The Gift of the Magi (Henry): Difference between revisions

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{{written by AI}}


{{Rephrase.
{{Summary
| Title = The Gift of the Magi
| Title = The Gift of the Magi
| Cycle = [[Four Million (Henry)| Four Million]]
| Cycle = [[The Four Million (Henry)|The Four Million]]
| Original title = The Gift of the Magi
| Original title = The Gift of the Magi
| Author = O. Henry
| Author = O. Henry
| Genre = short story
| Literary form = short story
| Year of publication = 1905
| Year of publication = 1905
| Microtelling = On Christmas Day, the wife sold her luxurious hair to buy a chain for her husband's pocket watch. However, it turned out that her husband had sold his watch to buy her hair combs.
| Microsummary = A young couple sold their most prized possessions to buy each other Christmas gifts, only to discover their sacrifices made the gifts unusable, highlighting their love and devotion.
| Wikidata = Q1168338
| Wikidata = Q1168338
| Wikisource = The Four Million/The Gift of the Magi
}}
}}


{{Start of text}}
{{Start of text}}
Haggling with the greengrocer, grocer, and butcher left Della's ears burning, but she only managed to collect one dollar and eighty-seven cents.  
 
Della and Jim were a young married couple living in a modest flat. They were both very much in love and took great pride in two possessions: Jim's gold watch, which had been passed down through his family, and Della's beautiful long hair.


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = Della
| Name = Della
| Description = a determined and resourceful young woman with long, beautiful hair that she values greatly, deeply in love with her husband
| Description = loving wife in her early 20s; slender, beautiful long brown hair (before cutting); caring, selfless, devoted to her husband
| Emoji = 💇🏻‍♀️
| Emoji = 💇🏻‍♀️
}}
}}
She needed to use these pennies to buy a Christmas present for Jim.


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = Jim (James Dillingham Young)
| Name = Jim (Mr. James Dillingham Young)
| Description = a loving husband who values his family's gold watch, but is willing to sacrifice it to show his love for his wife
| Description = loving husband in his early 20s; thin, serious, needs a new overcoat and gloves; caring, selfless, devoted to his wife
| Emoji = 🧑🏻‍💼
| Emoji = 👨🏻‍🦱
}}
}}


Jim and Della were renting a furnished apartment that was not necessarily indicative of poverty, but rather elegantly decorated with what little they had. Jim's income had recently decreased significantly, and the young couple had been struggling. The family had two valuable possessions: Della's luxurious hair, which would make the jewels of the Queen of Sheba pale in comparison, and Jim's gold watch, which King Solomon himself would have envied.
Despite their love for each other, they were quite poor, and as Christmas approached, they found themselves with very little money to buy each other gifts.


After shedding a few tears of disappointment, Della stared off into the distance and had a brilliant idea. She quickly got dressed and went outside, eventually stopping near a sign for "Hair Goods of All Kinds". She sold her luxurious braids for twenty dollars and used the proceeds to buy Jim a platinum chain for his watch.
Della had been saving every penny she could for months, but she only managed to save one dollar and eighty-seven cents. Desperate to buy Jim a present, she decided to sell her hair. She found a buyer, Madame Sofronie, who paid her twenty dollars for her hair. With the money, Della searched the stores for the perfect gift for Jim and finally found a platinum fob chain for his watch. She knew it was the perfect gift and bought it for twenty-one dollars.


When Della returned home, she was suddenly afraid that Jim would dislike her new short haircut, and she "set about repairing the damage done by generosity combined with love." She heated up a pair of tongs and curled her hair into fine curls, resembling a boy who had escaped from school.
Meanwhile, Jim had also been trying to find a way to buy Della a special gift. He decided to sell his prized gold watch to buy a set of beautiful tortoiseshell combs with jeweled rims that Della had admired in a store window. He knew she would love them and that they would look stunning in her long hair.


When Jim came home, frozen and without gloves, he looked at his wife with surprise, horror, or anger. Neither the new haircut nor any other reason could have made Jim dislike his wife, but he couldn't understand how Della no longer had her braids. At last, Jim pulled out a bundle containing a set of tortoiseshell combs with shiny stones, which were the object of Della's secret desires. In return, she presented her husband with the chain. However, both gifts had to be hidden for now, as Jim had pawned the watch to buy his wife the combs.
On Christmas Eve, Della returned home with the fob chain and tried to fix her hair, which she had cut short to sell. She was worried that Jim would not find her attractive anymore, but she hoped he would understand her sacrifice. When Jim arrived home, he was shocked to see Della's short hair but quickly reassured her that he still loved her just as much. Della then excitedly gave him the fob chain for his watch.


{{Quote|
{{Quote|But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.}}
...of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
}}


{{questions|
Jim, in turn, gave Della the combs he had bought for her hair. They both realized that they had sold their most prized possessions to buy gifts for each other, rendering the gifts themselves unusable. However, they also understood the depth of their love and the sacrifices they were willing to make for each other. In the end, they decided to put their gifts away for the time being and enjoyed a simple Christmas dinner together, cherishing the love they shared.
* Why is the story called "The Gifts of the Magi"?
* Where and at what time is the action unfolding?
* How are the sad and the funny intertwined in the story? Find the fragments in the text where both intonations appear, where the mood changes.
* Can the ending of the story be considered unhappy? Why does the narrator call the characters the wisest?
* How has the sad and touching story of O. Henry's own life (William Porter) been transformed in "The Gifts of the Magi"? What changed in it, and what matched the real story exactly?
* What kind of ending did you expect? Could the story have had a different ending?
}}


{{End of text}}
{{End of text}}

Latest revision as of 08:06, 14 May 2023

Disclaimer: This summary was generated by AI, so it may contain errors.
O. Henry
The Gift of the Magi
1905  
Summary of the Short Story
from the Collection «The Four Million»
Microsummary: A young couple sold their most prized possessions to buy each other Christmas gifts, only to discover their sacrifices made the gifts unusable, highlighting their love and devotion.

Della and Jim were a young married couple living in a modest flat. They were both very much in love and took great pride in two possessions: Jim's gold watch, which had been passed down through his family, and Della's beautiful long hair.

💇🏻‍♀️
Della — loving wife in her early 20s; slender, beautiful long brown hair (before cutting); caring, selfless, devoted to her husband.
👨🏻‍🦱
Jim (Mr. James Dillingham Young) — loving husband in his early 20s; thin, serious, needs a new overcoat and gloves; caring, selfless, devoted to his wife.

Despite their love for each other, they were quite poor, and as Christmas approached, they found themselves with very little money to buy each other gifts.

Della had been saving every penny she could for months, but she only managed to save one dollar and eighty-seven cents. Desperate to buy Jim a present, she decided to sell her hair. She found a buyer, Madame Sofronie, who paid her twenty dollars for her hair. With the money, Della searched the stores for the perfect gift for Jim and finally found a platinum fob chain for his watch. She knew it was the perfect gift and bought it for twenty-one dollars.

Meanwhile, Jim had also been trying to find a way to buy Della a special gift. He decided to sell his prized gold watch to buy a set of beautiful tortoiseshell combs with jeweled rims that Della had admired in a store window. He knew she would love them and that they would look stunning in her long hair.

On Christmas Eve, Della returned home with the fob chain and tried to fix her hair, which she had cut short to sell. She was worried that Jim would not find her attractive anymore, but she hoped he would understand her sacrifice. When Jim arrived home, he was shocked to see Della's short hair but quickly reassured her that he still loved her just as much. Della then excitedly gave him the fob chain for his watch.

But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.

Jim, in turn, gave Della the combs he had bought for her hair. They both realized that they had sold their most prized possessions to buy gifts for each other, rendering the gifts themselves unusable. However, they also understood the depth of their love and the sacrifices they were willing to make for each other. In the end, they decided to put their gifts away for the time being and enjoyed a simple Christmas dinner together, cherishing the love they shared.

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