The Gift of the Magi

Why is Della unhappy when the story begins?

• She only has $1.87 to buy Jim a present.

• Jim is not home and dinner is burning.

• She and Jim have lost their jobs.

What 2 possessions do Della and Jim treasure?

• Della treasures her hair, Jim treasures his watch.

• Della treasures her watch, Jim treasures his hair.

• Della treasures her hair, Jim treasures his job.

What sacrifices do the Youngs make to buy each other gifts?

• Della sells her hair and Jim sells his watch.

• Della gets a job because Jim's income went down.

• Jim gets a second job to earn more money to buy gifts.

Reexamine the predictions you made as you read the story. Were you able to predict the outcome of the story, or were you surprised?

• Yes, I was able to predict the outcome of the story.

• No, I was surprised.

Which kind of irony dominates this story?

• situational irony

• dramatic irony

• verbal irony

This story contains situational irony - the characters/the reader expect one thing to happen but something different occurs.

What does Della plan?

• She plans to sell her hair and use the money to buy Jim a chain for his watch.

• She plans to sell her hair and save the money.

• She plans to sell sell Jim's watch and use the money to buy herself combs.

This story contains situational irony - the characters/the reader expect one thing to happen but something different occurs.

What does Jim plan?

• He plans to sell his watch and use the money to buy combs for Della's hair.

• He plans to sell his watch and save the money.

• He plans to sell his hair and use the money to buy a chain for his watch.

This story contains situational irony - the characters/the reader expect one thing to happen but something different occurs.

What actually happens?

• The irony is Jim sold his watch to buy combs for Della, and she cut her hair to buy Jim a watch chain. Both gifts are useless because they don't have a watch or hair anymore.

• The irony is Jim got another job to buy combs for Della, and she cut her hair to buy Jim a watch chain. Both gifts are useful.

• The irony is Jim sold his watch to buy combs for Della, and left Jim. The combs are useless because Jim is bald.

Why does the narrator compare Della and Jim to the Magi?

• He compares them to the Magi because their sacrifices demonstrated both wisdom and love.

• He compares them to the Magi because they are very religious.

• He compares them to the Magi because Jim and Della's last name is Wisemen.

What does the comparison between Della/Jim and the Magi imply about the characters and the events in the story?

• The comparison implies that Jim and Della were profoundly wise and caring.

• The comparison implies that Jim and Della were foolish.

• The comparison implies that Jim and Della were selfish and uncaring.