Skip to main content

Phrose 3 - The Gift of Magi - by O Henry (Sem IV)



The Gift of the Magi is a well-known short story by American short story writer O. Henry, the pen name of William Sydney Porter. The story first appeared in The New York Sunday World on December 10, 1905, and was later published in O. Henry's collection The Four Million on April 10, 1906.
The story tells of a young married couple, James, known as Jim, and Della Dillingham. The couple has very little money and lives in a modest apartment. Between them, they have only two possessions that they consider their treasures: Jim's gold pocket watch that belonged to his father and his grandfather, and Della's lustrous, long hair that falls almost to her knees.
It's Christmas Eve, and Della finds herself running out of time to buy Jim a Christmas present. After paying all of the bills, all Della has left is $1.87 to put toward Jim's Christmas present. Desperate to find him the perfect gift, out she goes into the cold December day, looking in shop windows for something she can afford.
She wants to buy Jim a chain for his pocket watch, but they're all out of her price range. Rushing home, Della pulls down her beautiful hair and stands in front of the mirror, admiring it and thinking. After a sudden inspiration, she rushes out again and has her hair cut to sell. Della receives $20.00 for selling her hair, just enough to buy the platinum chain she saw in a shop window for $21.00.
When Jim comes home from work, he stares at Della, trying to figure out what's different about her. She admits that she sold her hair to buy his present. Before she can give it to him, however, Jim casually pulls a package out of his overcoat pocket and hands it to her. Inside, Della finds a pair of costly decorative hair combs that she'd long admired, but are now completely useless since she's cut off her hair. Hiding her tears, she jumps up and holds out her gift for Jim: the watch chain. Jim shrugs flop down onto the old sofa, puts his hands behind his head and tells Della flatly that he sold his watch to buy her combs.
The story ends with a comparison of Jim and Della's gifts to the gifts that the Magi, or three wise men, gave to Baby Jesus in the manger in the biblical story of Christmas. The narrator concludes that Jim and Della are far wiser than the Magi because of their gifts are gifts of love, and those who give out of love and self-sacrifice are truly wise because they know the value of self-giving love.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interview Question: Income Tax

 Interview Questions (Continued...) Income Tax What is deferred tax asset, its effect in financial statements and journal entry? Deferred tax assets are  items that may be used for tax relief purposes in the future . Usually, it means that your business has overpaid tax or has paid tax in advance, so it can expect to recoup that money later. This sometimes happens because of changes in tax rules that occur in the middle of the tax year. Journal Entries for Deferred Tax Assets. If a company has overpaid its tax or paid advance tax for a given financial period, then the excess tax paid is known as defer ed tax asset. Such taxes are recorded as an asset on the balance sheet and are eventually paid back to the Company or deducted from future taxes.   What is Commercial Tax? Commercial Tax, currently referred to as  Goods and Services Tax  (GST) in India, is a tax that is levied on locally manufactured and imported goods and services, and contributes to the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interview Questions

Interview Questions Tell me about yourself What do you want to do with your life? Do you have any actual work experience? How would you describe your ideal job? Are you ready to shift to (any other place) and what is your parents view about this? Why did you choose this career? When did you decide on this career? Why (COMPANY NAME WHICH YOU APPLIED) company? What goals do you have in your career? How do you plan to achieve these goals? How do you evaluate success? Why (COMPANY NAME WHICH YOU APPLIED) company? Describe a situation in which you were successful. What do you think it takes to be successful in this career? What accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction in your life? If you had to live your life over again, what would you change? Would you rather work with information or with people? Are you a team player? What motivates you? Why should 1 hire you? Are you a goal-oriented person? Tell me about some of your recent goals and what you did to achieve them. What are yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Interview Question: Share Market

  Interview Questions (Continued...) Share Market What is ADR? An American depository receipt is a certificate issued by a U.S. bank that represents shares in foreign stock. These certificates trade on American stock exchanges. ADRs and their dividends are priced in U.S. dollars. ADRs represent an easy, liquid way for U.S. investors to own foreign stocks. These investments may open investors up to double taxation and there are a limited number of options available. What is GDR? A global depositary receipt (GDR) is a certificate issued by a bank that represents shares in a foreign stock on two or more global markets. GDRs typically trade on American stock exchanges as well as Eurozone or Asian exchanges. GDRs and their dividends are priced in the local currency of the exchanges where the shares are traded. GDRs represent an easy, liquid way for U.S. and international investors to own foreign stocks. ...
Post a Comment
Read more