Theme Of The Gift Of Magi

The Gift of the Magi

1. When and where was the story written or told? What historical, social, or cultural background might be needed to understand or explain what the story is about?

The story was obviously told in either the early 1900’s or mid to late 1800’s. It seemed to take place in a urban colonial English speaking area, probably in America or Britain. A way to tell that the story took place in the past, was the value of money. In the story the value of money was quite high, with $21 being able to buy a good quality chain for a watch. As well, nowadays, watches are almost never on chains, except for maybe those in high-class, which the characters definitely weren’t. lso, hair is not usually sold, more often donated. If it is sold, that much with as good as quality as the story described would have been worth more money if it was the same money value as today 's.

2. Does the title suggest the theme of the story? If so, how? (Note: The title may just identify the main character, or some other story element.)

The title, if evaluated properly, can give a small idea of what the story is about. The “gift” part can give the idea of gift giving, which is what the story is about. A magi, is priest-like, or

The buildup was fun and interesting to read, and though the climax was not terribly startling, it was more an “Oh!” moment. The way things were revealed was starting with an emphasis on the amount of money she had, introducing her, her husband, and her hair, than later her solution to the problem. The conflicts can be both internal and external. Della has an internal conflict about how to afford to buy a gift for Jim, and later a short conflict about whether to sell her hair. The external conflict was more Della and Jim trying to fight against their poverty with their love for eachother. All conflicts are resolved by the character putting their love for eachother before everything, and the gets them