Gift of the Magi Essay “Life is full of sniffles sob and smiles. With sniffles predominating.” That’s just one of many quotes from O. Henry’s short story Gift of the magi featuring a young couple trying to buy each other a good Christmas present with little money. O. Henry uses direct characterization, irony, and the character’s action to develop the theme. Happiness is found on the inside not through material things. To start with, the use of irony in The Gift of the Magi is frequent. When they both give each other gifts that they can’t use that is showing irony. “for there lay the combs the set of combs side and back” (4) and “I sold the watch to get money for your combs” Jim said (4). When you give your prized possession away for someone
The human condition is described as the characteristics, both negative and positive, events and situations that compose the aspects of a human being. One of the complexities of being human is finding true happiness. As people grow older, they begin to understand the real definition of being happy and contented. On the way to fulfil true happiness, one starts realizing what really matters and what doesn’t. Christopher Marlowe’s “ The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” shows how the shepherd is trying to get his love to go with him by offering her tremendous gifts. He promises to give her gifts that would please her and to prove that he will do anything for her. On the other hand, Sir Walter Raleigh’s “ The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” basically turns down the shepherd’s offer and explains that material gifts just give off temporary happiness. Both Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh use figurative language to help readers understand the sad reality that all things in the world are temporary and true happiness does not come from gifts and tangible things but from our experiences.
In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Anderson uses irony to exaggerate Melinda's loss in friendship. After Heather told Melinda she doesn’t want to be friends with her anymore, she ended up giving Melinda a thank you card for understanding that Heather does not want to be friends with Melinda anymore and returned her friendship necklace. At first, Melinda thought the card was from David but, "The card has a picture of two cutesy teddy bears sharing a pot of honey. I open it. 'Thanks for understanding. You're the sweetest!' It is signed with a purple pen. 'Good Luck!!! -Heather’ ” (Anderson 110). The irony is used when Heather is thanking Melinda for “understanding” that Heather does not want to be friends with Melinda anymore. Heather
Irony is a technique that uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. For example, dramatic irony is a type of irony which is shown in the first Shrek movie. Fiona loves Shrek but only Donkey and the audience know. In this situation, dramatic irony is being created because the character Shrek does not know that Fiona loves him but the audience does. The short stories “The Lottery” the reader may find both situational and dramatic irony that both create the ironic ending.
A third instance of dramatic irony is the situation with the needle in the doll. With this, it was Abigail´s goal to get Elizabeth Proctor accused of witchcraft. Mary Warren made this doll when Abigail was sitting next to her. She left the needle inside. Mary gave the doll to Elizabeth as a gift. Abigail knew the needle was in the doll, so she stabbed herself in the stomach with a needle. With this she made the people believe Elizabeth used Voodoo on her and therefore used witchcraft. The audience knows this is not true and that Abigail is a false and lying girl. We know she does this is because she wants to get rid of Elizabeth. She is in the way of Abigail and that has still to do with the affair only the Proctors and the audience know about.
The Gift of the Magi Argumentative Research Paper: Did Jim and Della perform an act of Selfless Love?
Writers use irony to protest war in many ways. When the author in The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien states “ Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers until he was shot…” This is ironic because Ted is scared of dying, and ironically he is the only one who is scared but also the only one to be shot. It protests war because Ted dies, and the reader assumes Ted used the tranquilizers as a pain killer, which is not healthy or good. Also in Kevin Powers story The Yellow Birds, Irony is used. In the story Powers states “ … You are a coward and, really, cowardice is what got you into this mess because you wanted to be a man… ” This is ironic because he is a coward trying to be a man, but no matter what he does he is a coward. The
In Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” irony was used at the high point of the story. The irony that was used was when Phoenix Jackson the old woman was walking through the woods and ran into a white hunter. As the hunter harassed the old woman, calling her racial slurs and such, but when he turns to give attention to his dogs he dropped a nickel. After the nickel dropped and he was turned around she had picked up the fallen nickel for herself. Then the white hunter says
Conflict is opposing actions, ideas, and decisions that hold a plot together. Clugston (2014) states “Conflict is the struggle that shapes the plot in a story” (4.1 Plot, para. 4). Conflicts are also encountered in most of the literature we read for pleasure. It can create personal connections and instill deeper meanings to our experiences as we read, especially if we can relate what is read to our personal life.
The twists and turns of the plot as it unfolds within O. Henry 's “The Gift of the Magi” are what simply captivate the reader in such a short amount of pages. The story of Jim and Della on a cold Christmas Eve at the turn of 20th century America is centered around what is remarkably relevant to what many readers have experienced in their own lives; the inevitable stresses, sacrifices, and joys of the holiday season.
The Sword in the Stone takes place during the Medieval Times in England in the Forest Sauvage and a little part of it also occurs in London. In the tale Wart and Kay were walking in the forest when they encountered a seven foot tall giant by the name of Little John. He brought them to the camp of a man named Robin Hood. There, Robin tells Wart and Kay that one of his men, Friar Truck, had been kidnapped and asks if they would be willing to help. He had been kidnapped by Morgan le Fay, the queen of fairies who had also captured a servant of Sir Ector's and a village idiot named Wat. Wart and Kay agree to rescue the three men. Prior to Wart and Kay going on with their mission, Robin hands them small knives that will protect them because fairies
In the stories “Story of an Hour”, “Everyday Use”, “The Necklace”, and “The Lottery” it is evident that irony was quite a large part of the short story. There is situational irony, which is when the situation turns out differently than expected. Also, dramatic irony is present, which is when you as a reader knows more than the character. The authors seem to base their whole story around irony to surprise their readers.
Dramatic irony can be seen in Poe’s work in many ways. First, the name “Fortunato” (deriving from fortune in English) is a clear example of irony, since the character appears to have everything except fortune. He is heading to his death from the beginning of the story. Professor Nevi, from the Department of English in Oregon, referred to Fortunato’s name when he says, “Although it would help, a student don’t need be versed in a foreign languages to notice that Fortunato’s name is ironic. He is definitively not the fortune one ”(Nevi 462). In this statement, Professor Nevi is clearly affirming how easily it is to determine that Fortunato’s name represent an irony. Furthermore, the way that Poe describes Fortunate as dressed like a court jester
Irony is usually termed as a technique or way or presenting a topic with one meaning, not disclosing to the reader that a totally different thing has happened. For instance, one might say it is ironic to save up the money to buy your dream car and it sells minutes before you get there. In the mind of someone like Edgar Allan Poe, irony can take one a far deeper meaning. One piece of irony is the name of the victim, Fortunato. This is an Italian word suggesting good fortune. (Cummings, 2005) However, we know from the beginning of the story that his fortune is not good. The more one looks for it, sometimes the more minute the irony can be. Take the description of Fortunato:
Dramatic Irony is present several times in The Merchant of Venice, for example, in act four scene one when Bassanio remarks that he would give everything up for Antonio, including his wife, Portia disguised as Balthazar responds, “Your wife would give you little
Pleasures, stemming from everyday beauty, can come from anywhere. For me, one of the places everyday beauty comes from is my owl blanket. With the blanket’s tiny owls, dressed in their small purple hats and pink scarfs the owls brace for a long upcoming winter. It is impossible to feel any negative emotions or thoughts when wrapped in its snugly warmth. Crying is quickly subdued when I wrap myself in the blanket. The Fabric acts as a shield against the outside world, guarding me against destructive forces. This blanket brings me immeasurable happiness throughout the frigid fall. No matter what the owls want me to think, the blanket can only be used for a couple of months out of the year, due to its thinness. Despite this, I still keep the owl blanket as part of my room’s décor. Even if I cannot use it unless I want to give myself a heatstroke, I can still receive joy from looking on the many small owls upon the fabric. This enormous amount of delight, from this one colorful, blanket stands as one