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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Themes and Narration ENG 125 September 2‚ 2013 Theme is the idea behind a story. Literary symbols and point of view help us 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
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Contrariwise‚ in O. Henry’s short fiction “The gift of the Magi‚” the characters Jim and Della selflessly use the little wealth they have to buy each other a gift for christmas and then soon come to find out that their gifts were useless. At the end they see that their actions weren’t worth it and could’ve been avoided. The theme that these stories share is that love will force you to do things that you do not intend to do. One reason this is the theme of “The Necklace” is because Madame Loisel is
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The Value of Love in “The Gift of the Magi” I. Introduction. Introduce thesis: Short story written by O. Henry in which love is more important than any material item and the value of a gift lies in the sacrifice behind it‚ rather than its material value. Thesis: The main characters in “The Gift of the Magi” value love over material things. II. Plot. A. Della and Jim are a married young couple living in an $8 a week apartment. 1. Della only has one dollar and eighty-seven cents saved to buy the
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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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In the short story‚ “The Gift of the Magi”‚ O. Henry uses literary devices to show us that love and sacrifice are powerful human emotions‚ that cannot be outstripped by material possessions. In the story‚ the author uses many quotes to express symbolism to help reiterate the theme‚ one of the quotes is‚ “of all who give and receive gifts‚ such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are the wisest. They are the Magi” (O Henry 185-186). This quote applies to the theme‚ because it helps to relate their
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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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There are lots of components in a good story‚ plot‚ theme‚ characters‚ structure and so many more. A lot of stories are better than others because of the components of good irony‚ relate-able characters‚ and a good structure. Irony makes a really good story because it lets you discover a lot about a character and if he is good or bad‚ gonna do something to someone or help someone‚ and the personality of the character. For example writer Van Tomphson on his website says “This approach to irony can
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Summary “The Gift of the Magi” “The Gift of the Magi” is a wonderful short story. It is the brilliant story that shows the true meaning of selfless love that the author tries to let the readers to know from the Christmas gifts. It is not what the gifts are ‚ but the meaning behind the gifts is more important. This text is a story about Della and Jim Young ‚ a married couple with very little money. On the
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