Theme and Narrative Elements: The Gift of the Magi ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Theme and Narrative Elements: The Gift of the Magi The Gift of the Magi is a short story that was written by William Sydney Porter‚ better known by his pseudonym O. Henry in 1906. O. Henry was a prolific author penning many short stories beginning in 1899 until his death in 1910. O. Henry is famous for his trademark surprise endings which he called “snapper” endings (Clugston‚ 2010) and
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The Gift of the Magi By O. Henry In “The Gift of the Magi” O. Henry makes the statement that the wisest kind of gift is one that comes from the heart. He makes this point by creating admirable characters and using an allusion to the Magi. His point can be supported by Della and Jim’s undying love for each other and their determination to get each other meaningful gifts‚ even if that means sacrificing “the greatest treasures of their house”. Della’s hair seems to be the very essence of
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They live in short stories. Two short stories that are interesting are "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant and "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. Both center around two woman who are both wanting things very badly. Mathilde in "The Necklace" wants to be wanted in her life and she wants to be rich and have luxurious things‚ but she married a poor clerk. Della from "The Gift of the Magi" is poor but she wishes to buy something for her husband on Christmas Eve for Christmas. While there are
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In “The Gift of The Magi” by O. Henry there’s a lower class married couple who would do anything for each other. Then in “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant is a middle class married couple‚ they learn what it truly means to be poor lower classmen. In both of these stories there are both similarities and differences in their plots and between the characters. They both also have ironic endings. The plots of these two stories differ from each other‚ but are still both ironic. In “The Necklace” Mathildes
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In the short story‚ "The Gift of the Magi‚" written by O. Henry‚ Mr. and Mrs. James Dillingham Young are in for a big surprise. At Christmastime‚ they each make a sacrifice that is hard to bear‚ but the results show that it pays off. The hard trials they must endure make them realize that unconditional love is more important than material possessions. Since Jim and Della live in a dilapidated flat‚ they obviously don’t have a lot of money. In order to give a gift‚ each one sold his or her most prized
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In the story of The Gift Of The Magi was this young lady named Della who had been working for months‚ and only made one dollar and eighty-seven cents. The next day was christmas and she didn’t have enough money to buy her significant other named jim a present. Della found the money to buy jim a present‚ but at the end of the day both of the gifts were worthless but meant a lot to each other. This story relates to The Neckless in a few ways. The Necklace is about a young lady named Mathilde who’s
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Milton McFarland ENC 1102 January 2‚ 2015 Archetypal Critical Theory: Gift of the Magi In literature‚ symbolism is crucial to portray the author’s vision for the story. Each ornament presented through the story line can be viewed as a symbol that can potentially be related to the literature. Likewise‚ there are specific details‚ such as characters and setting‚ which are also symbolic [at times]. O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” gives portrays archetypal literary criticism structure. Henry’s piece
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In the stories‚ “The Necklace” and “The Gift of the Magi”‚ the authors use situational irony to develop the theme of each story. The author uses irony to develop the theme of honesty in the story‚ “The Necklace”. In the story‚ “The Gift of the Magi”‚ the author uses situational irony to develop the theme of‚ possessions do not mean as much as the person behind them. In “The Necklace”‚ the author‚ Guy de Maupassant‚ uses situational irony to show the theme of honesty in the story. Madame Louisel
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“ This was love meant after all: sacrifice and selflessness.”(DelaCruz) “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry is a short story about the selflessness of true love. Della and Jim are a poor couple on Christmas eve. Della cried about not being able to buy her beloved Jim a present with only‚ “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all.” She longed to get Jim a good gift but little did she know that jim would come home with a beautiful present for her. This story is filled with symbolism and irony
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"The gift of the Magi" by O. Henry and the Sesame Street video have numerous similarities and differences. By comparison‚ all four people made a sacrifice in order to get the other a Christmas gift. Although the gifts were very different‚ they were all extremely meaningful to the other. Both stories are very similar in the way they got the gifts. For example‚ Della didn’t have enough money for the watch fob she wanted to get Jim so she cut and sold her hair. While this was happening‚ Jim was selling
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