Literary Translation


Section 2
Short Story
 
 In this class, we will try to define what a short story
is. In order to be able to do that, definitions of
important terms such as allegory, allusion, character,
setting, plot, etc. will be read and discussed.
 
 In this sense, characterization, plot, structure, theme,
setting, point-of-view, tone and style of the narrative,
irony and symbolism are some of the quintessential
lexica of this textual analysis class.
 The Gift of the Magi

By O’Henry (the pen name of
William Sydney Porter)
https://americanenglish.state.gov
/files/ae/resource_files/1-the_gift
_of_the_magi_0.pdf
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHd8X7xYK6
Q
 
 Setting: New York City
During Christmas time
In "The Gift of the Magi," the writer uses details of the
setting to show that Jim and Della are poor
 
 THEME
 Love
 Generosity
 Poverty / Wealth
 
 Love: the narrator of the story points out that the
Youngs possess a gift greater than any object: the gift
of love. He compares them to the magi (the wise men
who brought gifts to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem),
saying:' 'let it be said that of all who give gifts these
two were the wisest.... They are the magi."
 
 Generosity: Growing out of the Youngs' love is their
deep generosity. Delia and Jim are very poor, and yet
Delia decides to sell her only treasure: her hair. O.
Henry shows that this is not an easy sacrifice for
Delia to make
 O. Henry does not show the decision-making process
when Jim sells his watch, but he does describe how
important the watch is to him.
 
 Wealth and Poverty: O. Henry makes the point that
while Jim and Delia are terribly poor by material
standards, they are wealthy beyond compare in their
love for each other
 
 Point of view: the narrator is third person,
omniscient. The story seems to follow only Della,
giving the readers detailed view of what she is
thinking and doing but the readers never know what
Jim thinks or feels
 
 Structure: One of the most widely recognized
elements of his fiction is the surprise ending; in fact,
many critics refer to the sudden, unexpected turn of
events at the very end of a story as "the O. Henry
twist."
 
 Exposition
 Rising Action (Conflict)
 Climax
 Falling Action (twist ending?)
 
 The climax in this story happens when Jim finally
went home from work. Seeing his wife’s hair cut off,
he suddenly just stand still at his place without being
angry, surprised, or disapproval. He asked his wife
to make sure that her hair had been really gone.
Della cried and told him that she cut it off and sold
it.
 
 Types of conflict: internal conflict. In the story, the
internal conflict is within Della herself. She must
make decisions and try to overcome the sadness and
worry that she feel
 External conflict?
 
 Sources of conflict: limited sources since Della and
Jim are a poor couple. They have limited sources
(money) to buy gifts for each other
 
 Characters:
Della
Jim
Madame Sofronie
 
 Physiological dimension
 Della: Slim and has a long and brown beautiful hair
«Perhaps you have seen the kind of looking-glass that is
placed in $8 furnished rooms. It was very narrow. A
person could see only a little of himself at a time.
However, if he was very thin and moved very quickly,
he might be able to get a good view of himself. Della,
being quite thin, had mastered this art.»
 
 Jim: thin and tired face
 He looked very thin and he was not smiling. Poor
fellow, he was only twenty-two—and with a family
to take care of! He needed a new coat and he had
nothing to cover his cold hands.
 
 Sociological dimension: analyze the characters
according to their social status
 Pyschological dimension: analyze their sacrifice
 
 Dynamic character changes throughout the story
(pyschological change, a change in their character or
in their sensibility)
 Static character does not go through any change
 Analyze the characters according to their
development. Is there any character that changes?
 
 Della is dynamic character in the story since her
physical appearance changed in the end of the story.
In the beginning, it is described that she has a
beautiful long brown hair. It looked like a brown
waterfall. However, she cut off her hair in order to
buy a present for her husband, so her hair became
very short.
 
 Jim can be considered as a flat and static character.
Jim’s way of talking is still the same since he
appeared in the middle of the story and almost in the
end of the story. He is static character because his
physical appearance did not change at all.

 Madame Sofronie tends to be the only complement

character who has a flat character
 
 The Gift of the Magi is a classic example of irony in
literature. Irony is a literary technique in which an
expectation of what is supposed to occur differs
greatly from the actual outcome. In this case, Jim and
Della sacrifice their most treasured possessions so
that the other can fully enjoy his or her gift. Jim sells
his watch to buy Della's combs, expecting her to be
able to use them. Della sells her hair to buy Jim a
chain for his watch. Neither expects the other to have
made that sacrifice.
 
 “Gift of the Magi” is one of the best-known short
stories of the American literature. O’Henry is mostly
associated with the popular taste in short story.
Please consider the following questions while
reading the short story.
 
 1. What are the characteristics of the linguistic style
of the short story “Gift of the Magi”?
 3. Is there a climax in the short story?
 3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the
short story?