As you read, look for Author’s Craft. Jot down the device the author used and write about how it was used in the story. Author’s Craft Symbolism
The Necklace The necklace represents Madame Loisel's
greed and also her artificiality.
The Gift of the Magi Both Jim and Della gave up their most
prized possession for one another; this
symbolizes the way that lovers give all to
one another. Of course, the specific
objects can be seen as having symbolic
meaning; he gives away his watch (all his
time); she gives away her hair (her
beauty).
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Imagery
The necklace could very well be just a
necklace, but it could also be something
more. It's so flashy and beautiful, and so
seemingly valuable. Despite its
convincing outside, it turns out to be
"false." It's all show, in other words, with
no substance. Doesn't that description
sound like it could fit any number of
other things?
O. Henry throws in lots of little details to
make their external circumstances about
as drab and meager as can be. There's
the flat itself, with its malfunctioning
mailbox, dead doorbell, worn red carpet,
and cheap mirror equivalent. There's the
dull scene out the window: a "gray cat
walking a gray fence in a gray
For one, you could easily read the
necklace as a symbol of "wealth" itself –
flashy, but false, in the end. Like
"wealth," the necklace is the object of
Mathilde's mad desire. Perhaps the
revelation of the necklace's falseness at
the end is meant to mirror the falseness of
Mathilde's dream of wealth. Having
wealth is not worth the trouble, any more
than the false necklace was worth ten
years of poverty. Then again, wealth has
its advantages: it certainly seems to do
wonders for Mme. Forestier's looks, for
instance, while poverty ruins Mathilde's.
backyard". There's Della's "old brown
jacket" and "old brown hat", and Jim,
with his worn overcoat and gloveless
hands. All of this imagery creates a
contrast between the rich, warm, ​
inner
world of love and affection which Della
and Jim create, and the gray, ugly, outer
world of money and work and miserly,
hair-buying business owners. Their love
transforms their flat from a particularly
drab part of that dreary world into a
home
Irony
In a society that so highly values
appearance, it is ironic that the beautiful
Madame Loisel is excluded from society
because of her class standing. The story's
greatest irony, however, is embodied in
the necklace itself; while it appears to be
a piece of jewelry of great value, it is
really an imitation.
The irony lies in the fact that she cut her
hair so that she could afford to buy him
a fob chain for his watch. She was
willing to sacrifice something of worth to
get him something nice. When cutting her
hair, she made his gift to her useless. He
bought her hair combs to hold up all of
her beautiful hair, which she had sold for
his gift.
Flashback
But sometimes, when her husband was at
the office, she sat down by the window
and thought of that evening long
ago…”
For there lay the combs, the set of combs,
side and back that Della had worshipped
for long in a Broadway window is
something he thinks back to as he is
buying the combs… not knowing she was
selling her hair.
Foreshadowing
An example of foreshadowing in The
Necklace would be when the jeweler
says,"I didn't sell that necklace madame"
.This shows that Madame Forestier didn't
“So now Della’s hair fell about her,
rippling and shining like a cascade of
brown waters.” This foreshadowing is
subtle, but it helps the reader begin to
even buy a real diamond necklace.
think that there is going to be something
in the story around her hair.
Hyperbole
Metaphor
She seemed to float through a cloud of
Simile
One of those old night-prowling
carriages which are only to be seen in
Paris after dark, as though they are
ashamed.”
Personification
In "The Gift of the Magi," the narrator
compares slender Della to a bulldozer.
happiness.” This is a comparison to her
Although she only has $1.87 with which
to buy a Christmas gift for her husband,
happiness at going to the ball and
the narrator says she saved it a penny at
wearing such an expensive necklace.
a time by "bulldozing the grocer and the
vegetable man and the butcher." The
“she danced madly, drunk with pleasure.” bulldozer image is a metaphor for the
strength of Della's determination.
The narrator adds to this image of power
by likening the beauty of her hair to a
turbulent river "rippling and shining like
a cascade of brown waters."
Repetition
The number three figures prominently
throughout the story. Parts of the
dialogue, events, characters, and other
elements all come in threes. Some
examples include:
● Three characters (Delia,
James, Madame Sofronie)
with three very valuable items
(hair, watch, love)
● Three ​
magi​
(Balthasar,
Melchior, Gaspar) from three
different kingdoms (Arabia,
Persia, India) who offered
three gifts (gold, frankincense,
myrrh)
● Counting money three times
● Color grey mentioned three
times
● Alliteration that comes in
threes: sobs, sniffles, smiles;
sudden serious sweetness
● Allusion to the ​
Queen of
Sheba​
known for giving three
gifts to King Solomon