The Gift of the Magi

In the story, "The Gift of the Magi," the characters of Jim and Dehlia, the husband and wife in the story are representative of the Magi, described in the other two answers. O Henry uses this...

This highly ironic short story is normally used in schools as an excellent example of situational irony - when something happens that we don't expect it to. However, your question is right in...

The Dillinghams don't become content in their "poverty," but they show the wisdom to find ways of expressing their deep love in spite of their financial circumstances. They are called "The Magi"...

The Magi were the wise kings who visit newborn Jesus and bestow upon him gifts of Frankincense, myrrh, and gold. According to the Book of Matthew in the Bible, the magi follow the star from the...

In O'Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi," another theme that is present but that exists in tandem with love is that of sacrifice for others. Jim and Della don't have much in life, but they...

Your original question did not meet enotes standards because of its lack of clarity and also because you actually asked more than one question - remember to just ask one, clear question per day!...

And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greates tresures of their house. But in a last...

If you know the basic contours of the short story, I would say that fate does not upset cherished plans. In fact, this is the very point that O. Henry is making. On the surface, it seems like...

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Let's look at the symbols in "Gift of the Magi" for a moment:1. Jim's watch: symbolic of the concept of time, such as the time that has passed from his receipt of the heirloom watch until...

I think that perhaps you mean the "story arc" or "plot triangle." A classic plot triangle is exposition, rising action, climax (or denoument), falling action, and resolution. In the "The Gift of...

O. Henry gave his story the fanciful title of "The Gift of the Magi" because it takes place during the Christmas season--and was probably written as a Christmas story for publication at that time....

This is a good question. The story by O. Henry is wonderful. In fact, the story is so moving that people often forget to ask what the title has to do with the story. The best way to answer this...

This is a great question. In order to answer your question, let me make three points. First, the conflict is that the two protagonists, Della and Jim, are poor and it is Christmas. In other words,...

O. Henry first establishes the great value of the two most important possessions belonging to Jim and Della Young. Jim's pocket watch may or may not have had much actual monetary value, but it was...

Both Della and Jim are heroes in this story. They demonstrate unselfish love by giving up their most treasured possessions in order to buy a Christmas gift for their beloved. The conflict of this...

At the end of O. Henry's story, "The Gift of the Magi," he explains who the Magi were and how they are important to the story. He explains that the magi are the wise men who brought gifts to Baby...

The Magi carefully chose gifts for the newborn King of the Jews which were valuable, rare and useful. In the Old Testament it had been foretold that gold and incense would be brought as offerings...

The phrase "treasures of the house" occurs in the last paragraph, so I am assuming that is what you are talking about. I would say that the narrator underscores or emphasizes the value of the...

Della is the highly devoted housewife of Jim. She would do, and does, absolutely everything for him. They aren't very well off, in fact, they are quite poor, but that doesn't seem to bother Della...

There were probably at least two reasons for O. Henry to title his story "The Gift of the Magi." According to the origiinal story, the three wise men brought precious gifts, including silver and...

Magi were biblical wise men who visited the baby Jesus at the time of His birth. They were noted for their abilities to prognosticate and predict events using astrological signs and other available...

Della is Jim Young's wife. She is counting the little money she has to buy her husband a christmas gift. $1.87 although she saved many months for that small amount. It is possibe to see her love...

Della's love for Jim knew no bounds. She worked hard at finding ways to save a few pennies whenever she could by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks...

As you say there is a problem in the short story. The main two characters, Della and Jim are poor and they want to express their love to each other in the form of gifts for Christmas. However, both...

The reason the author titled this piece "The Gift of the Magi" is because of the gifts they give and the important lesson they learn. Let's start with who a Magi is. In the biblical story of...

If, perhaps, the question means "How is the title made specific?" then the reader looks for how the author, O. Henry, gives supporting details that point to who in his story are the Magi and why....

The short story "The Gift of the Magi" is about a husband and wife, Jim and Della, who each sacrifice something special to give a special gift. At the end of the story, the narrator mentions the...

Here are some ideas for "The Gift of the Magi:" You could have students take the original premise of the story and rewrite it to a more contemporary version where Jim and Della are students at your...

"The Gift of the Magi" is set in a typical town. We are not given a specific time period in history, but it is clearly not modern day. Of course, we do know the time of year since the characters...

In O'Henry's classic short story "The Gift of the Magi," Jim and Della Dillingham Young live on a meager budget and struggle to make ends meet. Despite their modest financial situation, both Jim...

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The story “The Gift of the Magi” is an ironic tale of a young couple who buy each other gifts they cannot afford, sacrificing to do so. The sacrifice turns out to be in vain, because they each...

The conflict in "The Gift of the Magi," stems from the condition of poverty, material poverty in which Jim and Delia live. Jim and Delia do not have much money, although Jim works, they cannot...

There is no date given in "The Gift of the Magi," so the exact time period in which the story is set is uncertain. The story was published in 1906. Since Jim and Della live in an upstairs flat, we...

This is a rather interesting question, because actually, the gifts that Jim and Dell sacrifice so much for, whilst at first are greeted with joy, are then greeted with unhappiness at first when...

Della's house is a "shabby little house." It was an apartment that she and Jim rented for $8 a week. It looks as if it were a home for beggars ("mendicants" is the word used in the story). It had...

Della and Jim are a young married couple. Their material resources are rather slim so they improvise to make the best of their situation. Their primary resources, which are not material, are what...

Jim and Della Young are compared to the magi in their giving one to another: Jim and Delia have two possessions of which they are both proud. One is Jim's gold watch, which has been handed down...

In O. Henry's story, "The Gift of the Magi," Della bemoans the fact that she has only one dollar and eighty-seven cents with which to purchase a Christmas present for her beloved husband. But, she...

In "The Gift of the Magi," the author points out that material possessions are not important compared to true love. Both Della and Jim sacrifice their most valued possession to buy a gift for one...

He bought her combs for her hair. This does not mean the kind of comb you use to get the tangles out of your hair or to make your hair lie the way you want it. This means decorative combs like...

This is a good question. The rising action is quite beautiful. In this short story by O. Henry, there is a young couple in love and it is Christmas. Because they are poor they do not have money to...

The word three only shows up once in the story—when Della, at the beginning, three times counts her meager pile of change to discover she has only $1.87 for a Christmas gift for her husband, Jim....

Jim and Della were very impractical in selling their most valuable possessions, Jim's heirloom pocket watch and Della's fabulously long hair, in order to raise money to buy Christmas presents for...

This is a kind of a logic question when you think about it. If Delia and Jim had not made their individual sacrifices and purchases secretly, they would not have made them at all. So the selling...