Unit -3
THE GIFT OF THE MAGI
O. Henry
I. Answer briefly the following questions.
Ans: Della saved
her one dollar and eighty seven cents by bargaining hard with the grocer,
vegetable vendor and the butcher.
2) The writer gives details of Jim’s flat. Pick out
the details.
3) The card bearing the full name of Jim now had
only one letter ‘D’ on it. State whether the statement is true or false.
Ans: False
4) What were the most precious possessions of Jim
and Della?
Ans: Jim
possessed the gold watch he had inherited from his father who had inherited it
from his father. And Della possessed her long thick hair that reached below her
knee.
5) How has the writer compared Della’s hair to Queen
of Sheba’s jewels?
Ans: Della
possessed her long thick hair that reached below her knee. She was of proud of
her hair and her hair rippled and shone as the writer had compared Della’s hair
to Queen of Sheba’s jewels.
6) How has the writer compared Jim’s watch to King
Solomon’s treasures?
Ans: King
Solomon had been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement;
Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck
at his beard from envy. Thus, the writer had compared Jim’s watch to King Solomon’s
treasures.
7) Why did Della decide to sell her hair?
Ans: Della
wanted to buy a Christmas present for Jim. So, she decided to sell her hair to
buy a gift from him.
8) How much money did she get for her hair?
Ans: Della sold
her hair for $20.
Ans: Della
bought a platinum fob chain for Jim’s gold watch.
10) How was the gift worthy of the watch?
Ans: It was
simple in design with no apparent ornamentation on it.
11) The writer says that the platinum chain was like
Jim. How?
Ans: Jim was
very simple, calm and a venerable person. So, the writer says that the platinum
chain was like Jim.
12) What did Della try to fix before Jim get home?
Ans: Della tired
to fix her short hair by curling combs and pins before Jim got home.
13) What was Jim’s reaction when he saw Della
without her lovely hair?
Ans: Jim had a
weird expression which was incomprehensible. He didn’t speak a single word and
he totally surprised when he saw Della without her lovely hair.
14) What was Jim’s gift for Della? Give a brief
description of the gift.
Ans: Jim’s gift
for Della was a set of attractive combs made of tortoise shell with jeweled rims;
they were luxurious and would have appropriate on her beautiful elongated hair.
15) Were the gifts useful to each other?
Ans: No, the
gifts were not useful to them.
16) How did Della react when she saw Jim’s gift to
her?
Ans: Della
unwrapped the sachet quickly and gave an ecstatic scream of joy when she saw
the beautiful luxurious set of attractive combs.
18) O. Henry’s stories often blend humor and pathos.
The description of the card bearing Jim’s name is an example of this. Can you
identify one more example from the story?
Ans: Della went
back home, she departed about fixed the damage ended by her liberality added to
love. But that was for all time a marvelous and an enormous mission certainly.
19) Who were the Magi?
Ans: The Magi
were three wonderful wise men who carried gifts to baby Jesus. They started the
art of giving Christmas gifts.
20) What is the writer’s last word to the wise of
these days?
Ans: “Of all who
give gifts, Jim and Della were the wisest. Of all who receive and give gifts
such as Della and Jim are the wisest.”
II. Close Study
Read the following extracts carefully. Discuss in
pairs and then write the answers to the questions given below them.
a) What does ‘generosity’ refer to?
b) What repairing work was carried out?
c) Why was the girl repairing the ravages?
b) Della curled
her damaged hair to look beautiful.
c) Della wanted
to look beautiful, as Jim would not get surprised by seeing her.
2) A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong
answer.
a) What is the question alluded to here?
b) What is the ‘right’ answer?
c) What is the implied meaning of the statement?
Ans: a) Love
does not change on the basis of husband’s earning. It might be $8 or $1000.
b) The right
answer is that it does not craft any disparity.
c) If a wife
truly love her husband then it doesn’t matter husband may be rich or poor, what
matters here is true love for each other, as Della’s unconditioned love for
Jim.
III. Paragraph Writing:
Discuss in groups of 4 each the answers to the
following questions. Individually note down the important points for each
question and then develop the points into one paragraph answers.
Ans: The Magi
were three wonderful wise men who carried gifts to baby Jesus. They started the
art of giving Christmas gifts. They were a lovely couple, who had sacrificed
their most valuable things for each other. Jim and Della had valued
relationship rather than materialistic things. Della had sacrificed her
beautiful attractive hair for Jim. Similarly Jim had sacrificed his pocket
watch for his beloved one. They were happiest and wisest couple. Both
represented unconditional love for each other. Just like the Magi, Della and
Jim found happiness in giving presents to each other.
2) Write on the
appropriateness of the title.
