The lack of imagery and metaphor in O. Henry’s short story “The Gift of Magi” make the few Bible allusions stand out. In the last paragraph O. Henry compares Jim and Della to the three wise men that came to give gifts to Jesus on the first Christmas. Also in the exposition of the story there are another two Biblical allusions. Della’s hair is written to be so beautiful that her hair would depreciate The Queen of Sheba’s jewels and gifts. And Jim’s golden watch would have made King Solomon pluck his
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“The Gift of the Magi” Expository Essay The author O.Henry portrayed the message of how the giving of gifts requires a lot of hard work‚ and also incessant searching to find the perfect gift for either your friend‚ or family. And the gifts will usually require you to sacrifice something special to you‚ either it be money or a valued possession. A gift doesn’t always have to be physical‚ maybe if you just cut a little time off work and spent it with your friends‚ it could be the best gift they might
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Analysis the short story “ the Gift of Magic” by O.Henry O. Henry whose real name was William Sydney Porter was a famous American writer. He’s considered one of the great American short story authors. O. Henry’s stories are known for rich emotion ‚ their playful and optimistic sense of humor‚ and especially for their twist endings. One of O.Henry ‘s stories the most loved by Western reader is “ The gift of Magic “. It can also be considered as one of the Christmas
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Lashonda Brown E. Bloom English 102 4 November 2013 The gift that keeps giving The gift of the Magi by O. Henry opens with $1.87. That’s all Della Dillingham has to buy a present for her beloved husband‚ Jim. And the next day is Christmas. Faced with such a situation‚ Della promptly bursts into tears on the couch‚ which gives
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’The Gift of the Magi’ by O. Henry and ’The Necklace’ by Guy de Maupassant are two short stories that share some similarities. Namely‚ they are both ironic. The two main characters in both also happen to be husband and wife and make sacrifices for their spouse. The husband in ’The Necklace’ is a ’thrifty clerk’ who doesn’t like to spend too much money. After implored by his wife‚ he gives her the money that he saved up for a rifle so she could buy a nice dress instead. The husband in ’The Gift of
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The Gift of the Magi and its Background Mindy Phillips Introduction to Literature ENG125 Instructor Julie Alfaro January 21st‚ 2013 In my paper I am going to be describing the short story The Gift of the Magi. Throughout my paper I am going to describe what I feel is the theme of the story itself. I will also be explaining and identifying symbolism used and described in the story‚ as well as talking about the point of view that the narrator used in the story. Finally‚ I will be describing
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Irony in “The Gift of the Magi” In The Gift of the Magi‚ O Henry uses irony to place special emphasis on love and sacrifice. O Henry is known for his use of irony in his short stories. Irony is defined as: “the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning” (dictionary.com). In The Gift of the Magi‚ O Henry uses verbal‚ situational and dramatic irony to tell his story. The most obvious and prominent type of irony used in The Gift of the Magi was situational irony
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THE GIFT OF MAGI Della and Jim Young‚ the main characters in "The Gift of the Magi‚’’ are a young married couple with very little money. Jim has suffered a thirty-percent pay cut‚ and the two must scrimp for everything. On the day before Christmas‚ Delia counts the money she has painstakingly saved for months. She is dismayed to find she has less than two dollars‚ hardly enough to buy anything at all. After a good long cry‚ Delia determines to find a way to buy Jim the present he deserves. As she
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In the gift of the magi by O. Henry‚ he shows two people who love each other so much that they will sacrifice their favorite things for the other. The gift of the magi is about two people; Della and Jim. It is Christmas Eve and Della wants to give her husband Jim a nice gift but all she has is $1.87. She ends up giving up her prized possession (her hair) to get a chain for his watch‚ and her husband sold his watch (his prized possession) to get combs for her hair. They end up with a gift that they
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to understand what the theme of a story actually is. The theme of “The gift of Magi” is selflessness. Symbolism and Plot are two literary elements in this story that contribute to the theme. The theme in a story is associated with an idea that lies behind the story (R.W. Clugston‚ 2010) To understand what the theme of the story is we have to figure out what the literary symbols are and what they stand for. “The Gift of Magi” tells a story of what lengths Della and Jim would go to make each other
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