The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry

Introduction

We are going on a journey together to learn about a young married couple in the early 1900's in New York City. This vehicle for our journey will be the short story, "The Gift of the Magi," written by O'Henry, the pen name for William Sydney Porter. This classic story was first published in The New York Sunday World on December 10, 1905, with the title, "Gifts of the Magi." It was then published in book form in April, 1906, in an anthology of O'Henry's called, The Four Million. Over the last 100 plus years, it has been a treasured story that people enjoy, especially during the Christmas season. Over the many years there have been many adaptations of the story in film, a musical version was also made as well as an opera. Let's go back in time now to December 1904, in busy New York City

The Gift of the Magi.jpg

Task

Our journey together begins as we learn some about O'Henry and New York City; we will also write about our most favorite posession, read or listen to the short story, "The Gift of the Magi", learn vocabulary words and some literary terms. We will do this step by step as listed below and continue the journey of information on the next page.

Become familiar with O'Henry- What is his given name? What is the title of another short story he wrote?
Become familiar with New York City during the early 1900's- View the images on the next page and list the different methods of transportation you notice? What is the average wage for the time? What was the cost of eggs, meat, flour, milk?
Write a paragraph about your most favorite possession; include a description, where it came from and why it is so important to you. Then answer this question: "For what reason would I be willing to sell or get rid of my favorite possession?
Read or listen to O'Henry's short story, "The Gift of the Magi".
Understand vocabulary words from the story.
Understand some literary terms that apply to the story: setting, theme, irony, exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.

Image result for images for the gift of the magi

Process

Here we go!

1- Brief Biography of O’Henry

William Sidney Porter, known by his pen-name of O’Henry, was born September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was the only surviving child born to Algernon Sidney Porter, a physician, (1825-1888) and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim, a writer and artist, (1833-1865). His mother, Mary, died of tuberculosis when William was only three years old. After that he moved with his father to his grandparent’s farm, where his aunt, Evalina Maria Porter or "Miss Lina" as she was known, also lived. She would become the most influential person in the first 20 years of William's life; she was a parent, nurturer, teacher and mentor for him.

In 1902, Porter went to New York City, his home and the setting of most of his fiction for the remainder of his life. He was very busy writing under the pen name O’ Henry, completing one story a week for a newspaper, as well as writing other stories for magazines. O’Henry, an American short-story writer, “pioneered in picturing the lives of lower-class and middle-class New Yorkers.” "The Gift of the Magi," likely his most famous short-story, is about a poverty-stricken New York couple who each secretly sells a valued possession to buy the other a coveted Christmas gift. Ironically, the wife sells her hair so that she can buy her husband a watch chain, while he sells his watch so that he can buy her a pair of hair-combs.

Some of his other short-stories are: "The Ransom of Red Chief" (1910), and "The Duplicity of Hargraves" (1902)

2- Here are some images of New York City in the early 1900's.

34th Street and 5th Avenue Greenwich Village, hot dog festival

City Hall, Manhattan Union Square, flower market 11th Avenue

Image result for images for 1900 new york city

What are the different methods of transportation you notice?
What is the average wage for the time? The average wage of all industries was $438/year.
What was the average rent? $40.00/month
What was the averge cost of eggs, meat, flour, milk, potatoes and sugar?
Eggs = 23 cents/dozen, Meat = 13.5 cents/pound, Flour = 12.5 cents/5 pounds, Milk = 13.5 cents/half-gallon, Potatoes = 14 cents/10 pounds, Sugar = 30.5 cents/5 pounds

3- Now take a few minutes and think of your most favorite possession. Write a paragraph describing it, where it came
from and why it is so important to you. Then write one or two sentences answering this question,"For what or for
whom would you be willing to give up your favorite possession?"

4- To read the text of "The Gift of the Magi" http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/1014/
To listen to the text of "The Gift of the Magi"
http://www.manythings.org/voa/stories/The_Gift_of_the_Magi_-_By_O_Henry…

5- Understand vocabulary words from the story - write down any words you are unfamiliar with in your class journal. Then
use this link for vocabulary flashcard practice - http://www.dukeofdefinition.com/gift_magi_flashcards_words.
Then use this link to quiz yourself ;-) http://www.dukeofdefinition.com/gift_magi_flashcards_word_quiz.htm

6- Understand some literary terms that apply to the story: setting, theme, irony, exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.
setting: where and when the story takes place, find as many details as you can to help understand the message of the story
theme: what is/are the main message(s) of this story
irony: an event that seems contrary to what is expected and the result can be amusing

exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution: see this fun storyboard to display these terms
http://www.storyboardthat.com/storyboards/rebeccaray/-the-gift-of-the-m…

Evaluation

Assessment/Evaluation:

This is when we get so enjoy what we have learned together. First of all we will have a group discussion or colloquium about this beautiful
short-story, "The Gift of the Magi" and share our insights, favorite and most meaningful parts.

Second, we will also have the opportunity to share your paragraphs about your favorite possession and what would you be willing to sell or give it away for.

Third, share the results of your vocabulary quiz with me or participate in a team game of vocabulary Jeapordy

Fourth, fill out this worksheet to analyze some of the text to demonstrate setting, theme, characters and mood. http://www.dukeofdefinition.com/Tanalysis_gift%20of%20magi.pdf

Conclusion

Thank you for learning and sharing with me on this amazing and fun journey back to New York City in the early 1900's.
I hope this is a story that you will come back to and enjoy over and over for years to come. I hope that you will share this story with family and friends as well. I hope that each time you visit Della and Jim, you will learn or re-learn treasures from this beautiful story.

"The Gift of the Magi"

Image result for images for the gift of the magi