“The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
William Sydney Porter, also known by his pen name O. Henry, is an American short story author who is well known for his humorous stories that comes with an unexpected ending. He was born on September 11, 1862 in the state of North Carolina. Initially he was not an author. In his early years, he held many different job positions ranging from banker, journalist, to even a licensed pharmacist from the age of 19. While working as a pharmacist, this was the beginning of him getting in touch with his creative side. He would draw sketches of the customers in which many praised him for his skills. In 1902, his career as a writer began to take place in the city of New York. He would produce one short story a week
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Henry"). He then went on to writing many of his famous works such as The Four Millions and The Gift of the Magi, classic stories that are still beloved and told to this day.
The Gift of the Magi takes place a day before Christmas in the City of New York, a city where most of his fictional stories take place in ("William Sydney Porter Biography"). The story begins with a woman named Della counting the amount of money she managed to save up. It totaled to a dollar and eighty-seven cents. To gather even this amount of money after paying all the countless bills was difficult. Negotiating and bargaining with the local butcher and grocer were all the pennies that helped make up this value. She then burst into tears, falling on the couch. Even after her efforts of saving and collecting money, a dollar and eighty-seven cents was not enough to buy something worthy of her husband Jim. She looked into the mirror and saw her hair. Her hair was long and luscious; to her it was her most prized possession. In order to afford a gift for Jim, she cut off her valuable asset and sold it to the hair shop. The total amount of
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In the story we are able to see many different sides of her emotions making her a round character. A round character is a major character that meets with conflict and is changed by it ("The Beloved Role of Round Characters"). She is relatable to the readers because she is an ordinary person who is placed in a situation of financial struggle like many of us. The setting being a day before Christmas is also familiar to many of us. When we think of Christmas, the thought of gifts is common. Unable to afford a proper gift, she then gives up her most valuable asset, her hair. This shows even though she does not have much, she is willing to sacrifice materialistic items for what truly has value, such as her love for husband Jim. This is a good representation of depth and maturity. The theme that underlines this story is the irony. What this mean that the outcome of both characters giving up their treasures for each other was unexpected. However it serves a great purpose. Just as how the Magi gave baby Jesus gifts that had value, the couples are seen as the wisest because they were willing to give up everything for one
Born on May 30th, 1903, Countee LeRoy Porter is an African American poet, anthologist, novelist, translator, and children's writer. There is no real account of where he was born and who he lived with in his early childhood. Gerald Early suggest that he later claimed that he was born in Louisville, Kentucky, he listed New York City as his birth place of his college transcript upon enrollment into New York University (Early 705). Sometime around 1918, when he was about fifteen years old, he was taken in by Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, pastor of Salem Methodist Episcopal Church, the largest congregation in Harlem at the time. While staying with Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, his name was changed to Countee P. Cullen, later became just Countee Cullen. He attended DeWitt Clinton high school, which was a white dominated from 1918 to 1921. There he became the vice president of his class and also the school newspaper editor. He won several poetry contests at DeWitt Clinton high school. He then attended New York University where he became known as a poet. At New York University, he won the National Writter Bynner Contest for poetry and also contest sponsored by Poetry magazine's John Reed Memorial Prize. That is when he became noticed by Harvard's Irving Babbitt for The Ballad of the Brown Girl....
Throughout history, America has produced some of the greatest writers to walk the earth. Novels, poems, plays, and short stories have captivated the American public. No one was better at enchanting his audience than John Cheever. John Cheever wrote many short stories throughout his life. He has been presented with many awards for his works. Cheever was a master of spinning tales about suburban life and other situations he experienced. Some of his most popuar works included “The Swimmer”, “O Youth and Beauty!”, and “The Enormous Radio”. His works were well received by the public and he achieved great fame during his lifetime. However, he also lived a life of hardship and scandal. Even after his death in 1982, Cheever is remembered as one of the greatest writers in American history.
(58). He had to write short stories to make a living. He had wrote over
which explains well how she had a finite amount of money and thought material wealth was more important than happiness. If she only knew before that she would spend the next decade working off her debt, she would have never asked for the necklace and she would have had a happy life. Furthermore, wealth isn’t the only thing that brings happiness to life. With an easy explanation, it explains how having material possessions doesn’t matter, because the moments we have are more valuable.
Although the Sesame Street video and the story versions of "The Gift of the Magi" were both different, there were some similarities between them. One difference was the relationships between the characters in both versions. In, the video Bert and Ernie are best friends living together. But, in the story Della and Jim are husband and wife. Another difference is the gifts the characters got and what they traded for it. On the video Bert trades his paperclip collection for a soap dish intended for Ernie's rubber duck. Also, Ernie traded his rubber ducky for a empty cigar box intended for Bert's paperclip collection. However, in the story Della trades her hair for a Fob that was intended for Jim pocket watch, which was nicknamed "The Watch." While,
She comes from a good family that works for what they have. She marries a good hard workingman. But, Mathilde is not happy the way she is living and she daydreams about having the glamorous life. From having fancy tapestries, grand banquets to tall footmen. One day her husband, M. Loisel, comes homes extremely excited to show his wife an invitation that he has received to go to a fancy ball. She is not happy because she has nothing to wear and she doesn’t want to show up looking ugly with house full of rich people. She got the dress she wanted but then was not happy because she needed jewelry to go with this dress. Mathilde went to her rich friend to borrow jewels from. Of course she went with the most extravagant piece of jewelry, a diamond necklace. Showing up to the fancy ball with everybody adoring what a beauty she is, Mathilde was finally satisfied. When she got home after the fancy ball, she noticed that the necklace she borrowed was missing. Looking franticly for weeks, Mathilde then decided she had to replace the necklace. Replacing the necklace took everything they had and more. Mr. and Mrs. Loisel then became extremely poor with no money to there name. They then had to sell everything had and both now had to work. This went on for about ten years. Mathilde had no beauty to her anymore, she had to work, and do the house keeping. The
of short stories in order to support his daughter. O. Henry was once asked why he wrote; he
In "The Gift of the Magi" O' Henry used symbolism in reference to the Three Magi. They come bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The gold is a symbol of love, the frankincense and myrrh were used to burn and had a sweet smell. They were also ingredients used in developin medicines. These gifts were not only practical, but precious.
The hat, which “looked like a cushion with the stuffing out,” resembles “the dumpy figure” of the mother. In addition, the hat is referred to as “preposterous,” and “ridiculous,” all the ways her son considers her to be. The hat is gaudy and not worth the money she paid for it, but she is certain of its taste just as she is certain how good it looks on her (because the sales lady had told her so), and how superior she is to those at the Y. The sales lady had said that ‘“with that hat, you won’t meet yourself coming or going,” which means that she will not be alike anyone else. Of course, this is not the case, and the black Negress would ultimately be the last person Julian’s mother would wish to meet.
...utlook. While he was a student, teachers always encouraged him to write short stories and poems. Young Cormier never imagined that he would one day be a writer; he believed writers only came from wealthy important families. He was not born into wealth or fame; he worked hard in order to obtain jobs that would one day make him a famous author. The legacy he created did not leave with him, it remains in each of his thrilling books.
The characters in this book are very round. They each have their own story and have their own problems in life. Let’s start ...
The unicorn is a mythological figure. Closely related to the horse, it is uniqueness comes in the form of a long horn located on the center of its forehead. In Laura's menagerie, it is unlike the other figures. In fact, Laura refers to the unicorn as being "freakish." (109) Her characterization of the unicorn reflects how she feels about herself. It is because of its uniqueness that Laura chose to identify with it. She creates a world with her figurines in which the abnormal coexists with the normal. When Jim, the gentleman caller, inquires about the unicorn being lonely, she replies, "He stays on a shelf with some horses that don't have horns and all of them seem to get along nicely together."(101) In her imaginary world no one judges her because of her limp and it is that world she is capable of coping in. Laura's characterization of the figurines hints at her inner desires to be able to deal with the outside world and become less "freakish." Laura tells Jim, "[the figurines] all like a change of scenery once in a while." (102)
In the short story “The Gift of the Magi”, there is a lovely couple living around the early twentieth century. It is a day before Christmas and Della needs to buy a gift for Jim. But she is low on money. She decides to cut her hair off and sell it. With that money she buys a fob chain for Jims pocket watch. On Christmas Della show Jim her cut hair and he gets disappointed. Not because she looks different but because he bought her hair combs for her long beautiful hair. Little did Della know that Jim sold his pocket watch to...
At the death of her mother, a rich old lady takes her to her home and brings her up. The widow of the cobbler gave Karen a pair of red shoes, which she wore for the first time at her mother’s funeral. The old lady who adopted Karen disliked, the red shoes greatly because of Karen’s obsession with them and so she burnt them. Then Karen saw the princess wearing beautiful red shoes. Her love for these shoes got re-ignited.
Playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland (Wright 54). He was the son of two very talented parents. His father, Sir William Ralph Wills Wilde, was a leading eye and ear surgeon, scholar, and noted archeologist. His mother, Jean Francesca Elgee, wrote passionate nationalistic articles for the radical newspaper, The Nation (Wright 54). Although Wilde did not do well in school, he loved the classics and found a passion for writing. He began writing plays, essays, a novel, and many short stories, becoming