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1. Della- the gift of the magi
O. Henry is a famous author in writing short stories with a clever plot and an
unexpected outcome. His characters are often put in difficult circumstances but he
always shows sympathy and humanity through their thoughts and behaviors. “The
gift of the Magi” is a typical example of O.Henry’s writing style. In this story, Della is
described as a woman who is really passionate in love. Her love for Jim is special
because it is generous, respectful and admirable. She is always obsessed with
getting her husband a decent Christmas present, something “fine and rare and
sterling”. She thinks that her beloved Jim deserves a really nice and precious gift,
and she is determined to find that gift. However, she only has one dollar and eighty
seven cents to buy such a present because the couple is poor. Della decides to
sacrifice her treasure: her long wavy brown hair. When she looks in the mirror, she
does feel hesitated. Her teardrops fall on the carpet, but quickly she leaves the house
with a “brilliant sparkle” in her eyes. She is generous enough to do anything for her
husband. After cutting her hair, she now has twenty dollars to buy a gift, and she
found it – a platinum chain for Jim’s clock. She is so happy thinking that Jim will no
longer have to hide his clock because of the old chain. She has found something
quiet and valuable, the thing which is the most suitable for her admiring Jim. When
Della gets home, she still worries about Jim’s reaction. She curls her hair to make it
look better and looks in the mirror “carefully and critically”. Della even “turns
white” and pray that Jim will still think that she is beautiful with the new hair. She
wants her husband to understand her endless love. When Jim sees the chain in
Della’s hand, he can see the “bright and ardent spirit” in it. Although the chain is
made of platinum, it is still dull metal. It is Della’s love and her willingness to
sacrifice for love that actually makes the chain valuable. Della’s love turns her gift
into the wisest one. It is not only a normal gift but a gift of love, sacrifice, admiration
and respect. It is really the gift of magi. Through the character, O.Henry expresses
his sympathy as well as a belief in the warm heart of people; maybe it is the greatest
thing in the world.
2. David Copperfield- The sequel of my resolution
“David is described as a courageous, determined, strong-willed but sentimental boy”
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David Copperfield is the main character in the novel “David Copperfield” of Charles
Dickens. He was a child who suffered a lot of miseries in his life, in the context of
19th century England. The society in 19th century was full of child neglect and child
abuse. The adults were very cruel to the little boy David. They were willing to rob all
the money and belongings he had. However, David was still a courageous,
determined and strong-willed boy who was always eagle to come to Dover to find
his aunt. At the beginning of the trip, the donkey-cart driver robbed all of his money
and luggage. David had to start the journey with bare hands. Moreover, he had to
sleep outside all the time and he had to sell his clothes for pence and shillings.
Nevertheless, he did not have any intention to give up. He wanted to go on to find a
new life in Dover. David was willing to stay strong and calm to continue his trip.
However, he was also a sentimental boy. When he spent the first night outside his
old school, David was so desperate and hopeless. He missed his schoolmates and
regretted the old days. Sometimes, he wished to be among them in Salem House.
David was so sentimental at that moment, but he had a strong motivation inside
him. That was the picture of his mother. His mother’s soul seemed to follow and
encourage him whenever he felt disappointed and helpless. He was so happy when
he reminisced about the young and beautiful image of mother in his mind. His
mother was really the guidelines for him to go on and also she eased away his
tiredness and exhaustion. She was always be in his mind until he reached Dover, a
new place for his better life.
3. Larry- My Oedipus Complex
In the story “My Oedipus Complex”, Larry showed himself as a very naive boy. He
did not know where his little brother, Sonny, came from. His mother answered him
that they bought the baby with 17 pounds and 6 pence, and he believed. After his
father came back home from the war, he even suggested that his mom and dad
should sleep separately because his father somehow “stole” his mother and his
pleasure to climb into the big bed to sleep with her. He said sleeping together was
not good for health. Furthermore, he ensured that he would marry his mother when
he grew up to “own” his mother. Larry also imagined that there was a fight between
him and his father. He imitated his father to use the pipes and make noise at tea to
attract mother’s attention. He was really jealous of his father. He always found a way
to interrupt mother and father’s talks by trying to change the subjects. He even
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intended to pray the God to send his father to the war, so he can have his mother
back. In one morning, he decided to come to the big bed and sleep with his mother.
He realized that his father was taking much area of the bed, so he kicked him. He
also hated the way his mother called father “Poor daddy” because it made him sad.
Moreover, when his little brother- Sonny was born, he was very jealous. His
mother’s attention was all spent on the baby. Larry therefore thought that the baby
was so annoying, so fussy. He could not wake the baby up to play with him as his
mother promised. Instead, he would be shouted by his mother when he tried to
wake the baby. In conclusion, his naivety and jealousy is somehow lovely, but they
also shows that his parents should pay more attention to his feelings and they really
should be friends with him.
4. Jack London- The praiser of strong-willed people
Jack London (1876-1916) was born in San Francisco, California in the family of a
poor farmer. His life was described as an “unending toil”. Jack had to try various jobs
like working on ships and in factories. He used to be a sailor or even a tramper to
deal with his hard life. When the Gold Rush period began in early 20th century, Jack
London also came to Yukon, Canada to try his luck. However, he came back with
nothing but enormous experience about life for his future books. Jack now
understood that only the fittest ones could survive in the harsh nature, and he
decided to become “the praiser of strong-willed people”. In “Love of life”, the main
character was abandoned by his friend in the forest while he was being injured. He
had to find every possible way to survive in the cold weather with all of bears and
wolfs around. Even when he almost lost all his physical strength, his spirit still
helped him to defeat the wolf and stayed alive. It was his will that saved him from
the difficult situation. In “The Call of the Wild”, although the main character was a
dog, Jack London still implied to praise the strong will of people. Buck had to adapt
the new harsh life outside the “sun-kissed” house of Judge Miller. He had to learn
“the law of club and fang”, the new way to eat and sleep as well has the way to
become a leader or just simply to survive. His spiritual strength has made him
strong enough to overcome all the difficulties to be a “primordial beast”. Maybe
wilderness was Buck’s nature, but when that nature is blurred by civilization, only
his mind could help him to survive. Jack London always believed in Darwin’s theory“survival of the fittest”- only people who are strong and clever enough can survive.
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5. Charles Dickens- the storyteller of townpoor people
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was the greatest critical realist in the 19th century
English literature. He was born in a poor family with the other seven siblings. His
life was more and more difficult when his father was put in prison for debts. Dickens
had to leave school to wash bottles from morning till night in a factory, so he himself
understood about hard life in the society at that time. Later when he became a
famous writer, most of his famous works were about poor people living in cities of
England in 19th century. Through his famous work “David Copperfield”, Dickens
showed his sympathy for common people in the social context of 19 th century. In
“David Copperfield”, Dickens criticized child neglect and abuse. The poor little David
was the victims of cruel adults in the society such as his step-father, the donkey cart
driver, the tinkers, the trampers and especially the two shop owners. When David
had to sell his coats for money to reach Dover, the two ferocious owners were so
mean that they intended to lower the cost of the shirts to steak David’s money. They
were so creepy to just a little innocent boy, who deserved a happy life with parents
at his age. The owners were the representatives for cruel adults who were willing to
do anything for money, even to abuse a child. On the contrary, David was the
representative for common people at that time. He had no money, no love from his
family. He had to earn his living by working in the factory, and he was abused by
creepy adult owners. His life was full of miseries. However, there were still good
people like Mrs. Peggotty or Mr. Micawber who loved him and tried to protect him
from the harsh reality. Maybe these characters were a symbol of Dickens’s sympathy
for the poor people in town. He always had a strong belief that good people would
have a happy ending. He criticized evil things in life, but his heart was always full of
hopes and love.
6. William Wordsworth- the worshipper of nature
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a great author in the movement of
romanticism in 19th century. He was born in the Lake District in Northwestern,
England, one of the most beautiful corners in the country. Therefore, nature had a
strong influence on Wordsworth, making him “a worshiper of nature”. To
Wordsworth, nature was an endless source of beauty. In “I wandered lonely as a
cloud”, he described the daffodils with a beautiful color-“A host, of golden daffodils”.
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The lovely flowers “stretched” along the bay, looking like a Milky Way. “Lines
written in early spring” showed other beauties in spring such as the primrose, the
periwinkle and the birds. The nature was so wonderful in Wordsworth’s world, but
they not only had the pretty appearance but also a joyous and harmonious soul, the
soul was free from calculations and miseries that troubled human’s mind. The
daffodils were joining a dance competition- they are “Fluttering and dancing in the
breeze” and “Tossing their heads in sprightly dance” with no worries. The birds in
spring also “hopped and played” in “a thrill of pleasure”. It seemed like everything in
nature lived together in harmony, and that was the lesson for human. Wordsworth
wondered in “Lines written in early spring” that “what man has made of man”.
There were so many conflicts and sorrow among people, which upset them every
single day. Standing in front of nature, human could forget all the loneliness, sadness
and miseries .They could enjoy the beauty of nature and learn to live more happily
in life. The closer men are to nature, the wiser, smarter and happier they are. In
clonclusion, Wordsworthn strongly believed that nature was the best remedy for
human’s mind. Man should live harmoniously like nature, treat each other as friends
but not enemies.
7. The sequence of my resolution
“The sequence of my resolution” is an extract from the novel “David Copperfield” by
Charles Dickens. The story begins in England in 19th century. In this chapter, David
decides to go from London to Dover to find his aunt- Miss Trotwood. The boy’s
luggage and money are stolen by a donkey cart driver, so he has only three-half
pence in the pocket. However, David is still determined to reach Dover, so he comes
to a shop to sell his waistcoat for money. The shop owner pays him nine pence for
the coat although he asks for 18 pence. That night, David has to sleep outside his old
school- Salem House and he really misses his old friend and life. The next day, he has
to sell his jacket for money, and he is threatened and abused again by another
owner. Later, a tinker bullied him for money on the road, making David exhausted
and frightened. However, the picture of his mother is always in his mind to help him
to reach Dover, finally. David now has to find Miss Trotwood but he doesn’t know
how because people in Dover refuse to let him know where she lives. At last, a flydriver helps him to find Miss Trotwood for a reunion after a long trip.
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8. My Oedipus complex
“My Oedipus Complex” is a short story written by Frank O’Connor. The story begins
in a small town in Ireland during and after World War I. The main characters are
members in a family: Mother, Father, Larry and the baby Sonny. During the war,
Father is not at home, so Larry enjoys his happy life with his Mother. He is always
the center of attention because Mother lets him enter her bed, talks to him and cares
for him. However, after Father comes back home after the war, Larry begins to be
jealous of him. He always finds ways to interrupt mother’s attention for father. He
thinks that he and Father are having a war to gain Mother’s attention, so they do not
get on well with each other. Everything becomes worse when Larry’s little brotherSonny appears. The new baby gets all the attention from Mother again, which makes
Larry so lonely and isolated. He is now jealous of both Father and Sonny. One night
when Father has to come to Larry’s bed to sleep with him because of Sonny’s crying,
Larry and Father feel the love and sympathy for each other. At Christmas, Father
goes out to buy him a model railway as a gift.
9. The Call of the Wild
“The call of the wild” is a novel written in 1903 by Jack London. The story takes
place in Yukon in the Klondike Gold Rush period. It is about a sled dog - Buck and his
adventures from civilization to wilderness. At first, Buck lives an easy life in Judge
Miller’s house in California but then he is stolen and sold to different owners (the
man in the red sweater, Perrault and Francois) and he gradually becomes a wild
dog. Buck begins to adapt to his surroundings, and learn from the other dogs. Later,
Buck becomes involved in a struggle for power with another dog, Spitz. They end up
fighting and Buck wins, taking over as leader of the sled dog team. The team then
changes to new drivers (Charles, Hans and Mercedes), but the new people don't
seem to be very competent. They end up killing everyone, including themselves.
Fortunately, Buck is saved by a kind man named John Thornton. Buck becomes
attached to Thornton and even saves his life several times. However, after his
journeys far from Thornton, Buck begins to think about coming back to the wild life.
At the end, Thornton is killed by the Yeehat tribe, on which Buck later extracts
vengeance. Buck is then free to run with other wild dogs, but only on the condition
that he is leader.
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