"Bolivar can not stand two" - an immortal quote from a short story by O. Henry

O. Henry's stories are known to everyone who likes to read. All the others are familiar with them thanks to the wonderful adaptations of the works of the remarkable American writer. The phrases "sand is a bad substitute for oats", "we will have time to reach the Canadian border", "Bolivar can not stand two" became winged, and their appropriate use testifies to a good sense of humor and reading ability of the interlocutor.

The secret of the success of O. Henry's literary miniatures in their life's truth, not obsolete and eternal. In turn, such reliability can not be achieved if the author does not have experience and he did not experience difficulties. Careless, well-fed and prosperous life does not enrich a person with the qualities necessary for a good writer.

Real name O. Henry - William Sidney Porter, he was born in North Carolina, in a small town of Greensboro. Early orphaned, the young man began to work, first in the pharmacy, then in the bank as a cashier. Here he suffered serious trouble, William was accused of embezzlement. Giving up on the run, the young man met different people, and, apparently, he heard a lot of adventurous stories. Perhaps part of the story "The roads we choose", which tells about the robbery of the train, was conceived at that time, and the phrase "Bolivar can not stand two" was in tune with the mood of the clerk who was hiding from the law. However, the idea of a future work could arise in the prison of the city of Columbus (Ohio), where the future writer spent three years.

William Porter, thanks to his apothecary experience, got a job at the prison infirmary. Prisoners were ill infrequently, and the Aesculapius had enough time to try to write stories. Here, the pseudonym O. Henry was coined. Why is this, the story is silent.

America is a country of great opportunities. The story written by the prison sittler was published in 1899, he liked the editor of "McClure Magazine", and was called the "Christmas Gift of Dick Whistler."

In total, O. Henry wrote more than 270 novellas. Among them, and "Roads ..." with the famous phrase "Bolivar can not stand two", the meaning of which is in the ruthlessness of the "world of gain." One person kills another not because he feels hatred for him, just business is too tight for two. And it does not matter whether he shoots from a colt, or kills a competitor more civilized - in an economic way. Nothing personal, just horse Bolivar can not stand two riders, and that's it.

The characters of O. Henry's stories are diverse. Among them there are small clerks, Wall Street aces, literary colleagues, street bandits, simple workers, politicians, actors, cowboys, and laundresses ... But who does not exist in these novels? The writer himself lamented at times that he would be remembered by all as the author of small literary forms, and he promised that he would create a great novel or at least a story.

In fact, collectively, these small stories create a three-dimensional picture of American life at the beginning of the 20th century, in all its minutest detail and diversity, which could hardly have been achieved even in the most voluminous epic work. And the canvas does not seem to be scenes from an old and strange life, much in them is very similar to the events of our days. Maybe that's why today it's often possible to hear the phrase "Bolivar can not stand two" when it comes to cynical elimination of a competitor ...