Alternative English, The gift of Magi

 

THE GIFT OF MAGI

 

·        WHO WERE THE MAGI? (2017)

ANS-  The Magi were the three wise men who travelled from the East to Jerusalem. They were guided by a star to see the infant, Jesus. They carried precious gifts for Jesus Christ.

·       WHY WAS DELLA WORRIED?

ANS- Della was worried because she had no enough money to buy gift for her husband Jim and it was Christmas eve the next day.

·       WHAT DID JIM DO TO GET A GIFT FOR DELLA? (2017,19)

ANS- Jim had a gold watch and it was the most treasured watch, a family heirloom. He sold the watch to get Della a gift for the Christmas Eve.

·       WHAT WERE THE TWO POSSESSIONS OF THE JAMES DILLINGHAM YOUNG OF WHICH THEY BOTH WERE VERY PROUD? (2016)

ANS- The two possessions of the James Dillingham Young og which they were proud were:

i.                    One was the gold watch that was Jim’s fathers and his grandfather’s.

ii.                  The other was Della’s long beautiful hair.

 

·       WHY WAS DELLA SAVING HER MONEY?

Ans- Della was saving her money to get a Christmas gift for her husband.

·       What was the condition of the card which bore its owner’s name?

Ans- The condition of the card with the name “ Mr James Dillingham Young” was in poor condition. The letter were blurred as if contracted to a modest and unassuming “D”.

·       WHAT WOULD THE QUEEN OF SHEBA BE JEALOUS OF?

ANS- The Queen of Sheba would be jealous of Della’s long golden hairs.

 

·       Show how the twist in the tale makes the story of Jim and Della a moral lesson. (2017)

Ans- One of the best stories of O Henry is The Gift of the Magi. It is the story of a couple Jim and Della who were financially weak. They were so poor that they could not afford a gift for each other. But they wanted to gift each other something good on the Christmas Eve. They saw at their pocket and found out that they didn’t have enough money to get the gift they wanted.  There were deeply in love with other and therefore at the end they decided to sell their most precious thing they had. Jim sold his gold Watch and Della sold her Hair. The ironic twist in the tale was that both of them trade off the most precious thing they had and which the gifts were meant. It was a set of comb which Della always wanted for her long beautiful hair and a platinum belt for the watch,  Jim never used his watch in front of others because the leather belt on one side was wore out.

              The story ends with the sacrifice they both made for their loved one; they both traded the most precious thing they had just to see their partner happy. Thus, sacrifice can be interpreted as the moral of the story.

·       Describe what Della does from the moment she decides to earn money for Jim’s gift till the moment she earns it. ( 2018)

Ans- Della was very upset the other day to know that she had only 1.87$ with her and she could not afford a gift for her husband Jim and it was Christmas Eve the next day. She tried hard but could not get money from anywhere and so decided to sell her long hair which was the only most important thing she had. She sold her hair to a soap named Madame Saffronie’s hair shop. The soap gave her $20 for her hair. After she had the money she bought Jim a belt for his watch. She was excited to see his happy face of Jim and she was sure that he would be ecstatic to open the gift. But in the back of her head she was also afraid that Jim would not like her and he will not think her pretty with her short hairs and so she tries to set her hair before Jim comes come.