Let me feel your pulse

O. Henry

About the Author:

 William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen
name O. Henry, was an American short story writer.
 Porter writing 381 short stories.
 Porter's works include "The Gift of the Magi", "The Duplicity of Hargraves", and "The
Ransom of Red Chief".
 His stories are known for their surprise endings and witty narration. Porter also wrote poetry
and non-fiction.

About the Story:

 This work was first published in the Cosmopolitan magazine under the title "Adventures in
neurasthenia." It was written by O. Henry when he was in residence in Asheville, North Carolina
and addresses themes of alcoholism and the author's relationship with his father.
 This is a humorous short story, which talks about the circumstances of the protagonist, who is of
an elderly age.

Protagonist health issues :

 He goes to see the doctor, due to his worsening health.

 The doctor is very professional and according to the protagonist, resembles the historic figure,
Napoleon.

Doctors play:

 The doctor enquires on the protagonist’s consumption of alcohol and gives him a practical
exercise of asking him to drink a little Whiskey and watch his blood pressure shoot.
 The protagonist light heartedly asks for another round of alcohol so that they can check the
blood pressure on the other arm.
 The doctor goes on to give him a haemoglobin test and stated the colour of his blood, is too
light.
 The protagonist says that he actually expected his blood to be blue in colour.
 Finally, the doctor lists various illnesses and diseases, that the protagonist has.

Doctor Recommends:

 The doctor recommends a sanatorium for the protagonist, in order to get complete rest and
calm his nerves.
 The doctor personally accompanies the protagonist to the sanatorium on the Catskill.
 There are more than 20 people. Since he feels uncomfortable he leaves the place.
 A week later, the protagonist is back at the doctor’s office, to check his blood pressure

Recommended Hotel Bonaire:

  The doctor next recommends Hotel Bonaire, off the coast of long island. Again, the protagonist
is not comfortable staying there.
 Eventually, he doesn’t show any signs of recuperation.
 The doctor takes him to a consulting physician. The consulting physician examines him.
 Finally, the two doctors, come up with a strict diet for the protagonists to follow, along with
instructions to get sufficient out door air and exercise.
 The protagonist just knows he isn’t able to work, sleep, eat, or bowl.

Relative John:

 His mind thinks of his relative, john who had a country house seven miles from Pineville.
 After a good dinner and being quite tired, the protagonist retired to the comfortable room he
was given.
 He laid down and listened peacefully to the silent sounds of the night.
 The next morning, the protagonist goes for a walk with john. They talk about farming and do a
bit of hunting, before returning to the house for breakfast. A week goes by and it alarms the
protagonist that he was sleeping and eating well and actually beginning to enjoy life.

Again visit doctor:

 He goes back to a doctor in town and just re- establishes the fact that he was ill and needed rest
and exercise.

Country Doctor:

 The protagonist comes to know of a country doctor who lived in the mountains nearby.
 He goes to see the doctor, a man with a Greybeard, clear, blue, wrinkled eyes, in a homemade
suit of grey jeans.
 He explains his diagnosis and awaits the doctor’s instruction.
 The doctor says his chances to live are very slim, but there is one way to change his fate.

Changing of fate flowers introduced:

 He reveals to the protagonists, a flowering plant that could cure him but its’s very rare and hard
to find.
 He offers help and says that they could look together.
 So, every day, the old doctor and the protagonist hunted for the cure all plant among the
mountains and valleys of the Blue Ridge.
 Day by day, they climbed the valleys and the mountain terrain to find the plant.
 They started early and had no time to do anything but sleep when they returned.
 This went on for a month.

Meeting with Amaryllis:

 One evening, he and Amaryllis his relative in the country take a little walk under the trees.
 Amaryllis comments that he was looking quite well now and teases him for thinking he was ill,
considering that he was strong as a plough-mule, that he sleeps ten to twelve hours every night
and that he is eating well.
Name identity:

 At the time, the old doctor pulls up and he has a private conversation with Amaryllis.
 When they got to the house, amaryllis lugged out an encyclopaedia and searched for the
meaning of her own name as this was what the old doctor had instructed her to do.
 It seems to be the name of a genus of flowering plants, and also the name of a country girl in
Theocritus and Virgil.

Chance to live:

 But the protagonist understood that we often fall ‘under the spell’ of the serious ailments that
we forget to just get good rest and exercise in order to get that chance to live.
 The city doctors just give away medication, in a hole to cure them.

Conclusion:

 The protagonist is pleased with the outcome and finds happiness in the renewing of his body
and mind, all thanks to the old doctor.