“The Gift of the Magi” Name:_______________________________

Pre-Reading Questions :
1. In your opinion, what makes a gift valuable?

2. Describe the most valuable gift you have ever received.

3. What was the most valuable gift you have given someone?

Define the following words​:

Prosperity:

Parsimony:

One dollar and eighty-seven  1. Circle any unfamiliar

cents. That was all. And sixty  vocabulary​.
cents of it was in pennies. Pennies 
saved one and two at a time by  2. Underline the lines that tells
bulldozing the grocer and the  you what season it is.
vegetable man and the butcher 
until one's cheeks burned with  3. Based on your definition of
the silent imputation of parsimony  “parsimony” what do you think
that such close dealing implied.  the phrase “bulldozing the
Three times Della counted it. One  grocer” means?
dollar and eighty- seven cents.  (Explain in the margin, your
And the next day would be  explanation. )
Christmas. There was clearly 
nothing to do but flop down on  4. From the first paragraph,
the shabby little couch and howl.  identify the​ author’s purpose
So Della did it. Which instigates  for writing the story:
the moral reflection that life is 
made up of sobs, sniffles, and  Circle One:
● To persuade the reader to believe
smiles, with sniffles 
something
predominating.  ● To teach the reader something
● To entertain the reader
 While the mistress of the home is  5. Place a * next to
gradually subsiding from the first  words/phrases that might
stage to the second, take a look  indicate the time period of the
at the home. A furnished flat at  story.
$8 per week. It did not exactly 
beggar description, but it  How is their home described?
certainly had that word on the 
lookout for the ​mendicancy  ● Circle any words that describe
squad​. In the vestibule below  what their home might look
belonged to this flat a letter-box  like.
into which no letter would go, and 
an electric button from which no    
mortal finger could coax a ring.  mendicancy squad:​ police squad 
Also appertaining thereunto was a  that picked up homeless who beg 
card bearing the name "Mr.  for food. 
James Dillingham Young." The   
"Dillingham" had been flung to the   
breeze during a former period of  What line tells you a ​conflict​ Mr. 
prosperity when its possessor was  James Dillingham Young is facing? 
being paid $30 per week. Now,  Underline it. 
when the income was shrunk to   
$20, though, they were thinking   
seriously of contracting to a  Explain: ​Why is this conflict a 
modest and unassuming D. But  problem for the young couple? 
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. Which 
is all very good. 
STOP:
Summarize​ what you know about the characters’ situation in 3-4 sentences.

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From what ​point of view​ is the story written? (Circle one and highlight evidence ):

1st (narrator is a character in the story) OR 3rd (narrator is not a character in story)
Della finished her cry and attended to  Repetition: ​What significant
her cheeks with the powder rag. She  phrases or words are repeated in
stood by the window and looked out 
the passage? Circle them.
dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence 
in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be 
Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 
with which to buy Jim a present. She  What do you think the ​purpose ​is
had been saving every penny she could  for the author to repeat these
for months, with this result. Twenty  words/phrases?
dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses 
had been greater than she had 
calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 
to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. 
Many a happy hour she had spent 
planning for something nice for him. 
Something fine and rare and  Underline the ​adjective​ words that
sterling—something just a little bit  would describe the perfect gift for
near to being worthy of the honor of 
Jim.
being owned by Jim​.  

There was a pier-glass between the  Highlight examples of ​2​ ​allusions

windows of the room. Perhaps you have  in the passage.
seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very 
thin and very agile person may, by 
observing his reflection in a rapid 
sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a  From the text, what do you know
fairly accurate conception of his looks.  about the two allusions?
Della, being slender, had mastered the 
art. Suddenly she whirled from the  Allusion 1:
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. 
Now, there were two possessions of  Allusion 2:
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 his grandfather's. The 
other was Della's hair. Had the queen 
of Sheba lived in the flat across the  What is the ​author’s purpose ​in
airshaft, Della would have let her hair  using the two allusions?
hang out the window some day to dry 
just to depreciate Her Majesty's 
jewels and gifts. 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  Identify the 2 possessions Della
beard from envy.   and Jim cherish? (circle them)
How would you characterize Jim and Della based on the portion of the text we read

today?

What do we know about Della’s personality? How do you know this? (Explain

using the RACE method, providing one citation.)

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What do we know about Jim’s personality? How do you know this? (Explain

using the RACE method, providing one citation.)

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