The story under analysis is written by William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer.

His life was rather difficult. He worked as reporter and columnist, he was imprisoned for embezzling money, he had to support his daughter Margaret. By the way, being imprisoned, he began his literary carrer.

O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, clever surprise endings and humour. He combined humour and pathos with an ironic twist of plot. Although some critics were not so enthusiastic about his formulatic way of writing, the public loved his entertaining tales and uncomplicated characters.

A large group of O. Henry’s short stories are devoted to the description of the capitalist city. Big city is cruel and indifferent to the fate of the little man. O. Henry paints an impressive picture of insecurity, poverty of ordinary people, their dashed hopes, shattered illusions. Typists, shop assistants, actors, clerks, the heroes of these stories, the author portrayed with sympathy and compassion - they are the victim of a capitalist city, cruel and callous, indifferent to their fate. Not all the stories about Henry `are harmless in nature.

Speaking about realistic and romantic stories of Henry we should mention also that the writer created such sentimental novels and short stories, written in the spirit of "gentle realism". There were many short stories with a traditional "happy ending" pure entertainment. In the American literature of the late XIX - early XX century O. Henry was intermediate between the critical and realistic direction, the school of "gentle realism" and the romantic trend, which has continued to exist. Artistic method of O. Henry is a combination of realistic, sentimental items, often difficult interwoven in his novels. The writer not only continued, but also made a lot of new development in the genre of the American short story. The undeniable merit of O. Henry is a realistic description of the city life and life little man. Very diverse genre of variety in his short story: short story, satire, short story, grotesque, romantic adventure novel, short story, parody, etc. majority of characteristic features of the artistic style of the writer are humor and satire, irony, comic grotesque. Stories are dynamic, written spoken language using jargon parody receptions, unexpected comparisons.

O. Henry's wrote such classic short stories as The Ransom of Red Chief, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”. The story "A Skylight Room" was published in 1905.

The Skylight Room by O. Henry

"The Skylight Room" is a modern day fairy tale, set in the heart of the author's favorite city, New York. This heartwarming tale describes the dream come true romance of Miss Leeson, a poor working girl in New York. Miss Leeson is a young woman who works as a freelance typist with the big firms in the city. Her income is, however, insufficient to get her decent lodgings, so she is forced to rent what experienced house hunters call "the skylight room". The skylight room is a "well of stygian blackness", a sort of black hole where once light enters, it just dies in agony. The only source of natural light here is a small rectangular skylight. The skylight room has no windows; a small door leads to the landing. For a bright, vivacious and whimsically imaginative girl like Miss Leeson, this is the worst it can get. The bare room has a small cot, a wash stand and a dresser- all that Miss Leeson can afford. On the floors below live the more affluent lodgers of the sharp tongued and snobbish Mrs. Parker, Miss Leeson's landlady. Mr. Skidder is a playwright, perpetually on the lookout for a muse. Miss Leeson fits the bill, and the heroine of Mr. Skidder's next play becomes a short, happy-go-lucky woman who has long auburn hair. Mr. Hoover, a fat, middle aged man, is not above taking advantage of poor young girls, and the young Mr. Evans develops a boyish infatuation toward this woman whose fancies are forever skimming the skies and the stars. The schoolteacher, Miss Longnecker, a beautiful woman with no time for fancies, and the sports obsessed Miss Dorn are the other lodgers of Mrs. Parker's establishment. Miss Leeson soon becomes popular with all the lodgers, despite the fact that she is a poor outcast who has to live in "the skylight room". On a balmy evening, when the lodgers are sitting on the steps leading to the apartments, Miss Leeson points out Billy Jackson, the only star she can see through the skylight in her room. Though Miss Longnecker disagrees with her astronomical nomenclature and insists it is "Gamma", the other lodgers think Billy Jackson is a better name for a star. For Miss Leeson, the star is the only friend in a wide world whose only share comes to her in the form of a patch of black darkness called "the skylight room". It is not just a ball of gas and heat for her, it is a friend and confidante who knows her distress and sorrows. A few days later, Miss Leeson's unflagging cheerfulness finally starts to taper off, as she realizes that more difficulties lie in store for her. And as the story reaches its culmination, we find out exactly what the significance of "Billy Jackson" is in the existence of the poor typist.

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