An Annotated Version
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All you have to do is download the slide
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All you have to do is download the slide
show and run it in MS Powerpoint.
Then just keep pressing <Enter> to go
through the presentation.
You can go at your own pace and stop and
restart anytime you want to.
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All you have to do is download the slide
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Then just keep pressing <Enter> to go
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When you have downloaded the slide show and run it in MS Powerpoint,
and gotten through the “How
by O. Henry
the Show Works” part, it will
Annotated
look like this:
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Your Computer Screen
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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The text from the story
will appear here, in this
paper-colored block,
in black text.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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The text from the story
will appear here, in this
paper-colored block,
in black text.
The notes for the displayed
text will appear here, in the
green-colored block, in
white text.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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The text from the story
will appear here, in this
paper-colored block,
in black text.
The notes for the displayed
text will appear here, in the
green-colored block, in
white text.
The notes are like chalk
on a chalkboard.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Sometimes, there is
more than one “page” of
notes for a particular
“page” of text.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue Notes
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Sometimes, there is
more than one “page” of
notes for a particular
“page” of text.
When that happens, you’ll
see this to let you know that
there are more notes to
read.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue Notes
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Sometimes, there is
more than one “page” of
notes for a particular
“page” of text.
When that happens, you’ll
see this to let you know that
there are more notes to
read.
Just press <Enter> when
you’re ready to read the
next “page of notes.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue Notes
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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by O. Henry
Annotated
When the notes are all
done, this will appear to tell
you that you are ready to go
to the next page of text.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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by O. Henry
Annotated
When the notes are all
done, this will appear to tell
you that you are ready to go
to the next page of text.
As always, just press
<Enter> to keep going.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is called
in media res, which is
Latin for in the middle
of things.
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Periodically, there are
questions to answer in the
notes section.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
Question 1: Why do
you think Della is in
need of money?
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Periodically, there are
questions to answer in the
notes section.
The questions are easy
to recognize because
they are in reverse
text.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
Question 1: Why do
you think Della is in
need of money?
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Periodically, there are
questions to answer in the
notes section.
The questions are easy
to recognize because
they are in reverse
text.
Students should answer the
questions on a separate sheet
for turn-in.
by O. Henry
Annotated
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That
was all. And sixty cents of it was in
pennies.
There’s no introduction;
the story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
Question 1: Why do
you think Della is in
need of money?
Annotated The Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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And now, let’s begin our look at
An Annotated Version
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One dollar and eighty-seven cents.
That was all. And sixty cents of it was
in pennies.
There’s no
introduction; the
story just starts
right in the middle of
things.
This technique is
called in media res,
which is Latin for in
the middle of things.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents.
That was all. And sixty cents of it was
in pennies.
We’re told that
someone has only
$1.87. That’s not
very much.
And a lot of it is in
pennies, as if
someone worked hard
to scrape it together,
a penny at a time.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Pennies saved one and two at a time
by bulldozing the grocer and the
vegetable man and the butcher until
one's cheeks burned with the silent
imputation of parsimony that such
close dealing implied.
This part tells us
that the person who
saved the $1.87 did
it by arguing with
merchants about
prices and getting
them to come down a
penny or two at a
time.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Pennies saved one and two at a time
by bulldozing the grocer and the
vegetable man and the butcher until
one's cheeks burned with the silent
imputation of parsimony that such
close dealing implied.
That means that the
merchants probably
thought the shopper
was a cheapskate!
Being thought of as
cheap is what silent
imputation of
parsimony means.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Three times Della counted it. One
dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the
next day would be Christmas.
The author now tells
us the name of the
person who is trying
to get some money
together: Della.
And we find out here
that the story takes
place on the day
before Christmas.
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There was clearly nothing to do but
flop down on the shabby little couch
and howl. So Della did it. Which
instigates the moral reflection that life
is made up of sobs, sniffles, and
smiles, with sniffles predominating.
Della doesn’t have
enough money, and
she’s upset about it.
Question 1: Why do
you think she might
need money?
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
There was clearly nothing to do but
flop down on the shabby little couch
and howl. So Della did it. Which
instigates the moral reflection that life
is made up of sobs, sniffles, and
smiles, with sniffles predominating.
The author says that
life is made up of
sobs, sniffles, and
smiles, with sniffles
predominating.
This is his way of
saying that life is
happy sometimes, sad
sometimes, but
mostly in between.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
There was clearly nothing to do but
flop down on the shabby little couch
and howl. So Della did it. Which
instigates the moral reflection that life
is made up of sobs, sniffles, and
smiles, with sniffles predominating.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Notice that sobs,
sniffles, and smiles
all begin with the
same sound.
That’s not an
accident. Repeating
the same sound like
that is called
alliteration.
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While the mistress of the home is
gradually subsiding from the first stage
to the second, take a look at the home.
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The narrator now
moves the focus
from Della, who is on
the couch crying, to
the place where she
is living.
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A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did
not exactly beggar description, but it
certainly had that word on the lookout
for the mendicancy squad.
A furnished flat is an
apartment that has
furniture already in
it, which is rented.
The rent on the
apartment is $8 a
week, which means
it’s probably not very
nice or new.
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Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did
not exactly beggar description, but it
certainly had that word on the lookout
for the mendicancy squad.
To beggar
description means
something that is so
nice that it’s hard to
describe in words.
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Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did
not exactly beggar description, but it
certainly had that word on the lookout
for the mendicancy squad.
When the narrator
says that the
apartment did not
exactly beggar
description, he means
that it is probably a
little old, shabby, and
run-down. It is not
new and nice.
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Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did
not exactly beggar description, but it
certainly had that word on the lookout
for the mendicancy squad.
“Mendicancy” means
being poor and having
to beg for money or
food.
The part it certainly
had that word on the
lookout for the
mendicancy squad
means that it’s a
place where poor
people might live.
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In the vestibule below was a letter-box
into which no letter would go, and an
electric button from which no mortal
finger could coax a ring.
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A vestibule is an
entryway that leads
to several
apartments.
The letter-box is the
mailbox, and it’s
broken, and so is the
doorbell—more
evidence that the
apartments are
shabby and rundown.
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Also appertaining thereunto was a card
bearing the name "Mr. James
Dillingham Young."
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On the mailbox for
one of the
apartments is a card
to identify who lives
there: Mr. James
Dillingham Young.
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The "Dillingham" had been flung to
the breeze during a former period of
prosperity when its possessor was
being paid $30 per week.
Almost everyone has
a middle name, but
using it on the
mailbox that way
would have been
something that rich
people would do.
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Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The "Dillingham" had been flung to
the breeze during a former period of
prosperity when its possessor was
being paid $30 per week.
“Flung to the breeze”
here means using the
middle name in public.
We’re told that the
person used his
middle name that way
when he was being
paid $30 a week.
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The "Dillingham" had been flung to
the breeze during a former period of
prosperity when its possessor was
being paid $30 per week.
That was a lot of
money then, and so
the person might
have thought he
would soon be rich,
making that kind of
money.
But we’re told he’s
not making that much
anymore.
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Now, when the income was shrunk to
$20, though, they were thinking
seriously of contracting to a modest
and unassuming D.
Now he’s only making
$20 a week, so
maybe the
“Dillingham” part
should be changed to
“D.”
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Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Now, when the income was shrunk to
$20, though, they were thinking
seriously of contracting to a modest
and unassuming D.
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What the narrator is
doing here is telling
the reader that the
person isn’t doing
well financially right
now.
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But whenever Mr. James Dillingham
Young came home and reached his flat
above he was called "Jim" and greatly
hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham
Young, already introduced to you as
Della.
The narrator tells us
here that even
though Mr. Young
isn’t making as much
money as he used too,
his wife isn’t angry
about it.
And we find out that
Della and Jim are the
husband and wife in
the story.
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Which is all very good.
Della finished her cry and attended to
her cheeks with the powder rag.
Now we turn the
focus back to Della,
who is done crying.
A powder rag is a
cloth that a woman
uses to put on and
take off her makeup.
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She stood by the window and looked
out dully at a gray cat walking a gray
fence in a gray backyard.
Della is worried
about not having
much money, and so
everything looks gray
to her as she
wonders what to do.
Question 2:
Describe a situation
when you were
worried about
something.
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Tomorrow would be Christmas Day,
and she had only $1.87 with which to
buy Jim a present.
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Now the author
comes right out and
tells us what the
problem is—not
enough money to buy
a nice present for
her husband for
Christmas.
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She had been saving every penny she
could for months, with this result.
Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far.
Expenses had been greater than she
had calculated. They always are.
The narrator gives us
more information
about how hard it has
been for Della to
scrape together
money.
The twenty dollars a
week is her husband’s
salary, as we’ve
already been told.
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She had been saving every penny she
could for months, with this result.
Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far.
Expenses had been greater than she
had calculated. They always are.
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Isn’t it true that
expenses are always
more than you think
they will be?
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Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim.
Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had
spent planning for something nice for
him.
The narrator gives us
the impression that
it has made Della
happy to think about
giving Jim something
nice for Christmas.
But what can you get
that’s nice for just
$1.87?
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Something fine and rare and sterling-something just a little bit near to being
worthy of the honor of being owned
by Jim.
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Sterling in this sense
means genuine, as in
the phrase sterling
silver. That means
real silver, not plated
or painted, but real
all the way through.
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There was a pier-glass between the
windows of the room. Perhaps you
have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat.
Pier-glass is a kind of
cheap mirror, made in
long, narrow strips.
It would have been
used in cheap
apartments instead
of expensive plateglass mirror.
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A very thin and very agile person may,
by observing his reflection in a rapid
sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain
a fairly accurate conception of his
looks.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
By placing the strips
of mirror together,
you can make kind of
an uneven mirror.
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Della, being slender, had mastered the
art.
The narrator tells us
here that Della can
see herself pretty
well in the cheap
pier-glass mirror.
That’s important for
what is to come in
the story.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Suddenly she whirled from the window
and stood before the glass. her eyes
were shining brilliantly, but her face
had lost its color within twenty
seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her
hair and let it fall to its full length.
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Della sudden
brightens up—maybe
she has an idea?
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Now, there were two possessions of
the James Dillingham Youngs in which
they both took a mighty pride.
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The narrator will now
spend some time
describing two things
that Della and Jim
have that are
important to them.
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One was Jim's gold watch that had
been his father's and his grandfather's.
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Jim has a nice watch,
that belonged to his
family and that is
now his.
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The other was Della's hair.
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And Della has long,
beautiful hair.
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Had the queen of Sheba lived in the
flat across the airshaft, Della would
have let her hair hang out the window
some day to dry just to depreciate Her
Majesty's jewels and gifts.
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The queen of Sheba
was a legendary
beauty from the
Bible.
The author is saying
here that Della’s hair
is so nice that it
would have made the
queen’s jewels and
gifts look shabby.
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Had King Solomon been the janitor,
with all his treasures piled up in the
basement, Jim would have pulled out
his watch every time he passed, just to
see him pluck at his beard from envy.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
King Solomon was a
famous wise man
from the Bible.
The narrator is
saying here that Jim
watch is so nice that
it would have made
the king jealous.
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So now Della's beautiful hair fell about
her rippling and shining like a cascade
of brown waters. It reached below her
knee and made itself almost a garment
for her.
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Della’s hair, besides
just being beautiful,
is really long—it
stretches all the way
past her knees.
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And then she did it up again nervously
and quickly. Once she faltered for a
minute and stood still while a tear or
two splashed on the worn red carpet.
Della puts her hair
back up, and cries
just a little bit while
she does so.
Question 3: Why do
you think Della is
crying here?
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On went her old brown jacket; on
went her old brown hat. With a whirl
of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle
still in her eyes, she fluttered out the
door and down the stairs to the street.
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Della gets dressed
quickly and hurries
out of the apartment.
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Where she stopped the sign read:
"Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All
Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and
collected herself, panting.
Mne. is an
abbreviation for
Madame. It is a word
that comes from
French that is used
with the person’s last
name to address a
married woman, like
we might use the
term Mrs.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
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Where she stopped the sign read:
"Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All
Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and
collected herself, panting.
Mne. Sonfronie. Hair
Goods of All Kinds. is
a shop that buys and
sells hair.
This was common in
the days before
there was a manmade
substitute for human
hair to make wigs for
people.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
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Where she stopped the sign read:
"Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All
Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and
collected herself, panting.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Sofronie is a French
name.
Many times, sellers
of hair and clothes
would pretend they
were French, because
the French were the
leaders in ladies
fashions.
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Madame, large, too white, chilly,
hardly looked the "Sofronie."
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The narrator tells us
here that the woman
who is calling herself
Madame Sofronie
doesn’t look much like
we would expect a
French woman to
look.
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"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.
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Now we understand
Della’s plan—she’s
going to sell her hair
to get money to buy
Jim a gift.
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"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer
hat off and let's have a sight at the
looks of it."
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The narrator shows
us here that
“Madame Sofronie”
doesn’t speak the way
a French woman
would. She’s
probably not French
at all—but no one
really expects her to
be anyway.
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Down rippled the brown cascade.
"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting
the mass with a practised hand.
The word practised
looks funny to us, as
if it might be
misspelled, but it
isn’t.
That way of spelling
it was acceptable
when this story was
written.
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"Give it to me quick," said Della.
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Della asks for the
money quickly, before
she has a chance to
change her mind.
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Oh, and the next two hours tripped by
on rosy wings. Forget the hashed
metaphor. She was ransacking the
stores for Jim's present.
The narrator means
that the time went
by quickly, as if it
were flying by.
But he doesn’t say
flew by on rosy
wings, instead, he
says tripped by on
rosy wings.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Oh, and the next two hours tripped by
on rosy wings. Forget the hashed
metaphor.
He uses the word
tripped instead of
the more natural
word, flew.
That’s why he calls it
a hashed metaphor.
Hashed in this sense
means a metaphor
that’s not a very good
one.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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She was ransacking the stores for Jim's
present. She found it at last. It surely
had been made for Jim and no one
else. There was no other like it in any
of the stores, and she had turned all of
them inside out.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della has a lot of fun
shopping—especially
now that she has
some money to
spend—and finds a
nice gift for Jim.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
It was a platinum fob chain simple
and chaste in design, properly
proclaiming its value by substance
alone and not by meretricious
ornamentation--as all good things
should do.
A fob chain is a chain
that’s meant to
attach to a pocket
watch.
The other end of the
chain attaches to the
man’s belt.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
It was a platinum fob chain simple
and chaste in design, properly
proclaiming its value by substance
alone and not by meretricious
ornamentation--as all good things
should do.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The point of the
chain is so that if the
watch slips out of
the person’s hand, it
won’t drop to the
ground and maybe
break.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
It was a platinum fob chain simple
and chaste in design, properly
proclaiming its value by substance
alone and not by meretricious
ornamentation--as all good things
should do.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Meretricious here
means something
that’s flashy.
What the narrator is
saying is that the
chain was plain, but
still very expensivelooking.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
It was even worthy of The Watch. As
soon as she saw it she knew that it
must be Jim's. It was like him.
Quietness and value--the description
applied to both.
The narrator calls it
not just the watch
but the Watch.
Capitalizing the word
watch tells us that
it’s a very special
watch—maybe the
only one of its kind.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
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It was even worthy of The Watch. As
soon as she saw it she knew that it
must be Jim's. It was like him.
Quietness and value--the description
applied to both.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della thinks that the
fob chain is perfect
for Jim because, like
her husband, it is
quiet (meaning its
just a plain chain) and
it has value.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Twenty-one dollars they took from her
for it, and she hurried home with the
87 cents.
The fob chain cost
$21. Della had $1.87
saved, and earned
$20 from the sale of
her hair, so she has
only 87 cents left.
But that’s okay,
because she got a
nice gift for Jim.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
With that chain on his watch Jim
might be properly anxious about the
time in any company.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della thinks that Jim
might be eager to
pull out his watch to
“check the time” a
lot, now that he will
have a nice chain to
show off.
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Grand as the watch was, he sometimes
looked at it on the sly on account of
the old leather strap that he used in
place of a chain.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The narrator tells us
that since Jim has
only a leather strap
to tie up his watch,
he sometimes is shy
or embarrassed
about pulling it out to
check the time.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
When Della reached home her
intoxication gave way a little to
prudence and reason.
Della’s been
intoxicated from the
pleasure of finding
and buying Jim’s gift.
But now she must
face the reality of
having lost her
beautiful long hair.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
She got out her curling irons and
lighted the gas and went to work
repairing the ravages made by
generosity added to love. Which is
always a tremendous task, dear friends-a mammoth task.
In the days before
electricity, curling
irons for hair were
heated up by gas
burners, used, then
placed back on the
burner to heat up
again.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
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She got out her curling irons and
lighted the gas and went to work
repairing the ravages made by
generosity added to love. Which is
always a tremendous task, dear friends-a mammoth task.
Della is trying to do
what can be done
with the short hair
she has left.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
She got out her curling irons and
lighted the gas and went to work
repairing the ravages made by
generosity added to love. Which is
always a tremendous task, dear friends-a mammoth task.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The author uses the
words ravages made
by generosity added
to love to describe
what’s left of Della’s
hair after she’s cut it
off to sell it.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
She got out her curling irons and
lighted the gas and went to work
repairing the ravages made by
generosity added to love. Which is
always a tremendous task, dear friends-a mammoth task.
What the author
means is that when
we love someone and
want to be generous
to them—as Della
loves Jim—we often
do things that are a
sacrifice to
ourselves.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
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She got out her curling irons and
lighted the gas and went to work
repairing the ravages made by
generosity added to love. Which is
always a tremendous task, dear friends-a mammoth task.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
To repair these
“ravages,” the author
says, is very hard to
do—and that’s very
often true.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Within forty minutes her head was
covered with tiny, close-lying curls that
made her look wonderfully like a
truant schoolboy.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della uses the curling
iron to curl what hair
she has left.
This sort of curls
made in short hair is
the hairstyle that
schoolboys of the
period might have.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
She looked at her reflection in the
mirror long, carefully, and critically.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Question 4: Why do
you think Della is
now so concerned
with the way she
looks?
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to
herself, "before he takes a second look
at me, he'll say I look like a Coney
Island chorus girl.
Now Della’s starting
to get worried about
what effect the loss
of her hair will have
on Jim.
Coney Island was an
amusement park in
New York City.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
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"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to
herself, "before he takes a second look
at me, he'll say I look like a Coney
Island chorus girl.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Young women who
worked as singers in
a chorus at Coney
Island might have
worn short curly
hairstyles.
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At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and
the frying-pan was on the back of the
stove hot and ready to cook the chops.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della has gotten
things ready for Jim
to come home.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Jim was never late. Della doubled the
fob chain in her hand and sat on the
corner of the table near the door that
he always entered.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della continues to
worry about what
Jim is going to think
about her missing
hair.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Then she heard his step on the stair
away down on the first flight, and she
turned white for just a moment.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
And here comes Jim.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
The door opened and Jim stepped in
and closed it. He looked thin and very
serious. Poor fellow, he was only
twenty-two--and to be burdened with a
family! He needed a new overcoat and
he was without gloves.
The narrator says
that Jim was
burdened with a
family. That doesn’t
mean that he and
Della have children.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The door opened and Jim stepped in
and closed it. He looked thin and very
serious. Poor fellow, he was only
twenty-two--and to be burdened with a
family! He needed a new overcoat and
he was without gloves.
It just means that
Della doesn’t have a
job, as was the
tradition in those
days.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The door opened and Jim stepped in
and closed it. He looked thin and very
serious. Poor fellow, he was only
twenty-two--and to be burdened with a
family! He needed a new overcoat and
he was without gloves.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Since Della doesn’t
have any income, Jim
has to be the breadwinner for both of
them.
Again, the narrator
tells us that Jim’s
clothing is old and
worn, suggesting that
he doesn’t have much
money.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Jim stopped inside the door, as
immovable as a setter at the scent of
quail.
The phrase setter at
the scent of quail
refers to a breed of
dog that hunters
went hunting with.
The dog was trained
to stop and point
when he noticed a
bird in the grass
ahead.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
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Jim stopped inside the door, as
immovable as a setter at the scent of
quail.
The dog would
continue to stand
completely still, even
when the hunter
would fire his gun
over the dog’s head
at the bird.
A quail is a kind of
bird that the hunter
might be after.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
His eyes were fixed upon Della, and
there was an expression in them that
she could not read, and it terrified her.
Della sees that her
husband notices, but
she’s not sure what
his expression means.
Question 5: Do you
think that Jim is
going to be angry
about her missing
hair?
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
It was not anger, nor surprise, nor
disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the
sentiments that she had been prepared
for.
Della knows what her
husband’s expression
is when he’s angry,
surprised, when he
disapproves of
something, or is
horrified.
She can tell that this
expression is none of
those things.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
He simply stared at her fixedly with
that peculiar expression on his face.
Jim has a peculiar
expression on his
face because he
knows something that
Della does not know.
We’re about to find
out what it is.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Della wriggled off the table and went
for him.
Della is nervous
about what Jim’s
expression means, so
she finally went for
him and is going to
explain.
Went for him means
she runs right up to
him.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at
me that way. I had my hair cut off
and sold because I couldn't have lived
through Christmas without giving you
a present.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della wants to quickly
explain about why
she is missing her
hair.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
It'll grow out again--you won't mind,
will you? I just had to do it. My hair
grows awfully fast. Say `Merry
Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy.
You don't know what a nice-- what a
beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The reader can
imagine her saying all
this hurriedly, trying
to smooth over the
problem by explaining
that she got Jim a
nice gift.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim,
laboriously, as if he had not arrived at
that patent fact yet even after the
hardest mental labor.
Jim is in shock about
the hair, but not for
the reason that Della
thinks!
We’re about to find
out why.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"Cut it off and sold it," said Della.
"Don't you like me just as well,
anyhow? I'm me without my hair,
ain't I?"
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Yes, of course, she’s
the same person with
or without her hair.
But having beautiful
long hair and then
suddenly not having it
is a bit of a shock!
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Jim looked about the room curiously.
"You say your hair is gone?" he said,
with an air almost of idiocy.
Jim still can’t quite
believe what he’s
seeing, but not for
the reason that Della
thinks!
We’re about to find
out why.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"You needn't look for it," said Della.
"It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone,
too.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della picks up on
Jim’s looking around
the room, and she
tries to make a
joke—You needn’t
look for it, she says.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to
me, for it went for you.
Again, Della is trying
to soothe what she
imagines might be
Jim’s anger at her
missing hair.
But he’s not angry.
It’s something else
that we’re about to
find out.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Maybe the hairs of my head were
numbered," she went on with sudden
serious sweetness, "but nobody could
ever count my love for you.
Della’s comment
about the hairs on
her head being
numbered refers to
the Bible.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Maybe the hairs of my head were
numbered," she went on with sudden
serious sweetness, "but nobody could
ever count my love for you.
The Bible says that
our days are
numbered, just as
are the hairs on our
head.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Maybe the hairs of my head were
numbered," she went on with sudden
serious sweetness, "but nobody could
ever count my love for you.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
What it means is
that none of us are
going to live forever.
Della here is saying,
yes, the hairs of her
head were numbered,
but her love for Jim
is not.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Shall I put the chops on, Jim?"
This is Della’s way of
asking if he would
like her to start
dinner.
Maybe Della thinks
that doing something
ordinary and routine
will bring Jim back to
reality a little bit.
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Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly
to wake. He enfolded his Della.
Finally, Jim seems to
snap out of it.
Enfolded his Della
means that Jim gave
her a great big hug.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
For ten seconds let us regard with
discreet scrutiny some inconsequential
object in the other direction.
Here, the narrator
asks the reader to
turn away and look
somewhere else for a
few seconds.
It was impolite to
stare at a husband
and wife while they
were hugging—or
maybe even kissing a
little, too.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Eight dollars a week or a million a
year--what is the difference? A
mathematician or a wit would give you
the wrong answer.
Remember that the
apartment where
they live costs $8 a
week.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Eight dollars a week or a million a
year--what is the difference? A
mathematician or a wit would give you
the wrong answer.
The author here says
that although they
live in a shabby little
apartment, they are
as happy as if they
lived in a million
dollar mansion.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Eight dollars a week or a million a
year--what is the difference? A
mathematician or a wit would give you
the wrong answer.
That is to say that it
makes no difference
to them.
But a mathematician
would certainly say
there’s a difference
between a million a
year and $8 a week!
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Eight dollars a week or a million a
year--what is the difference? A
mathematician or a wit would give you
the wrong answer.
And to a wit—a
person who is smart
and can say there’s a
big difference
between a million a
year and $8 a week.
But they would be
wrong, because to
Jim and Della,
they’re happy either
way.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
The magi brought valuable gifts, but
that was not among them. This dark
assertion will be illuminated later on.
The Magi were the
three wise men that
brought gifts to the
infant Jesus at
Bethlehem.
The Magi brought
gifts that were
valuable at the time.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The magi brought valuable gifts, but
that was not among them. This dark
assertion will be illuminated later on.
The author is giving
us a hint of what is
to come later in the
story.
The hint is that
there’s something
about Della’s gift
that’s even better
than the gifts that
the Magi brought the
baby Jesus.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Jim drew a package from his overcoat
pocket and threw it upon the table.
Well, it looks like Jim
has a gift of his own.
It’s a package small
enough to fit in his
pocket—what could it
be?
And how could he
have money to buy a
gift?
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he
said, "about me. I don't think there's
anything in the way of a haircut or a
shave or a shampoo that could make
me like my girl any less.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Jim reassures Della
that her hair being
there or being gone
is not something that
would make him
angry.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
But if you'll unwrap that package you
may see why you had me going a
while at first."
But there is
something that made
him have that
strange expression—
something that the
package will explain.
What could it be?
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
White fingers and nimble tore at the
string and paper.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della opens the
package in a rush.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
And then an ecstatic scream of joy;
and then, alas! a quick feminine
change to hysterical tears and wails,
necessitating the immediate
employment of all the comforting
powers of the lord of the flat.
She squeals with joy
when she sees what
it is—and then
suddenly starts
crying all over again!
Crying so hard that
Jim—the lord of the
flat—has to try to
comfort her.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
And then an ecstatic scream of joy;
and then, alas! a quick feminine
change to hysterical tears and wails,
necessitating the immediate
employment of all the comforting
powers of the lord of the flat.
And it’s not happy
crying, either—Della
is really sad all of a
sudden.
What could the small
package possibly be?
Question 6: What
do you think the
package might be?
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
For there lay The Combs--the set of
combs, side and back, that Della had
worshipped long in a Broadway
window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise
shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade
to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.
The package turns
out to be a set of
combs—we would call
them barrettes—
that women use to
hold their hair in
place.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
For there lay The Combs--the set of
combs, side and back, that Della had
worshipped long in a Broadway
window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise
shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade
to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.
These particular
combs are some that
Della has wanted
badly for a long time.
They’re just the
right color and
everything.
Press <Enter> to Continue Notes
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
For there lay The Combs--the set of
combs, side and back, that Della had
worshipped long in a Broadway
window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise
shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade
to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Do you see why she
was very happy at
first and then all of a
sudden very upset?
She forgot for a
minute that her hair
is gone!
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
They were expensive combs, she knew,
and her heart had simply craved and
yearned over them without the least
hope of possession.
They were expensive
combs, we’re told.
But we already know
that Jim and Della
don’t have much
money.
Question 7: How do
you think Jim might
have gotten the
money to buy them?
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
And now, they were hers, but the
tresses that should have adorned the
coveted adornments were gone.
She has the combs,
but no hair to wear
them in.
Now we see why Jim
had that strange
expression on his
face when he saw
Della and saw that
her hair was gone.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
But she hugged them to her bosom,
and at length she was able to look up
with dim eyes and a smile and say:
"My hair grows so fast, Jim!"
Yes, eventually,
Della’s hair will grow
long again, and she’ll
be able to wear the
combs in it.
It will probably be a
long time, though.
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Press <Enter> Now to Continue
And them Della leaped up like a little
singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"
All of a sudden, Della
remembers the nice
gift she has for Jim!
She wants him to
have it right away
because Jim was so
nice to buy her the
combs she wanted.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful
present.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della rushes to get
the fob chain she
bought with the
money she got from
selling her hair.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
She held it out to him eagerly upon
her open palm. The dull precious
metal seemed to flash with a reflection
of her bright and ardent spirit.
Ardent here means
eager, and Della is
eager to please her
Jim with the nice
gift.
Question 8: What
do you think Jim’s
reaction to the nice
gift will be?
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all
over town to find it. You'll have to
look at the time a hundred times a day
now. Give me your watch. I want to
see how it looks on it."
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Della wants to see
what the chain looks
like with the watch
attached to it, and
she want to see it
right away!
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down
on the couch and put his hands under
the back of his head and smiled.
What is Jim smiling
about? And why
doesn’t he give her
the watch?
We’re about to find
out.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
"Dell," said he, "let's put our
Christmas presents away and keep 'em
a while. They're too nice to use just at
present.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Jim says a strange
thing here.
But he probably
knows that Della
won’t let him get
away with that—she’s
going to insist on
seeing what the
watch looks like with
the new chain.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
I sold the watch to get the money to
buy your combs.
And now we find out
why Jim smiled when
he saw that his gift
was a watch fob
chain.
His gift is as useless
to him now as Della’s
gift is to her.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
And now suppose you put the chops
on."
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Jim suggests that
Della start dinner,
and that’s the last
that we hear in the
story about Jim and
Della.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
The magi, as you know, were wise
men--wonderfully wise men--who
brought gifts to the Babe in the
manger. They invented the art of
giving Christmas presents.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
The narrator wants
us to know that the
Magi were the first
Christmas gift givers,
and that they were
wise enough to
choose good gifts.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
Being wise, their gifts were no doubt
wise ones, possibly bearing the
privilege of exchange in case of
duplication.
Maybe the gifts they
gave were gifts that
could be returned, if
need be.
Being able to be
returned might be
one quality of a good
gift.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Press <Enter> Now to Continue
And here I have lamely related to you
the uneventful chronicle of two foolish
children in a flat who most unwisely
sacrificed for each other the greatest
treasures of their house.
The narrator calls
Jim and Della two
foolish children, and
says that they most
unwisely sacrificed
their greatest
treasures.
Question 9: Do you
think Jim and
Della’s gifts were
foolish?
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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But in a last word to the wise of these
days let it be said that of all who give
gifts these two were the wisest.
Annotated Gift of the Magi © 2007. All Rights Reserved.
But it’s hard to
explain what makes a
good gift, and the
narrator wants to say
that Jim and Della’s
gifts to each other
were the best gifts—
even better than the
Magi’s gifts to baby
Jesus.
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To all who give and receive gifts, such
as they are wisest. Everywhere they are
wisest. They are the magi.
The narrator again
states that of all
people who have given
and do give gifts, Jim
and Della’s gifts were
the wisest.
The narrator ends
the story by saying
they—Jim and
Della—are the Magi.
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An Annotated Version
The End