense and wants to continue reading to know what will occur as the story continues. Even O. Henry’s ending to “A Retrieved Reformation” still leaves the reader in suspense. It leaves the reader wondering what will happen as it pertains to the buggy (Henry 8). For example, in “ A Retrieved Reformation,” Ben Price’s last words quoted here, ” I guess your buggy’s waiting for you Mr. Spencer?” He leaves us wondering what the buggy is about and what the buggy has to do with the ending of the story. A reader may wonder what is happening with the buggy, and why are these his last words. O. Henry uses suspense throughout “ A Retrieved Reformation”  and his other short stories.

In O. Henry’s short story, “After Twenty Years,” the reader is able to see the imagery that O. Henry is showing. After Twenty Years tells a little about the backstory of the man from Chicago, Bob.  A reader doesn’t learn everything about him, but there are some hints. For example, in “After Twenty Years”, it states that Bob “had small jewels in his watch” and a “large jewel in his necktie”(O. Henry ). O. Henry uses descriptive adjectives to show us the idea of small jewels and view the large jewel in his necktie. The reader may think of a large diamond in a bow tie when the story states that there was a large jewel in his necktie. O. Henry does a fantastic job of painting pictures with his words.

In O. Henry’s short story, “A Retrieved Reformation,” the reader expects a certain ending, but something else occurs. O. Henry is best known for his unexpected endings in which the reader expects something to happen and something else occurs. For example, when Jimmy Valentine is planning to sell his tools, a reader may think “this may not end well”(O. Henry). He could possibly be arrested. He could spend even more time in jail. Ben Price doesn’t sound like he plays any games. Another example in “A Retrieved Reformation” is when Agatha gets stuck in the safe, prompting Jimmy Valentine to jump into action. He decides that he’ll use his tools that he hasn’t gotten to his friend yet to get Agatha out of the safe (O. Henry). A reader may think that he may get arrested yet again for breaking into safes. After all, he is in a bank. His soon to be father in law doesn’t know his past history. O. Henry is well known for his unexpected endings.

O. Henry uses different characteristics in his writing to display law-breaking ordeals, and leave you on the edge of your seat waiting to know what will happen next after seeing the vivid pictures painted. O. Henry’s stories will leave you wondering and waiting. He is well known for his suspense today, even though he is dead.  Because O. Henry was influenced by his prison experiences, his stories are characterized with suspense, imagery, and unexpected endings. Get out there and take a look at one of O. Henry’s short stories.