Reading notes: confessions of a humorist

American countryside

Genre short stories

By O. Henry

abstract

The hero of the novel is a bookkeeper in a hardware store. By chance, he found himself humorous. Encouraged by his friends, he began to create humorous works and submit them to publications, earning more money than his salary in the hardware store. With the consent of his wife, the protagonist resigned from the hardware store and specialized in the creation of humorous works to make a living.

At first, his mind was full of ideas, and his works were very popular, making a lot of money and saving a lot of money.

After five or six months, his inspiration gradually dried up. In order to create, he collected writing materials on friends and family. Like a thief, he secretly listened to other people's words and published them in newspapers and periodicals, making his relatives and friends hide from him and refusing to tell him anything. Neither of his children wants to play with him. He felt that he had lost the joy of life.

One day, the hero went to a friend's shop which is engaged in funeral supplies service. In the shop, he looked at the ebony coffin, the black coffin clothes, the coffin rack, the duster of the hearse and the coffin. His heart suddenly calmed down, and he realized that life was more meaningful than creation. Therefore, he often goes to his friend's shop. At the same time, the speed of his humorous works is faster than before, but the quality of his manuscripts is declining. His works are no longer popular with readers and editors, and more and more manuscripts are rejected.

Once, a friend said that his funeral supplies business was booming and invited the protagonist to invest and do business together. The hero accepted the invitation, took out the bank deposit and put it in the funeral shop.

At the end of the novel, the protagonist no longer writes for newspapers and periodicals, but works as a bookkeeper of the funeral supplies joint-stock company, and prospers with friends. At the same time, instead of deliberately collecting materials, he spoke more interestingly and became the most popular person in the town. Family life is happier, and children are more willing to play with him.

My perception

1, "There are some things that are deliberately pursued, but the results are not satisfactory.

2. At any time, life is the source of creation. Life is beautiful and rich, and creative inspiration can continue.

highlight

1, a painless incubation period of 25 years, and then suddenly broke out. People say I have this disease. But they don't call it measles, they call it humor.

In the following weeks, my colleagues have been stirring up my complacency. One after another, they told me how witty my words were, man, and explained to me every humor in the speech.

3. People expect me to make fun of pottery and make the enamelware lighter. I'm a bookkeeper. If I make a balance sheet without making some interesting comments on the total amount, or if I can't find anything interesting on the invoice of a plow, other employees will be disappointed.

I occasionally write some jokes and random thoughts that I think are particularly interesting and send them to the publications that publish such works. They were adopted immediately. Several editors also wrote to encourage me to continue to contribute.

I found the know-how of this industry. I can catch an interesting idea, write two lines of jokes and earn a dollar. With a little modification, it can be folded into four lines and the output value will double. If you turn over the wardrobe, plus a little rhyming decoration, a beautiful illustration will become a humorous irony, and it is impossible to recognize its true colors.

After five or six months, my humor seems to have dried up. Puns and meaningful sentences are no longer blurted out.

7. My friends all looked at me with pity and surprise. I am a different person. I used to provide them with entertainment and joy, but now I am exploiting them. I have no more jokes to amuse them. Jokes are so precious that I can't give away my livelihood for nothing.

8. When I was collecting materials, there was no one, no place, no time and no topic to escape. Even in church, my degenerate imagination searched for prey between solemn corridors and colonnades.

9. These simple and humorous treasures should only be used to enrich the sacred family life, but I sold them publicly. I cunningly urged her to talk, but she didn't doubt anything, and she took out all her heart. I printed it mercilessly, mediocre and exposed, and made it public.

10, my god! Next, my long teeth bit into the neck of the child's childish language.

1 1. Once, I was at the end of my rope, and my manuscript had to be sent in the next mail, so I hid under a pile of fallen leaves in the garden, knowing that they would go there to play.

12, my own children began to avoid me like the plague. When I avoid them like a terrible ghoul, I always hear them say, "Dad is here." They immediately put away their toys and hid in a safer place. What a pathetic role I have become!

13, I have no friends, no recreation, no fun in life. My family happiness has also been ruined. I am like a bee, greedily sucking the most beautiful flowers in my life, but flower of life is afraid to avoid my thorns.

A quarter of an hour ago, I was a humorist who was alienated from others. Now I am a contented philosopher. I found shelter, I can escape humor, I don't have to rack my brains to search for sarcastic jokes, I don't have to sweep the floor politely, and I don't have to think hard about amazing quips.

15 but I feel indescribable joy, because I can give up humorous creation and enjoy the apple of life again, without squeezing it into powder and squeezing out a few drops of apple juice that makes people laugh-what joy it will be!

16, my jokes spread everywhere and were widely quoted. I listened to my wife's confidence with relish, but I didn't care about profit. Guy and Viola are playing on my knee, spreading the treasure of childish humor. I am no longer afraid of holding a small notebook and staring at them like an evil ghost. (202202 16)