But she insisted buying a Christmas present by disposing of her hair. Though she was sad before her hair fell down, "she did it up again nervously and quickly." Though "the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes", for her Jim, she went out to trade off her hair for twenty dollars. "The next tow hours tripped by on rosy wings. She was ransacking the stories for jim's present."
(1) The story's opening sentences confront us right away with the problem: Della only has $1.87 to buy a Christmas present, and it's Christmas Eve. After the first paragraph, the narrator gives us a bit more fleshing out of the situation. Della's in a meager flat, she and her husband Jim are poor, she loves her husband more than anything else in the whole world. Plus, she positively needsto buy him the perfect Christmas present. With $1.87.
When one day her husband comes home with an invitation to a fancy dinner party, Mathilde Loisel is hard to convince to attend. She doesn’t want to be embarrassed with her petty outfit and accessories. She finds the self-esteem to wear a dress that is slightly less expensive than the others will be wearing, but one that she feels confident in. The only thing she is missing is a high class accessory. After asking one of her friends, Mme.
Mariam Bakayoko World Literature Hum 215 November 28, 2011 Love in “The Necklace” and “The Gift of the Magi” is it worth the sacrifice? By definition love is unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for others. This definition is highly uses in “The Necklace” (in French La Parure) wrote by Henri Rene-Albert Guy De Maupassant, a French writer, and in “The Gift of the Magi” by William Sydney Porter also known as O.Henry, an American writer. Both writers expressed in their shorts stories the meaning of love in their own way. Perhaps it could be related to their cultures and their languages influences.
9), in order to obtain enough money to buy the prospective gifts (hair combs for Della and a watch chain for Jim). Given the many other financial problems facing them, worrying about buying Christmas gifts seems to be one of least importance. However, Della and Jim’s love is greater than any wisdom they may possess. The money spent to purchase gifts could have been more wisely used considering their financial position and struggle as referred to by the author, “It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.” (O’Hare 1906, para. 3).
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry written in 1906 is a tale of love and giving between a wife and husband who do not have the financial means to purchase each other gifts at Christmas time. The couple sacrifices the two items they each have, which although not expensive, bring them the most joy. O. Henry’s usage of symbolism, setting, and irony will be discussed in the following theme and narrative elements in this short story essay. O. Henry utilizes symbolism and allusion connected to the number three throughout The Gift of the Magi. The first indication of this is found in the story’s title.
'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.
One day, M. Loisel received an invitation to a ball, and expected that his wife would be pleased, for she had not gone out for a long time. However, she was saddened that she had no dress to wear to this event, and so M. Loisel sacrificed the four hundred francs he saved for a gun to buy her a dress. Still, she was unhappy because she had no jewelry. To her husband’s advice, she borrowed a diamond necklace from her rich friend, and wore it with the new dress to the ball. On the way home, she lost the necklace.
The Gift of the Magi Instigate To stir up, provoke Assertion Statement Ravages Serious damage Imputation of parsimony Suggestion of stinginess Mendicancy squad Police unit assigned to arrest beggars Metricious ornamentation Cheap, gaudy decoration Patent Obviously Coveted Greedily desired or wished for Describe the setting. Poor flat owned by a couple. Time -day before Christmas. What is the main conflict? Della wants to buy Jim something for Christmas but she only has $1.87 What is the climax?
In the story, “The Gift of the Magi” by O’Henry, Della and Jim, a loving couple sold their greatest treasures to get each other gifts for Christmas. Can love really conquer all? Della’s long beautiful cascade of hair was her reassure, and Jim’s gold watch, being past down for many generations was also his treasure. The irony of this story was, when Jim bought the Della hair combs, Della had already cut her hair off. So now, she can’t use the hair combs until all her hair grows back out.
The Gift of the Magi, written by O. Henry, is told in third person omniscient. Third person omniscient is “when the external narrator relates all thoughts and feelings of the characters (Clugston, 2010).” In the beginning, the narrator expresses that we don’t know how Jim feels about anything, but he still uses Jim to tell part of the story. The point of view in this story is consistent throughout the story until the very end. In the last paragraph, the author speaks directly about how Jim and Della were wise gift givers, because they gave to one another so unselfishly. The point of view in this story shaped my reading by describing the lifestyle, mood and the position of the characters.
Her main objective was to be the prettiest woman going to the party. She used her husband's rifle money to buy a dress and borrowed her friend's fake diamond necklace. Unfortunately, Matildhe lost the necklace and reluctantly replaced it. Ironically, she did not know the necklace was a fake and replaced it with a real one. Unlike Matildhe, Della was caring and considerate.
Although she now has a wonderful dress, Mathilde realizes that she has no jewelry that can match the dress’s elegance. Mathilde’s husband recommends she wears flowers with her dress, they’re affordable and in style. But alas, Mathilde knows there’s “nothing more humiliating than looking poor among other women who are rich." So Mathilde goes to see her rich friend Madame Forestier, to ask if she can borrow some jewelry for the ball. After going through Madame Forestier’s jewelry Mathilde finds nothing acceptable, until Mathilde found a beautiful diamond necklace in a black satin box.
The Gift of the Magi By: Eriel Rivera ENG125: Introduction to Literature Instructor Jessica Guire May 7th, 2012 I read “The Gift of the Magi”. After reading the story over and over again, I found that the theme to this story is sacrificial love. Sacrificial love means to me to self sacrifice with the pure motivation of establishing a love that is committed to doing whatever needs to be done in order to insure the happiness and safety of your loved ones. Reading this particular story, took me back to a time when I was a small child and saw my mother make similar sacrifices in order for me and my siblings to have things. One of the literary elements I have identified within the story is the part where she knows that the most precious thing that she owns she may have to sell in order to get her husband a nice Christmas gift.
It took her several months to save a mere dollar and eighty-seven cents. That being said she wanted nothing more than to buy a Christmas present for her true love and given her circumstances did so by bydisposing of her hair. “Though she was sad before her hair fell down, she did it up again nervously and quickly." Though the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, for her Jim, she went out to trade off her hair for twenty dollars. The next tow hours tripped by on rosy wings.
Irony Definition Essay Riley McGurn Period: 1 What is irony? In the story in the Gift of the Magi when the husband and his wife get each other things that they no longer need because they sold it for an item that the other didn’t need. Irony can be viewed in many different ways, as something negative, positive, or something neutral. Irony is when an action that someone makes ends up in an unexpected result. In the Gift of the Magi a wife and husband want to get each other something special, the husband has an adored pocket watch with no chain, and the wife has wonderful luscious long hair.
The tone was set by O. Henry through his tactic to the status quo irony by letting us think in the beginning of the story that Della is modestly going to sell her hair to give her husband Jim a Christmas gift. Conversely, we soon find out that this is not an unpretentious give-and-take of Christmas gifts. Though, as it turns out, Della sells her hair to get her Jim a handsome chain for the watch that he no longer keep because he sold it to buy Della the hair combs that she has always wanted but can no longer use because she sold all of her hair. This circumstances irony creates a spiral to the story and encourages the use of uncertainty and irony. The reader is made
She views her earthly love as one of a spiritual union through salvation as she gratefully acknowledges the love from her husband. She prays his rewards are in such a way where others will admire and remember throughout eternity (l.10). This is an extraordinary way of professing a wife’s love, appreciation and affection for her husband; this poem demonstrates her earthly physical passion in this world and the competing tensions between “the flesh” and “the spirit.” Another prominent aspect of this literary piece is the use of metaphors and similes throughout the poem. The beginning words, “I Prize” (l.5) describe their love as sexy in that she gleefully rewards him with her unconditional love. In addition, these
the most remarkable feature of this delightful christmas tale by O.Henri is the significance of the number '3', gift giving also involves three things the giver,the gift and the receiver. as you know there were THREE wise men , who brought forth THREE gifts too baby Jesus who was also a member of a family of THREE, this number is repeated throughout the story, there are three main characters Della, Jim and Mme. Sofronie, Della bargained with the butcher,the grocer and the vegetable man. according to the author life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles. looking for the number three is also alot of fun!
The central theme for the poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband” (DiYanni 2007 p.1077) is love and marriage. The wife expressed her dedication, love, loyalty, commitment, and respect that she had for her husband in vivid detail. I will be connecting this poem are “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” (DiYanni 2007 p.448-489) and “Marriage is a Private Affair” (DiYanni 2007 p.373-377) demonstrating and analyzing the element of conflict within each of the pieces. Anne Bradstreet’s poem is a beautiful tribute from a loving wife, to her husband of years. The choice of words and the warmth that you get from reading the poem are those of actual experience.