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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. How long is it until Christmas in the opening of "The Gift of the Magi"?
(a) One day.
(b) Three days.
(c) One week.
(d) Two days.

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

3. How much money does Della have left when she returns home from purchasing Jim's watch chain?
(a) Six dollars.
(b) One dollar.
(c) Two dollars.
(d) 87 cents.

4. The gifts that Della and Jim are revealed to have bought for one another are an example of what literary device?
(a) Verbal irony.
(b) Literary allusion.
(c) Comic irony.
(d) Simile.

5. How is the proprietor of the hair shop described?
(a) Large and too-white.
(b) Coarse and rough-faced.
(c) Thin and withered.
(d) Masculine and gruff.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Della tell Jim she could not live through when he arrives home in "The Gift of the Magi"?

2. What does the narrator say Jim needs in "The Gift of the Magi"?

3. What are Jim and Della about to do in the end of "The Gift of the Magi"?

4. What are the "magi" from the Bible also referred to as?

5. When Della lets down her hair in the beginning of "The Gift of the Magi" it is said to almost create what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the character of Della in "The Gift of the Magi." What does Della seek in the story?

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

3. How does the historical context of "The Gift of the Magi" influence the story?

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

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

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

7. What does "narrative intrusion" mean and how does it apply to "The Gift of the Magi"?

8. What does Jim purchase for Della and how is this object described?

9. Describe one example of symbolism in "The Gift of the Magi." What does the symbol represent?

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

(see the answer keys)

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