Finally, I have finished with my project. Blog creating was a great experience for me. 
Referring to this story I would like to say NEVER GIVE UP AND YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.
Good Luck!

STYLISTIC DEVICES

Lexical stylistic means and expressive devices are metaphors, epithets, similes, periphrasis and others.

The author uses epithets merely for description of characters and for readers to understand the characters better. For example : “ … gave her the incredulous, pitying, sneering, icy stare…”, the epithets are used here to intensify the way she looked on heroine. Here I can draw your attention to the choice of vocabulary as well, the author uses “ stare” but not “look” – it shows the emotional coloring. Another instance is: “ …full of tender, whimsical fancies…”, is used to show us the girls inner world brighter. Or, “ hideous and culpable poverty” also an epithet used to emphasize the power of poverty.

As for the metaphors they are used merely to identify roles in the story, for example “ …Mr. Parker be a cicerone…”, it is used to show the function of character.

The story is full of similes, which are used to create ironic setting and descriptions. For instance: “ Its four bare walls seemed to close in upon you like the sides of a coffin”, is used for intensification of readers imagination, for making them feel involved. Or “ … smiling in exactly the way the angels do..”, to make the image of a girl complete. Another instance is “ …a cloud of smoke like an aerial cuttlefish..”, used to render the general mood of the story. Also I can say about such an example: “Billy Jackson look like the big diamond pin that Night fastens her kimono with”. Here the author uses simile to  show the beauty and significance of that star to the heroine. But here we can see the example of personification as well, “Might” is personified, author treats her as a person, to emphasize her participation in the lives of characters.

Moreover, O’Henry uses periphrasis, as in “ Clara” is replaced by “ dark goblin”, to show the main heroines impression of a woman.

O’Henry uses allusions from Greek Myths, for instance: “ … the train of Momus..” – when the author told about fat Mr. Hoover, Momus, according to Greek myths is the god of blame and mockery. In such a way he wants us to see that for this God, fat Mr. Hoover is the best choice.

The other case of allusion is “Erebus of the skylight room…”, Erebus us also a thing from Greek Myths, which is considered to be the personification of darkness. The author shows the darkness of the room and the moment, when main heroine merely died of starvation.

The case of meiosis (a very little woman) emphasizes the insignificance of her physical condition, showing her weakness against the strong problems.

As for the syntactical means, here the author used ellipsis, climax aposiopesis, polysyndeton, repetitions and others.

As for the polysyndeton, it is used in the story to reveal the atmosphere and involve readers in it. For example: “ … her description of their adventures and of the merits and of the gentleman who..” it is like intensification of the authors idea. Also, we can dwell on another instance, “ … ant the slapping of wrists and burnt feathers..” also creates a special atmosphere, ironic one for sure.

The author uses repetition, to show his attitude and show his own emotions as for this or that moment. For instance: “ Hoover, forty-five, flush and foolish … Hoover, forty-five, flush and foolish”, it is used to show author’s irritation and disgust about this character.

Talking about phonetic stylistic devices I can say about alliteration, like in “ foutry-five, fat, flush and foolish” – is used to intensify the authors attitude.

СHARACTERS

 Miss Leeson is the protagonist. She is a young typist who rents "the skylight room" because it is the only room she can afford. She is described in both direct and indirect ways. “She carried a typewriter made to be lugged around by a much larger lady. She was a very little girl, with eyes and hair that had kept on growing after she had stopped and that always looked as if they were saying: "Goodness me! Why didn't you keep up with us?” and because of her beauty, because of her charm the lodgers couldn’t help loving her. She is dreamy and optimistic one. She call the star “Billy Jackson” dreaming about the man who is ideal for her. Miss Leeson has an ideal of true love and romance in her mind and in her heart. She clings to this ideal even when she becomes destitute and is starving. She does not compromise. But according to the author, Miss Leeson is not created for the skylight room. She lives there because it is the only one she can afford. And when she was fired, she felt herself broken and depressive, she stopped dreaming, she began to disappoint in her dreams and the author says: ”Miss Longnecker must be right; it was Gamma, of the constellation Cassiopeia, and not Billy Jackson. And yet she could not let it be Gamma”. But Miss Leeson's dream comes true. Her prince rescues her. We shall assume that Dr. Jackson is a prince who is worth the wait.

 Mrs. Parker is the antagonist. She is the landlady, who is a bit snobbish. She is depicted in both direct and indirect ways. She considers herself to be of too high status, for example “Then you would manage to stammer forth the confession that you were neither a doctor nor a dentist. Mrs. Parker's manner of receiving the admission was such that you could never afterward entertain the same feeling toward your parents, who had neglected to train you up in one of the professions that fitted Mrs. Parker's parlours”. From these words we see that Mrs. Parker is snobbish, her main characteristic is that she wears mask as a stated type of behaviour for different conditions. The only thing which matters for her is money and her apartment. The smallest her room is her embarrassment.   She considers most of her lodgers not to be worth of living there. She is full of indifference. Even when the doctor comes to Miss Leeson, she remembers her name with troubles.  Also she was not satisfied with her new lodger: ” Mrs. Parker gave her the incredulous, pitying, sneering, icy stare that she kept for those who failed to qualify as doctors or dentists, and led the way to the second floor back” The snobbish landlady was insensitive to Miss Leeson. We should keep ourselves alert and sensitive to the needs of others.

THE PLOT

INTRODUCTION. The story begins with presenting the rooms in Mrs.Parkers house. She shows rooms from the most expensive and luxiory to the cheapest and dark.
CLIMAX. Miss Leeson murmured faintly "Good-bye, Billy!"  Clara, the coloured maid, found the door locked at 10 the next day, and they forced it open. Vinegar, and the slapping of wrists and burnt feathers proving of no avail, some one ran to 'phone for an ambulance.
ANTICLIMAX."Dr. William Jackson, the ambulance physician who attended the case, says the patient will recover."
From the viewpoint of presentation the text is the 3rd person narrative. It sounds more objective, with the author rather distant from the events depicted in the text.
In terms of the contextual type the text is written mostly as narration.
The author employs informal vocabulary (show up, murmured faintly).

THE SITTING OF THE STORY

The action takes place in New York in the small skylight room.

Mrs. Parker shows the double parlours, but if you are neither a doctor nor a dentist, you go to the second floor with eight dollar rooms. Mr. Skidder's large hall room to admire the lambrequins. But if you do not have enought money for a good accomodation  Mrs. Parker can offer something cheaper, she will send you to the Skylight Room, which costs three dollars. The author shows us such a division to underline that everyone can dream (as Mr. Skidder dreams in his hall room and Ms. Leeson dreams in her little 7x8 feet room) and it doesn’t matter what apartments you have.

The description of the room makes us sad and gloomy  (Its four bare walls seemed to close in upon you like the sides of a coffin).

MY IMPRESSIONS

When I have read the title it seemed to me very intriguing. Firstly, I thought about something happy. But the story itself is sad. It is about poor   Miss Leeson who has no job, no money and is suffering from debility induced by starvation. I feel sorry with this miss. But the end of the story promised the readers that miss Leeson would be treated as soon as possible and it gives the chance to continue the story and finish it with happy end. So, it is an interesting story and it worths attention.

The American short story writer O. Henry (1862 - 1910) was born under the name William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1862. His short stories are well known throughout the world; noted for their witticism, clever wordplay, and unexpected endings.