“Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen”
Generosity has appetites
StorylineEvery Thanksgiving, Stuffy Pete and an elderly gentleman meet in New York for a familiar act of generosity. This year, appetite, pride and tradition have plans of their own. O. Henry turns a holiday meal into a warm, sly look at what people will do for one another.
“The heroes are not all heroes of steel and gold.”
THE SHORT SHOT EDITION
Good manners. Generous portions. Complications.
- Short Shot editionStory with edition extras
- GenreHoliday fiction
- Estimated reading time8–10 minutesStory · extras excluded
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At a glance
- Genre
- Holiday fiction
- Mood
- Generosity with a twist
- First published
- 1905
- Author’s country
- United States
Read the opening · excerpt
There is one day that is ours. There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to. Bless the day. President Roosevelt gives it to us. We hear some talk of the Puritans, but don’t just remember who they were. Bet we can lick ’em, anyhow, if they try to land again. Plymouth Rocks? Well, that sounds more familiar. Lots of us have had to come down to hens since the Turkey Trust got its work in.
THE EDITOR’S TAKE
A FEAST OF GOOD INTENTIONS
Why “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen”?
- A holiday ritual with enough pride to feed the whole table.
- Two ordinary men, each determined to play his part with dignity.
- O. Henry serves warmth and irony without giving away the surprise.
BEHIND THE STORY
About the author
O. Henry (1862–1910), the pen name of William Sydney Porter, writes about ordinary lives with warmth, wit and an eye for irony. His best-known stories include “The Gift of the Magi”, “The Last Leaf” and “The Ransom of Red Chief”. New York’s streets and overlooked inhabitants populate much of his fiction.
A question to savor
When generosity becomes a tradition, who is giving what to whom?
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