Name: _______________________
Date: ______________
“The Gift of the Magi” and Irony
Terms to Know
Irony – ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Types of Irony
Verbal Irony – _______________________________________________________________________________
Situational Irony – ___________________________________________________________________________
Dramatic Irony – _____________________________________________________________________________
Read O. Henry’s short story “The Gift of the Magi” p. 202 in your Literature Textbook, and answer the following
questions.
1.
What is the central conflict of the story?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
Who are “the Magi” and how do they relate to the story? (note: you will need to read the whole story to
answer this question)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
What is the real “gift” referred to in the title?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How does O. Henry make use of situational irony in this story?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What lesson do Della and Jim learn from this experience?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Explain the irony of this statement: “Jim and Della were one of the richest couples on the planet.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________