ANSWER KEY

II. While Reading Tasks

Vocabulary:  Word Inference
1. unselfish |ˌənˈselfiSH| adjective-willing to put the needs or wishes of others before one’s
own: unselfish devotion.
2. shabby |ˈSHabē| adjective -in poor condition through long or hard use or lack of care: a
conscript in a shabby uniform saluted the car.
3. furnished |ˈfərniSHt| adjective- (of accommodations) available to be rented with furniture.
4. vestibule |ˈvestəˌbyo͞ol| noun-an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a
building.
5. calculated |ˈkalkyəˌlātid| verb-determine (the amount or number of something) mathematically
6. whirl |(h)wərl|verb-move or cause to move rapidly around and around.
7. Possessions) |pəˈzeSHən| noun- an item of property; something belonging to one.
8. falter |ˈfôltər| verb-start to lose strength or momentum: her smile faltered and then faded.
9. ransack |ˈranˌsak, ranˈsak| verb-search through (a place or receptacle) to find something, esp.
in such a way as to cause disorder and/or damage.
10. peculiar |pəˈkyo͞olyər| adjective-strange or odd; unusual.

Questions for Comprehension

1. It is Christmas; in the first paragraph Della states, “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the
next day would be Christmas.”
2. The three characters are Della, Jim, and Madame Sofronie.
3. For Jim it was his watch; for Della her hair.
4.  She had $1.87 to buy Jim a gift.
5. She sold her hair.
6. She bought Jim a chain for his watch.
7. He sold his watch.
8. He bought her beautiful combs for her hair.
9. Things did not work out the way Jim and Della planned because each of their gifts became
useless. She had no hair and he had no watch.   
Questions for Reflection
Directions:  In groups have students discuss the following questions.
1. Some themes are: Love, poverty, money, and sacrifice.
2. Some of the symbols in the story are: Jim’s watch and Della’s hair are symbols for the most
precious items they both own. Symbols of poverty are: the descriptions of the apartment, (its
worn carpet, the broken doorbell) and the clothes the couple wore (the old brown jacket and
hat, Jim’s worn overcoat).
3. Some examples of imagery from the story:
While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a
look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week.
“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.”
When Della looks out the window, the imagery is a metaphor for her sad feelings.
She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey
backyard.
4. The magi were Biblical figures from the Bible. They were the three wise men who bought
gifts to honor the birth of Jesus. Their gifts symbolized the most precious items in the world that
could be given to the baby Jesus.
In comparison, Della and Jim’s gifts were the best that they could afford to give to each other.
This comparison of Jim and Della’s gifts to those of the Magi helps to explain how very much
these two loved each other.