Academy of Finance

Faculty of Foreign Language

ASSIGNMENT

Academy of Finance
Faculty of Foreign Language

Subject: English – American Literature

Assignment
“The gift of the Magi” by O. Henry

Group 7, class CQ46/51.04

Group members:
- Nguyen Thi Thu An.
- Nguyen Thuy Linh.
- Nguyen Thi Bich Phuong.
- Pham Tuyet Phuong.
 - Tran Minh Thu.
- Le Thi Phuong Thao.

Content:

I. Introduction
1. Author: O. Henry
2. Story: “The Gift of the Magi”

II. Why we chose “The Gift of the Magi”?

III. What do we think about “The Gift of the Magi”?

I. Introduction

1. Author: O. Henry (1862 – 1910)

O. Henry was the pen name of American writer William Sydney

Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910). O. Henry's short stories are
well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist
endings.
Early life
William Sidney Porter was born on September 11, 1862,
in Greensboro, North Carolina. His middle name at birth was Sidney; he
changed the spelling to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon
Sidney Porter (1825–1888), a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swain
Porter (1833–1865). They were married April 20, 1858. When William was
three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved into
the home of his paternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading.
Porter graduated from his aunt Evelina Maria Porter's elementary
school in 1876. He then enrolled at the Lindsey Street High School. His aunt
continued to tutor him until he was fifteen. In 1879, he started working in his
uncle's drugstore and in 1881, at the age of nineteen, he was licensed as
a pharmacist. At the drugstore, he also showed off his natural artistic talents
by sketching the townsfolk.
Porter traveled with Dr. James K. Hall to Texas in March 1882,
hoping that a change of air would help alleviate a persistent cough he had
developed. He took up residence on the sheep ranch of Richard Hall, James'
son, in La Salle County and helped out as a shepherd, ranch hand, cook and
baby-sitter. While on the ranch, he learned bits of Spanish and German from
the mix of immigrant ranch hands. He also spent time reading classic
literature. Porter's health did improve and he traveled with Richard
to Austin in 1884, where he decided to remain and was welcomed into the
home of the Harrells, who were friends of Richard's. Porter took a number of
different jobs over the next several years, first as pharmacist then as
a draftsman, bank teller and journalist. He also began writing as a sideline.
 Porter led an active social life in Austin, including membership in
singing and drama groups. Porter was a good singer and musician. He
played both the guitar and mandolin. He became a member of the "Hill
City Quartet," a group of young men who sang at gatherings and serenaded
young women of the town. Porter met and began courting Athol Estes, then
seventeen years old and from a wealthy family. Her mother objected to the
match because Athol was ill, suffering from tuberculosis. On July 1, 1887,
Porter eloped with Athol to the home of Reverend R. K. Smoot, where they
were married.
The couple continued to participate in musical and theater groups, and
Athol encouraged her husband to pursue his writing. Athol gave birth to a
son in 1888, who died hours after birth, and then a daughter, Margaret
Worth Porter, in September 1889. Porter's friend Richard Hall became Texas
Land Commissioner and offered Porter a job. Porter started as a draftsman at
the Texas General Land Office (GLO) in 1887 at a salary of $100 a month,
drawing maps from surveys and field notes. The salary was enough to
support his family, but he continued his contributions to magazines and
newspapers.
In the GLO building, he began developing characters and plots for
such stories as "Georgia's Ruling" (1900), and "Buried Treasure" (1908).
The castle-like building he worked in was even woven into some of his tales
such as "Bexar Scrip No. 2692" (1894). His job at the GLO was a political
appointment by Hall. Hall ran for governor in the election of 1890 but lost.
Porter resigned in early 1891 when the new governor was sworn in. The
same year, Porter began working at the First National Bank of Austin as a
teller and bookkeeper at the same salary he had made at the GLO. The bank
was operated informally and Porter had trouble keeping track of his books.
In 1894, he was accused by the bank of embezzlement and lost his job but
was not indicted. He now worked full time on his humorous weekly
called The Rolling Stone, which he started while working at the bank. The
Rolling Stone featured satire on life, people and politics and included
Porter's short stories and sketches. Although eventually reaching a top
circulation of 1500, The Rolling Stone failed in April 1895, perhaps because
of Porter's poking fun at powerful people. Porter also may have ceased
publication as the paper never provided the money he needed to support his
family. By then, his writing and drawings caught the attention of the editor
at the Houston Post.
Porter and his family moved to Houston in 1895, where he started
writing for the Post. His salary was only $25 a month, but it rose steadily as
his popularity increased. Porter gathered ideas for his column by hanging out
in hotel lobbies and observing and talking to people there. This was a
technique he used throughout his writing career. While he was in Houston,
the First National Bank of Austin was audited and the federal auditors found
several discrepancies. They managed to get a federal indictment against
Porter. Porter was subsequently arrested on charges of embezzlement,
charges which he denied, in connection with his employment at the bank.

Porter in his 30s

Porter's father-in-law posted bail to keep Porter out of jail, but the day
before Porter was due to stand trial on July 7, 1896, he fled, first to New
Orleans and later to Honduras. While holed up in aTegucigalpa hotel for
several months, he wrote Cabbages and Kings, in which he coined the term
"banana republic" to describe the country, subsequently used to describe
almost any small, unstable tropical nation in Latin America. Porter had sent
Athol and Margaret back to Austin to live with Athol's parents.
Unfortunately, Athol became too ill to meet Porter in Honduras as Porter
planned. When he learned that his wife was dying, Porter returned to Austin
in February 1897 and surrendered to the court, pending an appeal. Once
again, Porter's father-in-law posted bail so Porter could stay with Athol and
Margaret.
Athol Estes Porter died on July 25, 1897 from tuberculosis (then
known as consumption). Porter, having little to say in his own defense, was
found guilty of embezzlement in February 1898, sentenced to five years jail,
and imprisoned on March 25, 1898, as federal prisoner 30664 at the Ohio
Penitentiaryin Columbus, Ohio. While in prison, Porter, as a licensed
pharmacist, worked in the prison hospital as the night druggist. Porter was
given his own room in the hospital wing, and there is no record that he
actually spent time in the cell block of the prison. He had fourteen stories
published under variouspseudonyms while he was in prison, but was
becoming best known as "O. Henry", a pseudonym that first appeared over
the story "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking" in the December 1899 issue
of McClure's Magazine. A friend of his in New Orleans would forward his
stories to publishers, so they had no idea the writer was imprisoned. Porter
was released on July 24, 1901, for good behavior after serving three years.
Porter reunited with his daughter Margaret, now age 11, in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, where Athol's parents had moved after Porter's conviction.
Margaret was never told that her father had been in prison - just that he had
been away on business.

Later life
Porter's most prolific writing period started in 1902, when he moved
to New York City to be near his publishers. While there, he wrote 381 short
stories. He wrote a story a week for over a year for the New York World
Sunday Magazine. His wit, characterization and plot twists were adored by
his readers, but often panned by critics. Porter married again in 1907, to
childhood sweetheart Sarah (Sallie) Lindsey Coleman, whom he met again
after revisiting his native state of North Carolina. However, despite the
success of his short stories being published in magazines and collections (or
perhaps because of the attendant pressure that success brought), Porter drank
heavily.
 His health began to deteriorate in 1908, which affected his writing.
Sarah left him in 1909, and Porter died on June 5, 1910, of cirrhosis of the
liver, complications of diabetes and an enlarged heart. After funeral services
in New York City, he was buried in the Riverside Cemeteryin Asheville,
North Carolina. His daughter, Margaret Worth Porter, died in 1927 and was
buried with her father.

Stories
O. Henry stories are famous for their surprise endings, to the point
that such an ending is often referred to as an "O. Henry ending." He was
called the American answer to Guy de Maupassant. Both authors wrote twist
endings, but O. Henry stories were much more playful and optimistic. His
stories are also well known for witty narration. Most of O. Henry's stories
are set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century. Many take place
in New York City, and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks,
policemen, waitresses.
Fundamentally a product of his time, O. Henry's work provides one of
the best English examples of catching the entire flavor of an age. Whether
roaming the cattle-lands of Texas, exploring the art of the "gentle grafter," or
investigating the tensions of class and wealth in turn-of-the-century New
York, O. Henry had an inimitable hand for isolating some element of society
and describing it with an incredible economy and grace of language. Some
of his best and least-known work resides in the collection Cabbages and
Kings, a series of stories which each explore some individual aspect of life
in a paralytically sleepy Central American town while each advancing some
aspect of the larger plot and relating back one to another in a complex
structure which slowly explicates its own background even as it
painstakingly erects a town which is one of the most detailed literary
creations of the period.
The Four Million is another collection of stories. It opens with a
reference to Ward McAllister's "assertion that there were only 'Four
Hundred' people in New York City who were really worth noticing. But a
wiser man has arisen—the census taker—and his larger estimate of human
interest has been preferred in marking out the field of these little stories of
the 'Four Million.'" To O. Henry, everyone in New York counted. He had an
obvious affection for the city, which he called "Bagdad-on-the-
Subway," and many of his stories are set there—but others are set in small
towns and in other cities.

Among his most famous stories are:

“A Municipal Report”
"The Gift of the Magi"
"The Ransom of Red Chief"
"The Cop and the Anthem"
"A Retrieved Reformation"
"After Twenty Years"
"Compliments of the Season"

2. The story: “The Gift of the Magi”

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry (a pen

name for William Sydney Porter), allegedly at Pete's Tavern on Irving Place
in New York City.

Plot
James [Jim] Dillingham Young and his wife Della are a young couple
who are very much in love with each other, but can barely afford their one-
room apartment due to their very bad economic situation. For Christmas,
Della decides to buy Jim a chain which costs twenty-one dollars for his
prized pocket watch given to him by his father. To raise the funds, she has
her long hair cut off and sold to make a wig. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell
his watch to buy Della a beautiful set of combs made out of tortoise shell for
her lovely, knee-length brown hair. Although each is disappointed to find the
gift they chose rendered useless, each is pleased with the gift they received,
because it represents their love for one another.
The story ends with the author/narrator comparing the pair's mutually
sacrificial gifts of love with those of the Biblical Magi:
The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought
gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas
presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing
the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely
related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who
most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house.
But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give
gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as
they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
II. Why we chose this story for our performance?

Among a lot of works we appreciated and chose “The gift of the

Magi” because of some following reasons. Firstly, all of us like O. Henry’s
work. We suppose that he is a well-known author with a simple writing
style, so his works are excellent and easy to comprehend. Secondly, in spite
of containing a simple story, “The gift of the Magi” has a meaningful
meaning which tells us a lot about love. As implied, love is the greatest and
sweetest thing in life. In comparison with love as well as happiness, poverty
is nothing but a small challenge and people can overcome it thanks to love.
So, we can perform it in a very simple way in order that the audiences find it
easy to understand just in a short time, and they are still given a meaningful
message. Moreover, our group saw that we could be creative in our acting
because there are a lot of characters with differents personalities.
Consequently, while performing such a simple story like this, we can add
more details to make our play more interesting and attractive. Lastly, in such
the weather these days, we wholeheartedly believe that a sweet story in
Christmas will give the audiences some warm as well as interesting feelings,
which is considered as a small gift for them. So, we would like to present
you “The gift of the Magi”, written by O. Henry.

III. What do we think about “The gift of the Magi”?

"The Gift of the Magi" is about a young couple who are short of
money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst
to Jim, Della sells her most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order
to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch; while unbeknownst to Della,
Jim sells his own most valuable possession, his watch, to buy jeweled combs
for Della's hair. The essential premise of this story has been copied, re-
worked, parodied, and otherwise re-told countless times in the century since
it was written.

- About the topic:

“The gift of the Magi” is related to love – a popular but not old-
fashioned topic. Although it is just a story about the love of a young couple,
it still shows us a special perspective of the issue: the love in difficulties,
especially in the poverty.

- About the content:

“The gift of the Magi” is a gentle story. There are not many details as
well as characters but it tells us a lot about the social life, the family life
together with the true love. Like many other stories written by O. Henry,
“The gift of the Magi” has a surprise ending. It means that there is nothing
thrilling, surprising until the story ends. At the end of “The gift of the
Magi”, the readers are surprised to find that both the gift of Jim and Della
were useless, but they were still happy because they know they have the
happiest thing in life: to love and to be love. Definitely, the two Christmas
gifts embodies the true love. It is the only thing that the young couple has,
but they just need it. They can be short of money, but they are always full of
love. That is enough for a happy life.

- About the character:

Jim and Della are the representatives of a kind of people in every
society, who always appreciates love in life. They have gentle and kind
personalities: warm-hearted, caring, tolerant and optimistic. That is the
reason why they are still happy although they are very poor and have a lot of
difficulties in life.

- About the author’s message:

O. Henry was really a great author because through his work, he gave
us a very meaningful message: Love is the most important thing in life.
Without anything else, we still have our love. It is our most valuable
possession which can not be fade when the time goes by. In conclusion, in
morden life, sometimes we should make a ‘pause’ to recognize the true
value of love to know how to live our life in the right way and not to lose
some valuable things.