The Gift of Magi and Its Background

One feature that created suspense in the story was time. In the “Tell-Tale Heart”, time often seemed to speed up or slow down. One example of time movely slowly in the passage is: “I moved slowly-- very, very slowly, so I might not disturb the old man’s sleep”. You almost sense the deliberate movements of narrator. In contrast, the phrase: “The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence”, shows that time is advancing quickly; you could almost see the moon vanishing and the narrator’s quick movements. These “time warps” adds suspense, anticipation, and a growing sense of horror to the story and encourages the reader to continue reading.

Great ideas come from the least expected places. That's what happened to famous American short story writer O. Henry. He found himself a career by writing in a jail cell. Although this seems like a weird place, many of his famous pieces came from him writing while serving time in jail. O. Henry was famous for his surprise endings and also put a lot of his life experiences into his stories. Two of O. Henry’s stories where he incorporates his life into the most are “A Retrieved Reformation” and “The Gift of the Magi.”

Equally important in the story is the use of characterization to show the reader exactly who the protagonist in the story is and what kind of life she is living, we first read of her sisters and how they act in contrast to the protagonist: “I [the narrator] wasn't even pretty or nice like my older sisters and I just couldn't do the girl things they could

Her life was not easy, her husband got shot and was left alone yet she came back to care for him. That didn’t stop him from verbally abusing him. But when push came to shove, she just left because she kept expressing how she felt. She could have killed her husband if she let her anger pile on inside but she let it out and it made a lot of space in her heart to forgive her husband. Writing and other forms of self-expression have helped many others alike so this says a lot about the usefulness of the literary arts.

The events happening in the story can really happen, and this allows open-minded readers to put themselves in the story line and feel what O’Connor makes the characters feel. A great example of creating fear and sympathy in the audience is when O’Connor writes, “There were two more pistol reports and the grandmother raised her head like a parched old turkey hen crying for water and called, ‘Bailey Boy, Bailey Boy!’ as if her heart would break” (O’Connor 454). In this line, readers feel hearts almost break in sympathy for the grandmother as if they have lost their own son, but soon fear creeps up because everyone has been murdered except the grandmother, leaving her alone with evil. Through characterization, O’Connor creates an emotional and relatable connection between the story and the readers, which is a great element that defines good writers from great writers. Reading is just a way for people to escape the everyday redundancies of life, even if it is met with fear and sympathy.

Throughout the book the author writes the story from Libby’s and Jack’s point of view. Niven writes the book as though Libby is writing in her diary and then in the next chapter Jack is writing in his diary. The author also uses flashbacks in the story. We get a deeper understanding of the story and why things are happening in it because we can see that in the past all of these events lead up to this event. Another way the the author uses craft is how she uses figurative language to also add deeper meaning to the story. The author uses craft to make the story much more interesting to read. If there was no figurative language in the books it would not have gotten the ratings it did or be the book that no one wants to put

For example, when Alexandra finally admitted that she was lonely made me finally realize how strong she was. It takes a lot of guts and bravery to admit your true feelings. Another example is when Emil came back from Mexico and out of nowhere kissed Marie on the lips even though she was married! I never would’ve thought that was gonna happen. I was super happy when it did happen though. Even though they didn’t end up together, i’ve always liked the thought of them being a couple even though she was married. Emil seemed like a better fit for her. Frank seemed like a jerk to Marie. Emil on the other hand, seemed like the man who would take amazing care of Marie and keep her happy. He seemed like the man who would love to have a family with her. He has kept his feelings for her to himself until that very moment where it seemed perfect. He leaned over and kissed her. His love was so very strong that he couldn’t even hold it in anymore. This book is filled with many thrills and ups and downs. It helps you relate and connect with the plot and the characters and makes you understand the whole concept of knowing that being human isn’t all perfect all the time. It shows that you're going to cry sometimes. It shows how there is despair and agony in life. It helps you understand what it truly means to be

The most significant part of the entire text is that most of the readers will never feel the pain of author. The ability not to be able to relate and understand someone’s struggle is very impactful.

O. Henry used elements in “The Gift of the Magi” that created suspense for the reader. His structure of writing created suspense from beginning to end. In the first few paragraphs we could infer that Della was going to try and make money to buy Jim a Christmas present. Towards the middle of the story we could predict that Della was going to regret cutting her hair, and by the end we could infer that Jim and Della enjoyed a Christmas spent sharing their love for each other. The sequence of events that O.Henry used created suspense as we anticipated what would come next. O.Henry finished the story by talking about the Magi, and we had to analyze the meaning behind his use of the Magi. We also had to analyze O.Henry’s meaning behind the reference

From the film it showed Annie handled her life towards writing in a passionate way in every aspect in her life. Through her life she carried herself in a positive way no matter what hardship life threw at her she used this as a source to create great novels with layers of emotion and complexity. This made her audience gravitate

Short stories everywhere all have exceptional ideas, and deep plots. They are able to share plots of murder and irony, or even love and romance. The stories The Gift of the Magi,by O.Henry, and Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, both have great plots, author's craft, and symbolism. One, about two lovers who cannot afford a Christmas gift, and will sacrifice it all for love, and another, about a murder, and its cover up. While both stories are compelling to readers, The Gift of the Magi is the better story when compared to each other because of its symbolism, imagery and is able to identify with readers.

Throughout the passage, Katherine Anne Porter creates a story using figurative language, imagery, and dialogue to develop some of the characters emotions that are portrayed. All of these emotions the characters are feeling helps the reader understand more of the story and can aid in the knowledge of what is taking place.

In conclusion, the three most important themes to me in the story, abuse, fear, and karma are what made the story so good. He abuses her, she has fear, that he pokes fun at, and he is punished for his actions. Her greatest fear saved her from enduring anymore abuse from

The emotions I felt for this woman was overwhelming at some parts of the book. The hardest parts to read, were involving the author’s daughter. I started the book, when we watched the video about her book about her daughter’s death in class. I felt for that woman, to have loss a husband and a child within a very close time span is saddening. I was surprised she did not go crazy after her daughter died. When she writes about her memories of her husband and daughter, there is an obvious joy that exudes the pages. Knowing how much she loved and cared for her daughter was sad. She cared for her aligning daughter when she was at her sickest, her top priority was her health and wellbeing. She even postponed his funeral until she was strong enough to say goodbye. It was heartbreaking.

You can really feel the despair and grief that the families and friends have cope with, and suddenly you become attached to the memories that are shared. The memories are the most golden parts of the book because they are like the clay that is being built up and once it’s sculpted, you can really see how beautiful the characters were and that sculpture is the preserved reminiscence of the three of them. The author makes it seem like the characters in the story are so real and you feel how they feel in the moment.