Name : luthfi huda (0919013301)

Evening class PBI 3rd semester

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI ANALYSIS

Plot

The story starts with a girl named Della, who has only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a

present. On Christmas Eve, with only one day left to find a Christmas gift for her

husband James Dillingham Young, Della sells her hair for $20 to a nearby hairdresser

named Madame Sofronie. She eventually finds a platinum pocket watch chain for Jim's

watch for $21 and was satisfied that she found the perfect gift for Jim.

Later that night Della admits to Jim that she sold her hair to buy him his present. Jim

gives Della her present a set of combs, useless now that her hair is shortened. Della

then shows Jim the chain she bought for him, to which Jim says he sold his watch to get

the money to buy her ornamental combs. Although Jim and Della are now left with gifts

that neither one can use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for

each other, and how priceless their love really is. The story ends with the narrator

comparing the sacrificial gifts of love with those of the biblical Magi.

Point Of View Analysis

Technically, the point of view in this story seems to be Third person limited

omniscient, the narrator is a non-participant. Narrator only knows all about the major

characters, which are Della and Jim, sometimes it is using the pronoun of she, he, it, or

names to mention all the characters and other things. The narrator seems to know a lot

more than Della does at times, it explains the physical appearance and all the feelings

of Della and Jim. The reader can’t see what Jim is doing during the story, and once he
does show up: readers don't know what his reaction to Della's hair is any more than

Della does.

The Characters Of Story

The character of the story is consist of three characters, they are Della, Jim and

Madame Sofronie. We have known that story has a major and minor character, so Della

and Jim can be said as the major characters. Della is considered to be the major

character because she is the one who appears from the beginning until the end of the

story. The beginning of the story is telling about Della’s confussion to buy present for

Jim, her husband until she finally did a sacrifice, she cuts her hair and sells it in order to

be able to buy a nice present. Meanwhile, Jim can be also said that he is major

character because he is another person who has a relationship with Della, and have

interaction with Della in the middle and the end of the story. Besides, there is actually

one minor character named Madame Sofronie, the woman who buying Della’s hair for

$20, she appeared in the middle of the story for a moment.

For the characters personality itself, there are only three kinds of characters, which are

flat, dynamic, static, and stock characters.

- Della is dynamic character in the story since her physical appearance changed

in the end of the story. In the beginning, it is described that she has a beautiful

long brown hair. It looked like a brown waterfall. However, she cut off her hair in

orderto buy a present for her husband, so her hair became very short.

- Jim can be considered as a flat and static character. Jim’s way of talking is

still the same since he appeared in the middle of the story and almost in the end
 of the story. He is static character because his physical appearance did not

change at all.

- Madame Sofronie tends to be the only complement character who has a flat

character

Themes

(Love)

Della Young and Jim Young's deep love for each other is the central theme of "The Gift

of the Magi." It makes them willing to sacrifice their most prized possessions in order to

buy a Christmas gift for the other person. Both show they value their relationship more

than material things.

Della's love for Jim is evident in her willingness to live in a shabby apartment so Jim can

pursue his career ambitions. He is making less money than in the past, but she does

not blame him for their bleak financial circumstances. Instead she tries to stretch her

budget by haggling with the grocer, vegetable man, and butcher in order to get the most

for her money. She thinks very highly of Jim, wanting to buy him a gift that is "fine and

rare and sterling," which is how she perceives him. Jim similarly loves Della. He looks at

her shorn head without anger or disapproval, affirming his love for her goes beyond her

physical appearance. He tells her there isn't anything that could make him like her any

less. He is calm and supportive rather than critical or demeaning, showing his love is

based on mutual acceptance and endearment.

(Self-Sacrifice)

Jim and Della's selflessness is a major theme in the story. Both have given up much to

live in New York. Jim has taken a job with a low salary. Della is forced to make ends
meet by haggling with vendors. Both are wearing old clothes. They live in a barely

furnished apartment. As a couple, they are willing to sacrifice a more comfortable life to

allow Jim to pursue his ambition of working in New York.

At Christmastime, Jim and Della want to do something special for the other, however.

Unable to squeeze enough money out of Jim's paycheck to buy a gift, they each sell

their most prized possession. Their desire to make their partner happy is more

important to them than any wish to please themselves. Considering neither of them

owns much, this is indeed remarkable. Despite their dreary environment, lack of

possessions, and financial straits, both put the interests of the other person above their

own.

(Material vs Spiritual)

Della and Jim's spiritual or emotional connection is portrayed as more important to them

than any material or physical possession. When they discover their actions have

canceled out each other's gifts, they reveal what matters most to them. Rather than

regretting what they have lost, they recognize they have something of far greater value

their love and concern for each other. Jim tells Della he will continue to like her no

matter what she does to her hair. Della confirms her love for her husband is greater

than the length of the hairs on her head.

The narrator emphasizes the theme of spiritual over material qualities through a biblical

allusion that mentions the magi, wise men from the East who brought gifts to Christ

when he was born and who "invented the art of giving Christmas presents." The

narrator considers Della's and Jim's gifts to each other equal to or as wise as those
given by the magi. This is a reference not to the combs and watch chain they gave each

other, but to their giving of themselves.

The Setting Of Story

The place setting of the story take place at Della and Jim’s house, Madame

Sofronie’s store, and the store where Della got the chain for the present. It took place at

Della and Jim’s house when Della was counting her money to buy a perfect present for

Jim, and when Della and Jim were finally meeting and talking about their presents in the

end of the story. Next, it took place at Madame Sofronie’s store when Della finally

decided to cut her hair off and sold it to Madame Sofronie for $20. Lastly

The time setting of the story is considered to be in a Christmas Eve since it was

explained that Della was confused about what she was going to buy Jim’s Christmas

present on the following day. Specifically, it was in the afternoon when Della was

counting money, going to Madame Sofronie’s store, and buying the fob chain for Jim’s

watch. In the end, it seemed to be in the evening when Della and Jim finally met and

talked about their presents.

A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND ANALYSIS

Setting

A good man is hard to find is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor that tells about

a family and its trip to Florida, it showing a series of events points of how hard to find a

good man is. The story is totally expressed clearly about the introducing a variety of

male personalities that all have one thing in common, this story says that to be a bad
man does not necessarily mean that they have to be a rapist or a killer but it is

sometimes the little things in life that divide the good men from the bad.

The story takes place in Georgia on 1900’s when men used to be possessive,

authoritarian, and rude. The story begins in an unknown place where the family lives,

and it also takes some places along the road as the family travels. The second half of

the story takes place in the ditch in the middle of nowhere where the family lands after

running off the road.

Point Of View

The story is told in the third person views, and it most follows the grandmother. She's

the major character that the author told the most about in this short story, by far. She's

also the only character whose point of view is be able access directly by the readers.

The readers can easily hear the Grandma’s thoughts and feelings, although there’s too

much details.

The only other character who is given comparable attention is The Misfit. Interestingly,

reader only learn about him through the grandmother's perspective but after the

grandmother is killed, though, there is a brief switch to The Misfit's perspective.