Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 68 views

    Identify The Characters of The Story

    Uploaded by

    joana marie
    The document provides background information on the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. It summarizes that the story takes place at Christmas time and features a young married couple, Della and Jim, who are poor and cannot afford gifts for each other. To buy gifts, Della sells her long, beautiful hair and Jim sells his pocket watch. They each sacrifice their most valuable possession out of love for their spouse.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Identify The Characters of The Story

    Uploaded by

    joana marie
    68 views3 pages
    The document provides background information on the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. It summarizes that the story takes place at Christmas time and features a young married couple, Della and Jim, who are poor and cannot afford gifts for each other. To buy gifts, Della sells her long, beautiful hair and Jim sells his pocket watch. They each sacrifice their most valuable possession out of love for their spouse.

    Original Title

    Identify the characters of the story.docx

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document provides background information on the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. It summarizes that the story takes place at Christmas time and features a young married couple, Della and Jim, who are poor and cannot afford gifts for each other. To buy gifts, Della sells her long, beautiful hair and Jim sells his pocket watch. They each sacrifice their most valuable possession out of love for their spouse.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    68 views3 pages

    Identify The Characters of The Story

    Uploaded by

    joana marie
    The document provides background information on the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. It summarizes that the story takes place at Christmas time and features a young married couple, Della and Jim, who are poor and cannot afford gifts for each other. To buy gifts, Della sells her long, beautiful hair and Jim sells his pocket watch. They each sacrifice their most valuable possession out of love for their spouse.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 3

    1. Identify the characters of the story. Describe each.

    Della is described as “young, affectionate, selfless, and somewhat hysterical, requiring Jim to
    comfort her when she’s upset” woman. Jim is known as Della’s husband, and “the lord of the
    flat,” is only twenty-two and heavily burdened by the need to support the household on a low
    salary. Despite this burden, however, he’s described as content, quiet and loving husband.

    2. During what holiday does the story take place?

    The story happened during Christmas time where the Lord was born.

    3. What is the main problem presented in the story?

    The couple was so poor that they could not afford to buy gifts to celebrate Christmas.

    4. How did the characters resolve their problem?

    By selling their most precious possession to make each other happy, like what Della did, she sold
    her hair in order to buy a gold chain for her husband and Jim had sold his gold watch in order to
    buy a comb for his wife

    The Gift of the Magi

    Vincent, Elizabeth, Derrick

    Bell WorkVocabulary Slide ShowAuthor BackgroundDiscussion QuestionsLiterary


    TermsHomeworkCredits

    Discussion Questions (with answers!)

    1. How essential is the setting of the story? Could the story have taken place at another
    time?

    I like the setting and think it is important. The amount of money Della had and how she sold her
    hair wouldn't work in 400 B.C or in modern times.

    2. How do the sacrifices of Jim and Della compare to each other?

    Ultimately, Della's hair will grow back. Jim, however, sold a family heirloom which can not
    exactly be replaced. I believe that Jim has more entitlement to crying over his loss than Della
    does, especially since Jim doesn't actually care if Della's hair is short, and Della rarely leaves the
    house.
    3. Do you think that Jim and Della appreciated their gifts?

    Jim and Della clearly appreciated their gifts, although neither were usable. It was the thought that
    counted, because both of them had to get rid of their most prized possessions in order to give the
    other person a gift.

    4. Would the personalities of Jim and Della change if they were better off financially?

    If you think about the stereotypes of rich people, yes. Having everything you want at your
    fingertips can definitely impact their personalities. Jim and Della are kept humbled by being poor
    and having only each other.

    5. Why do you think the story compares Jim and Della to the Magi?

    The true value of a gift lies in the sacrifice involved in it. The Magi gave their most valuable
    possessions to Jesus, who was a sacrificial gift himself. Both the characters in this story and the
    biblical Magi gave their most precious belongings for the benefit of somebody else.

    6. How important do you think appearances are?

    Judgements, in general, are based mostly on appearance. First impressions especially. As such, I
    hold appearances to be of relative importance.

    7. What is your most prized possession?

    My stuffed giraffe, Lovey, that my dad bought me after he came home from eight months
    deployment in the navy.

    8. How would you react to losing your prized possession?

    It depends on the circumstance. If giving my most prized possession to someone meant making
    them happy, I would feel far better than if the possession was stolen or destroyed.

    9. If you were Jim or Della, how would you feel about the gift you received?

    I would feel a little upset, because my husband had sold the object I bought the gift for. I still
    would feel grateful, because I would know he cared.

    10. Would you prefer to be financially secure, or emotionally content?

    I would prefer to be emotionally content because money can't buy happiness.

    Mobile Site

    POWERED BY 
    Create your own unique website with customizable templates.

    Get Started

    You might also like