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

Unit IV - Budget

Meaning and Need for Budget: A budget is a blueprint of the plan of action to be followed during a specified period of time for the purpose of attaining a given objective. According to CIMA Terminology, budget is “a plan quantified in monetary terms prepared and approved prior to a defined period of time, usually showing planned income to be generated and/or expenditure to be incurred during that period and the capital to be employed to attain a given objective”. Features: An analysis of the above definition reveals the following essential features of a budget: (i) It is prepared beforehand based on a future plan of actions; (ii) It is related to a definite future period and is based on the objectives to be attained; (iii) It is expressed in financial terms; (iv) It shows planned income to be generated; (v) It shows probable expenditure to be incurred; (vi) It indicates the capital to be employed during the period; Thus, a budget sets the firm’s goals in cl...
Post a Comment
Read more

UNIT III - Share Capital of Company

3.1 Share Capital of Company, Types of Share & Debenture Structure of Share Capital or Classification of Capital Classification of Capital The word ‘Capital’ has different meanings in different professions and contexts. If a company is limited by shares, then the term capital means share capital. Let us see the various classifications of capital like nominal capital. Paid-up capital etc. Capital In simple words, the total  contributions  made by people to the common  stock  of the company is the capital of the company. Further, a  share  is the  proportion  of the capital to which each member has entitlement. Remember, a share is not an amount of money. It is an interest including different rights in the contract. In this article, we will look at five ways in which the term capital is used in Company Law: nominal capital, issued capital, subscribed capital, called up capital and paid-up capital. Nominal or Authorized or Reg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unit II - Break-Even Analysis

Concept of Break-Even Analysis: Break-Even Analysis is a concept used very widely in production management and cost. It is an analytical tool which helps the firm to identify that level of sale where it will cover its cost of production. Any sale over and above the break- Even Point will accrue profits to the firm, while any sales less than it would put the firm into losses. The Break-Even Point shows the price at which the firm makes neither profit nor loss. Break-Even point is a very significant concept in Economics and business, especially in Cost Accounting. Break-Even point is a point where the  cost of production  and the  revenue  from sales are exactly equal to each other; which means that the firm has neither made profits nor has incurred any losses. The Break-Even Analysis is also known as the Cost- Volume- Profit Analysis and is used to study the relationship between total cost, total revenue, profits and losses. It also helps to determine tha...
Post a Comment
Read more