2. Della and Jim are very poor. Why is neither their home nor Della in her shabby clothes, ugly or sordid?
3. Do Jim and Della seem like real people you have known? What makes them so happy in spite of their being poor?
4. Is there something about this simple story that is beautiful and that would be true for people ages ago or years from now? How would you put this idea in words?
5. Were you prepared for the surprise ending of the story? Read over the story and see if O. Henry had really prepared from the very beginning for such an ending and yet had kept the reader from knowing.
6. After reading the Introduction, would you say that "The Gift of the Magi" is a true short story?
A Reward of Merit
1. Look over the story "A Reward of Merit" and gather up the real story or plot and see how briefly you can relate it in your own words.
2. Does the fact that the story is told so largely through the conversation of the boys make it more interesting to you?
3. Try writing a story of some escapade, adventure, or exciting event in which the story is largely told, and the characters revealed, by means of conversation between two boys or two girls.
4. Would you say that Mr. Tarkington, the writer of this story, has a sense of humor? Give instances of humor in the story.