The Gift of the Magi Close Reading Questions

Directions for first reading: Read the story once. As you read, do the following:
*Circle words or ideas you dont know or understand.
*Add questions or comments in the margins.
*Highlight main ideas that relate to the theme of the story
Directions for second reading: Read the questions assigned to each section. Then,
reread the section and answer the questions as you read.
Part 1 Questions:
1. Consider the number of references to money in this opening passage of the story.
Highlight them. To what is the author trying to draw attention?

2. Consider the alliteration in the second paragraph. Underline it. What is the effect
of this on the narrative?

3. What adjective (color) is repeated three times in the fifth paragraph? Circle it. What
is the effect of this on the narrative?

4. How does the drabness of this domestic scene contrast with the stated time of year?
(If you dont know what the word drab means, use a resource to figure it out.)

Part 2 Questions:
1. Who is the narrator of the story?

2. How does the author describe Della? How does the author describe Jim? Bracket
parts of the passage that describe each character, and label them with a
D or a J. Why does the author repeatedly refer to them as the James
Dillingham Youngs?

3. Read the backgrounds on the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon that are listed at the
end of this packet. Highlight parts of the story where these people are
referenced, and then discuss the analogies the author makes to the Queen
of Sheba and King Solomon.
Why does the author include references to them at this point in the narrative?

Are these figures from the Jewish Bible an apt comparison to Della and Jim? Why or
why not?

4. Identify one simile in the story and describe its meaning. [A simile is a
comparison of two seemingly dissimilar things using like or as.]

5. Identify one metaphor in the story and describe its meaning. [A metaphor is
a comparison between two seemingly unrelated things that doesnt use like or
as.]

Part 3 Questions
1. Discuss the irony of the situation. [Situational irony occurs when what happens is
the opposite of what is expected to happen.] What makes it ironic?

2. How does the outer poverty of the scene contrast with the inner richness of the
couple? You may need to discuss what inner richness means.
Give specific examples of the meager circumstances. Give specific examples of
the rich inner life.

3. Discuss this passage from the text in the following questions:

Eight dollars a week or a million a yearwhat is the difference? A mathematician or a
wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not
among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.
a. The authors message here is posed in the form of a question. Would there be a
difference in the couple having 8.00/week or million dollars a year? Why?

b. How does what this couple have together transcend the amount their
weekly/annual income?

c. Legend has it the Magi, three wise men from the East, paid homage to the newborn Christ Child with precious and rare commodities of gold, frankincense, and
myrrh. How do the gifts exchanged by this young couple on Christmas Eve differ
from (and perhaps weigh in as more precious) the gifts brought by the wise
men?

4. Is the couples love believable? Is the storys ending happy? Why or why not?

Part 4 Questions:
1. Read the background on the three kings/magi at the end of the packet. Discuss the
reference to "the magi" in the ending passage of the story. Why is this reference
used here and in the title of the story?

2. What does the author mean by the greatest treasures of their house?

How would the meaning change if the author had chosen a different word and
written the greatest treasures of their home? or the greatest treasures of their
marriage?

3. What does the author mean by Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are
the wisest?

Do you agree with the author, Everywhere they are the wisest?

4. Do you think O. Henrys original title with the plural form of the word gifts (Gifts
of the Magi) is a better title for this story? On the other hand, do you think the
singular word gift (Gift of the Magi) is a more descriptive title? Explain.

5. What is the real gift in the story?