Nhóm lớp 21CTA:
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Subject: ENGLISH & AMERICAN LITERATURE
Part III: AMERICAN LITERATURE
The gift of The Magi
-O.HENRY-
Question 1: What were the most valuable possession that the
couple had? How valuable were they
She decided to buy him a sterling gift for Chrismast. To reach
this purpose, she had to save every penny by bulldozing the
grocer and vegetable man and the butcher. However, the
money she saved was not enough to buy a present. She stayed
in the furnished room and looked out dully. Afterward, she
has made a decision to sell her hair, which was said to
“depreciate all the jewels and gifts”, to get $20 and quickly
she ransacked all the stores to buy a fob chain for her
husband.
The Combs–the set of combs, side and back, that Della had
worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs,
pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims–just the shade to wear
in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs.
He sold the watch to get the money to buy the combs.
Question 2: what gifts did the couple give each other? Why?
In the ironic story "The Gift of The Magi" a young couple is
trying to find a gift for each other for Christmas, they do not
have much money, but each of them wants to do something
special for the other. Jim decides to sell his watch to get a set
of hairbrushes for Della, and Della sells her hair to buy a
chain for Jim's watch. Although it was foolish for these two to
sell their most prized possession when the other person just
wanted them to have each other. Their gifts were wise in a
way but in a last word to the wise of these days let it be sad
that of all who give these two were the wisest of all who give
a received gift, such as they were wisest. The two realized that
being together and loving each other was the greatest gift. It
does not matter if you are rich or poor, or if you have nice
things, as long as you have love.
Question 3: How do you understand the title of the story?
The title of “The Gift of the Magi” is appropriate because,
underneath the surface irony, the gifts Jim and Della gave
each other were wise. As the narrator explains at the end of
the story, the Magi were wise men, and the gifts they brought
to the infant Jesus were wise. The gifts Jim and Della give
each other, in a practical sense, were useless: because Della
had sold her long, beautiful hair, she couldn’t use the costly
comb and brush set Jim gave her. Likewise, because he sold
his beloved watch, Jim couldn’t use the expensive watch
chain Della gave him. However, O. Henry, in this story, is
inviting us to think about the true meaning of Christmas and
of gift.
Gifting. Wisdom, he is saying, goes deeper than mere
knowledge. If Della and Jim had known what the other was
doing, they never would have bought the gifts they did.
Nevertheless, they did the wisest thing of all. The deepest
point of a gift is not to give a person something they can use
(though that is nice). Instead, it is to show your love and
caring for the other person. Love is the greatest gift of all, and
like the magi, the couple’s gifts showed how much they loved
each other. Each one was willing to sacrifice their most
precious possession to do something for the other.
Question 4: what is both wonderful and terrible about each
gift? Use details from the story to explain the irony situation
They prefer the platinum fob chain and a set of combs, the
Christmas gifts bought by Della for Jim's gold watch and by
Jim for Della's brown hair. Their Christmas gifts were useless
because Jim did not have the watch to use the platinum fob
chain and also Della did not have the hair to use a set of
combs. The situational irony in "The gift of The Magi" occurs
when it is revealed that Jim has sold his watch to buy combs
for Della to put in her hair, while Della has sold her hair to
buy Jim's watch-chain. Each has sacrificed a precious
possession to buy something which the other cannot use.
Despite this impractically, Della and Jim both learn that their
love for each other is what matters, and that their possessions
were important.
Question 5: Indentify and analyze the literary techniques
used in this excerpt?
Literary techniques are used by authors to build interest and
meaning in their stories. Some examples of literary techniques
include figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, and
alliteration, allusion, irony, foreshadowing, and hyperbole.
One of the major literary techniques used by O. Henry in
‘The Gift of the Magi,’ is situational irony, which is an
unexpected twist in the action that was unexpected by the
reader. At the end of the story, the reader expects Jim to be
thrilled that Della bought him a platinum chain for his beloved
pocket watch. However, instead, the reader learns that Jim
sold the watch to buy Della some hair combs, which she now
cannot use because she cut off her hair to buy the watch chain.
This ‘twist’ is unexpected and is an example of situational
irony.
Question 6: Analyze the theme and some other elements of
the story
Love
The theme of the story is that the greatest gift of all is
unconditional love. Through the sacrifices Della and Jim
make for one another, they prove love is more important than
material possessions. As the narrator says: “Of all who give
and receive gifts, such as they are wisest.”
Sacrifice
A secondary theme in the story is the sacrifice that both
characters make for each other. To make their spouse happy,
they each sell their most prized possession to make the other
happy. For Jim, it is a family heirloom, his grandfather’s
watch, and for Della, it is her long, beautiful hair.
The Gift of the Magi moral lesson
The moral of the story “The Gift of the Magi” is that people
are willing to give up what is most important to them in order
to be there with the one they love. In the story, the pair acts
hastily in order to impress their spouse.
The Importance of Generosity and Love
Della and Jim’s love for each other is clear through small and
large acts of generosity throughout the story. Della pinches
pennies to save up for a present even when the act of haggling
embarrasses her. Although her hair is extremely important to
her, Della sacrifices it to buy Jim a gift she views as worthy of
him. Similarly, Jim goes without gloves and a new coat in the
winter. He takes great pride in his watch since it’s a family
heirloom but sells it in order to give Della a gift he otherwise
could not afford. Both Della and Jim shelve their pride when
they sell their personal treasures to buy generous gifts for the
other. The selflessness required for each of them to make such
large sacrifices comes from a place of deep love, and that is
really admirable.
