The Gift of the Magi
O’ Henry
1. Who are the main characters in the story?
Answer: The main characters in The Gift of the Magi by O’ Henry are Jim and Della, a struggling but loving couple. Jim works hard to run the family, Della manages the household. They genuinely care for each other and shows their unconditional love through their self- sacrifice.
2. What is the significance of the title “The Gift of the Magi”?
Answer: The title refers to the Biblical Magi, sometimes called the wise men. The names of those Magi’s were Melchior, Gasper and Balthazar. They followed a star to reach Bethlehem to meet the infant Christ. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh as gift. The concept of Christmas gifts comes from this incident. In the story, Jim and Della re compared to the Magi because they give each other the most possession gift of all, selfless love even though their gifts are physically useless.
3. What is Della’s most prized possession?
Answer: Della’s most prized possession is her long, beautiful hair. Her hair is described as falling like a cascade of brown waters, reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. O’ Henry writes that it would make the Queen of Sheba jealous emphasizing its richness and allure.
4. Write about publishing of “The Gift of the Magi”.
Answer: O’ Henry write under his pen name; his real name is William Sydney Porter. This short story first published in the newspaper The New York Sunday World in 1905 and first in book 1906 in the collection The Four Million.
5. Why is Della worried at the beginning of the story? Where did she get the money to gift Jim an expensive gift?
Answer: She has only $1.87 to buy a Christmas gift for Jim, which she feels is too little to express her love. So, she sells her long, beautiful hair for $20 to Madame Sofronie. She found a simple yet attractive platinum fob chain for Jim’s pocket watch.
6. What does Della’s sacrifice tell us about her character?
Answer: Della’s sacrifice shows that she is deeply loving, selfless, and caring. She values her husband’s happiness more than her own prized possession, her beautiful hair.
7. How did Jim react when he saw Della without her hair?
Answer: Jim was shocked and stared at Della strangely. He wasn’t angry, but surprised, because he had sold his watch to buy the combs for Della’s hair, which she once craved to buy but now she had just cut off her brownish beautiful hair.
8. Describe the financial situation of Jim and Della.
Answer: Jim and Della are very much in love but poor. They reside in a small apartment and barely manage to get by. In spite of their poverty, they give up their most valued possession to purchase a gift for the other,Della sells her locks to purchase a watch chain for Jim, and Jim sells his watch to purchase combs for Della's hair. Their poverty is tangible, but their love is invaluable.
9. What literary device is used in the ending of the story?
Answer: The tale employs situational irony both characters sacrifice their most precious items to purchase presents that become useless, but this irony serves to showcase the extent of their love. The tale implies material objects are secondary compared to love and sacrifice. Emotional bond is where real riches lie, not in material presents.
10. Describe the apartment in which Jim and Della resided.
Answer: Jim and Della had a small, rented apartment that was $8 per week. It was sparsely furnished and showed evidence of their poverty. The mailbox was not working, the electric button did not work, and the mirror between the windows was small enough that Della had to handle it carefully when she styled her hair. Despite its squalor, the apartment was cozy and warm with love.
11. What kind of combs were those Jim presented to Della?
Answer: The combs were of pure tortoise shell with jeweled edges. They were elegant and pricey-looking. Della had longingly gazed at them in a shop window for months. They were ideal for her long, lovely hair.
12. When did Jim came home usually?
Answer: Jim came home in the evening, around seven o'clock. Della was already prepared and waited anxiously for him.
13. What was Jim's most prized possession?
Answer: Jim's most treasured item was his gold pocket watch. It had been from his father to his grandfather and then to him. He cherished it and thought of it as a source of pride and tradition within his family.
14. What did Della tell Jim to do when he came into the room?
Answer: Della asked Jim not to stare at her too hard initially. She told him she had cut her hair and wished he would still think she was beautiful.
15. What did Della do to make herself presentable when she cut her hair?
Answer: Della styled her short hair with hot irons and attempted to make it look well. She hoped Jim would still think she was beautiful even with the drastic change.
16. What did Jim do upon seeing Della's gift?
Answer: Jim smiled politely and informed Della that he had sold his watch to purchase her combs. He enjoyed the gift but mentioned that he no longer possessed the watch to wear the chain.
17. What was Della's reaction when she found out Jim sold his watch?
Answer: Della was shocked but then thought about how much Jim loved her. She sobbed with a smile, recognizing their sacrifices as acts of love.
18. What does the narrator indicate about the Magi towards the end of the story?
Answer: The narrator describes the Magi as clever gift-givers and analogizes them with Della and Jim. Though their presents were not useful, the love behind them made them the wisest of all.
19. What type of shop did Madame Sofronie have?
Answer: Madame Sofronie had a shop for selling hair commodities. She purchased Della's long hair for $20, which she used to purchase Jim's gift.
20. What is the ultimate message of The Gift Of The Magi?
Answer: The ultimate message is that love is the greatest gift of all and true wealth is found in the willingness to sacrifice for someone you love Jim and Del's story teaches that the spirit of giving lies not innot in the gift itself but in the love and thought behind it.
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Kamala Das 4th Sem.
Kamala Das 4th Sem.
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