Analysis Of The Gift Of Mag

6157 Words25 Pages
Critical Study of ‘The Gift of the Magi ’ Structure: 8.1 Introduction Objectives 8.2 William Sydney Porter 8.3 The Text of The Gift of the Magi 8.4 Review of the story Summary of the Story Analysis of the story 8.5 Summary 8.6 Terminal Questions 8.7 Answers 8.1 Introduction Now that you have learnt different aspects of the short story; its growth and development, types of short stories, major writers, both international and Indian, you need to appreciate the genre, short story. In this unit, we will read and critically analyze The Gift of the Magi written by O. Henry from the point of view of features and elements of a short story that are learnt in the previous units. Objectives After studying this unit, you should be able to: discuss about the life and works of William Sydney Porter read and narrate the story, ‘The Gift of Magi’ review and analyse the story, ‘The Gift of Magi’ 8.2 William Sydney Porter The Personal Life of O’ Henry: O’ Henry is the pseudonym of William Sydney Porter, an American short story writer. He was born on 11 September 1862 in a plantation called Worthplace in Greensboro, North Carolina as the son of Algernon Sidney Porter and Mary Jane Virginia Swain Porter. He changed the spelling of his middle name from Sidney to Sydney. Young William, who was an avid reader, studied in a school where his aunt Evalina Maria Porter was teaching. He inherited from her his talent for painting and drawing. Later on he enrolled at the Lindsey Street High School. His aunt continued to tutor him until he was 15. His aunt nurtured his passion for literature. He had a wide range of professional experience because he served at different places holding different posts. He was a clerk, a book keeper, a mail carrier, teller in a bank, a reporter and a pharmacist. He was indicted for embezzlement of bank funds on
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