The Gift of the Magi

The Gift of the MagiStudy Guide

I. VOCABULARY

• Imputation – (n.) an accusation

• Parsimony– (n.) stinginess

• Depreciate– (v.) to lessen the price or value of

• Prudence– (n.) caution

II. Literary Terms

• foreshadowing– an author‘s use of clues to prepare

readers for events that will happen in a story

• example

II. Literary Terms

• situational irony– occurs when the outcome of a

situation is opposite of what is expected

• example

II. Literary Terms

• symbolism (symbol)– any person, place, object, event

that exists on a literal level but also represents something on a figurative level

• example

II. Literary Terms

• allusion– a reference to a well-known

character, place, situation from history, music, art, or another piece of literature

• example

III. Questions

1. How much money does Della have? Della has $1.87.

III. Questions

2. What did Della want to do with the money? Della wants to buy Jim a nice

Christmas present with the money she has.

III. Questions

3. What is the last name of the family in the story? The last name of the family is

Young.

III. Questions

4. What has happened to Jim’s weekly salary? His salary has gone down from $30

per week to $20 per week.

III. Questions

5. What are the two possessions that Jim and Della take a lot of pride in? Jim - his pocket watch Della - her beautiful long hair

III. Questions

6. What does Della do for extra money, and how much does she get? She sells her hair to Mme.

Sofronie. She gets $20 for her hair. She has a total of $21.87.

III. Questions

7. How old is Jim? Jim is twenty-two. He looks thin and very serious for

his age.

III. Questions

8. (a) What does Jim give Della as a gift? Jim gives Della a set of combs for

her hair.

(b) How is this ironic? Della cut off her hair in order to

buy his present. She has no use for the combs

anymore.

III. Questions

9. (a) How did Jim get the money to buy Della’s gift? Jim sells his pocket watch to get

the money for her gift.

(b) How is this ironic? Jim no longer has his pocket

watch, so his gift from Della is also useless.

Exposition

Setting

Situation/Climate

Characters

INTERNAL or EXTERNAL(circle one)

_______________ vs. _______________

Protagonist Antagonist

Climax

Theme

Denouement

PlotTITLE ________________________________author _______________________________

Falling Action

Rising Action

(List examples that create complications or suspense)

Conflict