>
> On Apr 1, 2008, at 1:53 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> > A friend of mine at the U of Michigan mentioned a short story by
> > O'Henry
> > which he used in introduction-to-philosophy classes to illustrate the
> > meaning of "fatalism" and distinguish it from other determinist etc
> > perspectives. The story begins three times, with each time the
> > protagonist (a young man in a sheephereding-village) making a totally
> > different choice, leading to a totally different life, but each life
> > ends with his being killed with the same set of dueling pistols. If
> > anyone knows of this story one might send it to relevant parties
> > off-list so thay might stop being a disgrace to the faculties of Yale
> > and Virginia.
>
> O. Henry? I think I read him in junior high school.
>
>
Along with E. A. Poe and Mark Twain?
Borges once said that O. Henry's games are better for the adult but are fed to children because most adults are too blind to understand him.