Plot
Della sells her hair
What is Rising Action?
Describe Jim and Della
Della: beautiful, slender, emotional.
Jim: thin, calm, mature.
Time period when the story takes place
Late 1800s, early 1900s
Della's hair and Jim's watch represent these
What is her beauty and his family?
Identify the Literary Device: “Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. "
What is simile?
Della counts the money she has been saving for months
What is Exposition?
Name evidence which proves Jim and Della love each other.
-They sacrificed their most priced possessions
-The 10 second hug
-"His Della“, “Her Jim“
-Exclusive use of nicknames
-They are happy even though they are poor
It's what Della uses instead of a mirror, and the reason why
What is pier-glass and because they are poor?
The gifts represent
What is sacrifice and Jim and Della's love?
The theme of the story.
-Christmas is not about presents, but about family
-We should sacrifice for our loved ones
-You can be poor economically, but rich in love
The gifts are put away, but Jim and Della are now secured in the other's love
What is Resolution?
Who is the antagonist and why?
Poverty because the conflict is the protagonists' lack of money.
Describe the apartment
What is
-Small
-Furnished (shabby little sofa, pier-glass, worn red carpet)
-The door buzzer doesn't work
-8 dollars a week
Represent that Jim and Della are rich
King Solomon and Queen Sheba?
Identify the Literary Device:"Had the Queen of Sheba lived in... Had King Solomon been..." and "The magi, as you know, were wise men... "
What is Allusion?
Della and Jim vs. Poverty
What is conflict?
Sort the characters by type and function
-Della: Protagonist, dynamic and flat.
-Jim: Protagonist, static and round.
-Madame Sofronie: Side character, flat and static.
Name of the city where the story takes place
What is New York?
They represent Christmas, gift giving and being wise
Who are the Magi?
Identify the Literary Devices: "They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs."
Verbal and Situational Irony
When Della gives Jim his gift and they realize what each other has sacrificed
What is climax?
The three people Jim and Della are compared throughout the story and why
Who are the Magi? And because both are wise people who presented their loved ones with symbolic gifts
How do we know the geographical place where the story takes place
The narrator's description of the apartment represents
What is poverty?
Identify the Literary Device: "Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and grandfather's."
What is foreshadowing?