The Gift of the Magi

1. The Gift of the Magi O Henry

2. Connect to your Life • self-sacrifice and unselfishness • two concepts that can often be alien for middle school aged young people. • Share your thoughts • What is wisdom?

3. Connect to your life • Think about the things that matter most to you. Make a list of the top five most important things in your life. • Is the item on your list a physical possessions or more abstract ? • What things do you value, and do you value possessions or people more.

4. Background • The Magi were the so-called three wise men from the east who traveled to Bethlehem, following a bright star, to present gifts to the infant Jesus. The term magi (singular, magus) comes from the Greek word magoi, a rendering of a Persian word for members of a priestly caste. The Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 2, Verse 11) says:  "And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him: and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts–gold, frankincense, and myrrh." These offerings, though valuable, were not as important as the recognition, respect, and love they gave the Christ child. Frankincense was used as a treatment for illness and as an fragrant additive to incense.

5. Background Continued • Myrrh was also added to incense, as well as perfume, and found additional use as an ointment. The three wise men have been identified in western tradition as Balthasar, king of Arabia; Melchior, king of Persia; and Gaspar, king of India. 

6. SETTING • New York City • Shabby Apartment • Christmas Season

7. CHARACTERS • Della Young:Pretty young woman who cuts off her beautiful long hair and sells it to buy a Christmas gift for her husband. James Dillingham Young: Husband of Della. He sells his gold watch to buy a gift for Della.     • Both are the protagonists

8. Key Vocabulary • Key Vocabulary Define and find the sentence used in the story • 1. Imputation – • 2. Parsimony – • 3. Scrutiny – • 4. Inconsequential –

9. Read “ The Gift of the Magi”

10. Answer the following questions • 1. How much money does Della have to spend for Christmas? • 2. How did she manage to save even this little amount? • 3. Explain why the “Dillingham” on the mailbox seems inappropriate now. • 4. What are Della and Jim’s most prized possessions?

11. Outline Activity • Outline events in “”The Gift of the Magi" that form the rising action, the climax, and the falling action. (PLOT CHART)

12. Summary • Della has $1.87 and it's near Christmas. I'm not sure how much Jim has, but it's not much. Jim and Della love each other. They want to buy each other really nice gifts, but as you know, it's hard to buy really nice gifts for a $1.87 or less. Jim has this really nice watch that Della thinks would look really good on a brand new chain. Della has really nice hair that Jim thinks would look great adorned with brand new combs.

13. Summary Continued • They're broke. Jim sells his watch to buy Della the combs. Della sells her hair to buy Jim's watch chain. And you thought you were surprised when Santa brought you a bike?

14. POINT OF VIEW: • 3rd person limited

15. CONFLICT • Internal--- Jim and Della struggle with the decision to sacrifice the things that mean the most to them personally • External– they struggle financially

16. SYMBOLS • watch and hair = the love that Jim and Della had for each other. Even though they loved their possessions, they were willing to sacrifice those possessions for each other.

17. IRONY • The situational irony in this story is that Jim and Della are unable to use the gifts they received because they sold their precious possessions to purchase gifts for one another.

18. THEME • Della and Jim give each other the best of all possible gifts, love. It does not matter that Jim no longer has the gold watch to display on the elegant chain that Della gave him. Nor does it matter that Della no longer has long, luxurious hair to comb with the gift Jim gave her. What matters is that they have is each other.

19. OTHER LITERARY ELEMENTS • Suspense- Wait to see what they get each other….the entire story is about that one thing • Allusion- The main allusion is in the title. The gifts that the three kings brought to Christ were precious and significant. Eventually, Christ himself gave a very important gift to his believers as well when He sacrificed Himself for them.

20. Three: A Magic Number • In "The Gift of the Magi," the number three figures prominently. Consider the following: • Della counts her money three times (Paragraph 1). • The narrator says that "Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles (Paragraph 2). • The story refers three times to the Youngs' supper entree: chops. • The story mentions the Queen of Sheba, who gave three types of gifts to King Solomon: spices, gold, and jewels. • A sentence in Paragraph 5 says, "She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard.” • Jim tells Della, I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.

21. Three: A Magic Number (Again) • The narrator alliteratively describes Della as speaking with "suddenserioussweetness." • There were three magi: Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar. • The magi offered three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. • According to tradition, the magi were kings of Arabia, Persia, and India.  • The story centers on three valuables: Jim's gold watch, Della's hair, and the love Jim and Della share.

22. Literature Journal • 1. What is one of the greatest gifts that you have ever been given? What made it so special? • 2. What is the greatest gift that you have ever received? Why was it great? • 3. What are three things that you could make or do for someone you dearly love?

23. Exposition • Della and Jim– both are the protagonists • Setting • Takes place in the past • Christmas Eve • Apartment flat with shabby furniture • Characters • POV • 3rd person limited

24. Narrative Hook • What will they buy each other for Christmas

25. Rising Action • Della’s hair and Jim's watch are very important • Della sells her hair to get money • She buys a watch chain

26. Climax • Waiting for Jim to come home

27. Falling Action • Jim is shocked about her hair • He bought her combs for her hair • Jim opens his gift • He sold his watch to buy the combs

28. Resolution • Both Jim and Della got rid of their treasures to please each other • This is an example of Irony

29. Imputation • attributing goodness or guilt • Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied.

30. Parsimony • tendency to be over-careful in spending

31. Scrutiny • close examination • For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference?

32. Inconsequential • unimportant

33. How much money does Della have to spend for Christmas? • $1.87

34. How did she manage to save even this little amount? By bargaining with the butcher, the grocer, and the vegetable man.

35. What is the true Gift of the Magi? • Selflessness and LOVE!!!!!

36. What are Della and Jim’s most prized possessions? • Her hair and his watch

37. Explain the irony of the gifts. • . Jim sold his watch to buy Della combs for her hair and Della sold her hair to buy a chain for Jim’s watch.

38. Extension Activity Write a sequel. Pretend it's 10 years down the road and Jim and Della got a divorce. Does Jim strangle Della with his watch chain? Does Della poke Jim's eye with the combs? Do they get each something else?