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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What color is Della's hair?
(a) Black.
(b) Red.
(c) Brown.
(d) Blonde.

2. How is the design of the watch chain described?
(a) Elaborate.
(b) Extravagant.
(c) Simple.
(d) Highly detailed.

3. What is Jim and Della's last name?
(a) Jackson.
(b) Small.
(c) Young.
(d) Smith.

4. How much money has Della saved up in the opening of "The Gift of the Magi"?
(a) $4.23.
(b) $1.87.
(c) $1.96.
(d) $5.24.

5. How much money does Della pay for Jim's watch chain?
(a) $20.
(b) $21.
(c) $10.95.
(d) $15.

Short Answer Questions

1. What literary term applies to a device wherein the author steps away from the narrative to speak directly to the reader?

2. How is the electric bell at Jim and Della's apartment described?

3. For how long does Della shop for a gift for Jim after selling her hair?

4. How does the narrator describe Jim and Della in the end of "The Gift of the Magi"?

5. What aspect of the plot structure in "The Gift of the Magi" is one for which O. Henry was famous?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the "inciting incident" in "The Gift of the Magi" and how does it drive the story?

2. What does Della purchase for Jim for Christmas? How is this object described?

3. Describe the character of Jim Young in "The Gift of the Magi." What motivates Jim in the story?

4. What adaptations have been developed of "The Gift of the Magi"?

5. What are the financial circumstances of the Youngs?

6. How is the theme of sacrifice developed in the story through character?

7. What is an example of foreshadowing in "The Gift of the Magi"? What is foreshadowed?

8. When and where was "The Gift of the Magi" first published? When and where was it first published in book-form?

9. Who or what would you identify as the protagonist and antagonist in "The Gift of the Magi"? Why?

10. What is Jim's most prized possession and how is it described?

(see the answer keys)

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