🌟 BASIC INFORMATION 🌟
🔹 Author: O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
• 🖋️ American short story writer, famous for wit and twist endings
• 🌍 Born in Greensboro, North Carolina
• 📰 Worked as a journalist, pharmacist, bank clerk before becoming a writer
• 😅 Known as the “Master of the Surprise Ending”
• 📚 Best known works: The Gift of the Magi, The Ransom of Red Chief, The Last Leaf
📅 Birth: September 11, 1862, Greensboro, USA
⚰️ Death: June 5, 1910, New York City, USA
🔹 Title: The Gift of the Magi
📚 Source / Background:
• 📝 Written in 1905; published in The New York Sunday World (Dec 10, 1905)
• 📘 Later included in the collection The Four Million (1906)
• 🎄 A Christmas story highlighting sacrifice and irony
• 🧩 Considered one of O. Henry’s most famous and anthologized stories
📖 Published in Collection: The Four Million (1906)
📘 Related Works: The Last Leaf (themes of sacrifice and love), The Ransom of Red Chief (humor and irony)
🔹 Type:
• 📘 Literary short story
• 🏠 Domestic Realism
• 🎭 Sentimental and ironic fiction
• 🌀 Exemplary of O. Henry’s trademark surprise ending
🏙️ Setting (Contextual):
• 🏠 A modest, shabby flat in New York City
• 💰 Time of poverty and financial hardship (early 20th century)
• 🎄 Christmas Eve atmosphere—hope, love, sacrifice despite lack of wealth
🎭 Themes:
🌹 Love, sacrifice, irony
• 💕 The Power of Selfless Love
• 🎁 Sacrifice as True Wealth
• 🔁 Situational Irony (both gifts rendered useless)
• 🕯️ Material Poverty vs. Spiritual Richness
• 🌟 The Meaning of “Wisdom” (Magi as wise givers)
👥 Character List:
• 👩 Della Young – Devoted wife, sells her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch
• 👨 Jim Young – Loving husband, sells his watch to buy Della combs for her hair
• 👤 Minor references – Madame Sofronie (buys Della’s hair), shopkeepers
🗣️ Narrative Voice:
• 👁️🗨️ Third-Person Omniscient
• 💬 Conversational, humorous, ironic narrative tone
• 🖋️ Direct address to the reader, creating intimacy
🎨 Techniques:
• 🔄 Irony – Situational irony at the climax (gifts useless but love proven)
• 🪞 Paradox – They give up what they value most but gain deeper love
• 🎭 Humor and Pathos – Balances sentimentality with light humor
• ✍️ Colloquial Style – Simple, everyday language accessible to all
• 📖 Biblical Allusion – The Magi as the “wise men” of the Christmas story
• ⏳ Twist Ending – Hallmark of O. Henry’s narrative style
📌 Important Facts:
• 📘 A Christmas classic, highlighting love over material wealth
• 🎯 Showcases O. Henry’s signature surprise ending technique
• 🧩 Considered a moral fable wrapped in humor and sentiment
• 🕯️ Teaches that true wisdom lies in selfless giving
• 🌍 Frequently included in school curricula around the world
◼️ 1. Who is the author of The Gift of the Magi?
(a) Katherine Mansfield (b) James Joyce (c) O. Henry (d) H.E. Bates.
✅ Answer: (c) O. Henry.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: O. Henry, pen name of William Sydney Porter, wrote the story in 1905.
◼️ 2. O. Henry is popularly known as—
(a) Master of Psychological Realism (b) Master of Allegory (c) Master of the Surprise Ending (d) Master of Stream of Consciousness.
✅ Answer: (c) Master of the Surprise Ending.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: O. Henry earned fame for witty stories with twist endings.
◼️ 3. O. Henry was born in—
(a) Dublin, Ireland (b) Greensboro, North Carolina (c) New York City (d) London, England.
✅ Answer: (b) Greensboro, North Carolina.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: He was born on Sept 11, 1862, in Greensboro, USA.
◼️ 4. The story The Gift of the Magi was first published in—
(a) The Four Million (b) The New York Sunday World (c) Tales of Unrest (d) Cosmopolitan Magazine.
✅ Answer: (b) The New York Sunday World.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: First appeared on Dec 10, 1905, in the New York Sunday World.
◼️ 5. Later, the story was included in which collection?
(a) Dubliners (b) Tales of Unrest (c) The Four Million (d) The Last Leaf.
✅ Answer: (c) The Four Million.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Collected in The Four Million (1906).
◼️ 6. The festival in the story is—
(a) New Year (b) Thanksgiving (c) Christmas (d) Easter.
✅ Answer: (c) Christmas.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The story is set on Christmas Eve, highlighting sacrifice.
◼️ 7. The setting of the story is—
(a) A lagoon in Malaya (b) A modest apartment in New York (c) An office in post–WWI England (d) Dublin, Ireland.
✅ Answer: (b) A modest apartment in New York.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Della and Jim live in a shabby flat in New York City.
◼️ 8. The Gift of the Magi was written in—
(a) 1896 (b) 1905 (c) 1914 (d) 1922.
✅ Answer: (b) 1905.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: O. Henry wrote the story in 1905.
◼️ 9. Who is the female protagonist of the story?
(a) Diamelen (b) Mrs. Thurlow (c) Della Young (d) Madame Sofronie.
✅ Answer: (c) Della Young.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Della sacrifices her hair to buy Jim a Christmas gift.
◼️ 10. Who is Jim Young?
(a) Della’s husband (b) A shopkeeper (c) An unnamed European (d) A sailor.
✅ Answer: (a) Della’s husband.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Jim is Della’s loving husband who sells his watch.
◼️ 11. What is Della’s most prized possession?
(a) Her long beautiful hair (b) Her wedding ring (c) Her golden watch (d) Her necklace.
✅ Answer: (a) Her long beautiful hair.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Della’s cascading brown hair is described as her greatest treasure.
◼️ 12. What is Jim’s most prized possession?
(a) His books (b) His gold watch (c) His guitar (d) His overcoat.
✅ Answer: (b) His gold watch.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Jim’s watch, inherited from his father and grandfather, is his dearest possession.
◼️ 13. To whom does Della sell her hair?
(a) A wigmaker (b) Madame Sofronie (c) A pawnbroker (d) A neighbor.
✅ Answer: (b) Madame Sofronie.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Madame Sofronie, a hair dealer, buys Della’s hair for $20.
◼️ 14. How much money does Della get for her hair?
(a) $10 (b) $20 (c) $30 (d) $40.
✅ Answer: (b) $20.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Madame Sofronie pays Della $20 for her hair.
◼️ 15. What gift does Della buy for Jim?
(a) A chain for his watch (b) A new coat (c) A gold ring (d) A book.
✅ Answer: (a) A chain for his watch.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: She buys a platinum fob chain for Jim’s prized watch.
◼️ 16. What gift does Jim buy for Della?
(a) A hat (b) A hairbrush (c) A set of combs (d) A necklace.
✅ Answer: (c) A set of combs.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Jim buys ornamental combs that Della had admired in a shop window.
◼️ 17. What is the ironic twist in the story?
(a) Both gifts are stolen (b) Both gifts are lost (c) Each sacrifices their treasure for the other’s treasure (d) They refuse to exchange gifts.
✅ Answer: (c) Each sacrifices their treasure for the other’s treasure.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Jim sells his watch to buy combs, while Della sells her hair to buy a watch chain.
◼️ 18. Which literary device dominates the ending?
(a) Allegory (b) Dramatic Irony (c) Satire (d) Paradox.
✅ Answer: (b) Dramatic Irony.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Readers recognize the irony of the exchanged gifts before the characters fully absorb it.
◼️ 19. What theme does the story mainly highlight?
(a) Greed (b) Materialism (c) Sacrificial Love (d) Betrayal.
✅ Answer: (c) Sacrificial Love.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The couple’s willingness to sacrifice shows the depth of true love.
◼️ 20. Why are Della and Jim compared to the Magi?
(a) Because they are wise (b) Because they are rich (c) Because they offer gifts of love (d) Because they are religious.
✅ Answer: (c) Because they offer gifts of love.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The narrator calls them the wisest, like the Magi, since their gifts symbolize selfless love.
◼️ 21. The narrator’s tone in the story is—
(a) Humorous and sympathetic (b) Angry and harsh (c) Indifferent (d) Tragic.
✅ Answer: (a) Humorous and sympathetic.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The light-hearted yet tender narration balances poverty with warmth.
◼️ 22. The setting reflects which social class?
(a) Upper Class (b) Middle Class (c) Working Poor (d) Aristocracy.
✅ Answer: (c) Working Poor.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Jim and Della live modestly, struggling with financial hardship.
◼️ 23. How much money does Della originally save before selling her hair?
(a) $1.87 (b) $2.50 (c) $3.00 (d) $4.25.
✅ Answer: (a) $1.87.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Della has only $1.87 after saving pennies for months.
◼️ 24. What do the combs symbolize?
(a) Wealth (b) Vanity (c) Love and sacrifice (d) Freedom.
✅ Answer: (c) Love and sacrifice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Though Della cannot use them now, the combs symbolize Jim’s love and her sacrifice.
◼️ 25. The platinum chain symbolizes—
(a) Della’s beauty (b) Jim’s pride and dignity (c) Poverty (d) Freedom.
✅ Answer: (b) Jim’s pride and dignity.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The chain represents Jim’s watch, his inheritance and dignity.
◼️ 26. The main narrative technique used in the story is—
(a) Stream of Consciousness (b) Flashback (c) Third-person Omniscient (d) Epistolary.
✅ Answer: (c) Third-person Omniscient.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The narrator knows and comments on both Della’s and Jim’s feelings.
◼️ 27. What is the climax of the story?
(a) Della cutting her hair (b) Jim revealing his gift (c) Della buying the chain (d) The narrator’s final moral.
✅ Answer: (b) Jim revealing his gift.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Tension peaks when Jim reveals the combs after selling his watch.
◼️ 28. The story is often described as—
(a) A fable of greed (b) A parable of sacrifice (c) A gothic tale (d) A colonial story.
✅ Answer: (b) A parable of sacrifice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: It functions like a moral tale, emphasizing love and sacrifice over material wealth.
◼️ 29. The ending suggests that the true value of gifts lies in—
(a) Their cost (b) Their usefulness (c) The sacrifice and love behind them (d) The surprise.
✅ Answer: (c) The sacrifice and love behind them.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The narrator calls Jim and Della the wisest, showing love’s value above material gifts.
◼️ 30. What literary style is O. Henry most associated with in this story?
(a) Naturalism (b) Symbolism (c) Realism with a Twist Ending (d) Romanticism.
✅ Answer: (c) Realism with a Twist Ending.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The realistic setting of poverty ends with a trademark O. Henry ironic twist.
◼️ 31. How much money had Della saved for Jim’s present?
(a) $1.97 (b) $1.87 (c) $2.17 (d) $1.57.
✅ Answer: (b) $1.87.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all.”
◼️ 32. How much of Della’s savings was in pennies?
(a) 70 cents (b) 80 cents (c) 60 cents (d) 90 cents.
✅ Answer: (c) 60 cents.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “And sixty cents of it was in pennies.”
◼️ 33. What feeling did Della experience while bargaining with the grocer, vegetable man, and butcher?
(a) Joy (b) Indifference (c) Embarrassment (d) Pride.
✅ Answer: (c) Embarrassment.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: She felt her “cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony.”
◼️ 34. How many times did Della count her money?
(a) Twice (b) Once (c) Thrice (d) Four times.
✅ Answer: (c) Thrice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Three times Della counted it.”
◼️ 35. What special occasion was to come the next day?
(a) New Year (b) Christmas (c) Jim’s Birthday (d) Thanksgiving.
✅ Answer: (b) Christmas.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “And the next day would be Christmas.”
◼️ 36. What did Della do after realizing her helplessness?
(a) She fainted (b) She prayed (c) She flopped on the couch and cried (d) She went shopping.
✅ Answer: (c) She flopped on the couch and cried.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl.”
◼️ 37. According to the narrator, life is made up of—
(a) Joys and triumphs (b) Sobs, sniffles, and smiles (c) Failures and successes (d) Money and poverty.
✅ Answer: (b) Sobs, sniffles, and smiles.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
◼️ 38. What was the weekly rent of their flat?
(a) $10 (b) $12 (c) $8 (d) $20.
✅ Answer: (c) $8.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “A furnished flat at $8 per week.”
◼️ 39. What word does the narrator say was ‘on the lookout for the mendicancy squad’?
(a) Poverty (b) Beggary (c) Description (d) Wealth.
✅ Answer: (c) Description.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.”
◼️ 40. Where was the letter-box located?
(a) At the side wall (b) In the vestibule below (c) Near the backyard (d) Beside the window.
✅ Answer: (b) In the vestibule below.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go.”
◼️ 41. What was wrong with the electric bell?
(a) It was stolen (b) It made no sound (c) It rang too loud (d) It was broken inside.
✅ Answer: (b) It made no sound.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “An electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring.”
◼️ 42. Whose name appeared on the card near the door?
(a) Mrs. Young (b) Mr. James Dillingham Young (c) Mr. & Mrs. Young (d) Jim Young.
✅ Answer: (b) Mr. James Dillingham Young.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name ‘Mr. James Dillingham Young.’”
◼️ 43. When Jim earned $30 a week, what did he use his surname as?
(a) Young (b) J.D. Young (c) James Young (d) Dillingham.
✅ Answer: (d) Dillingham.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “The ‘Dillingham’ had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity.”
◼️ 44. What was Jim’s current weekly income?
(a) $25 (b) $20 (c) $15 (d) $30.
✅ Answer: (b) $20.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Now, when the income was shrunk to $20...”
◼️ 45. How did Mrs. Young address her husband at home?
(a) James (b) Dillingham (c) Jim (d) Jimmy.
✅ Answer: (c) Jim.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home… he was called ‘Jim.’”
◼️ 46. What color dominated Della’s outlook from the window?
(a) Black (b) Gray (c) Blue (d) Brown.
✅ Answer: (b) Gray.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “She looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.”
◼️ 47. Why was Della disappointed with her savings?
(a) She wanted to buy a dress (b) She wanted jewelry (c) She wished to buy Jim a worthy gift (d) She planned a trip.
✅ Answer: (c) She wished to buy Jim a worthy gift.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim.”
◼️ 48. What kind of present did Della wish to buy Jim?
(a) Rare and sterling (b) Cheap and useful (c) Decorative (d) Expensive but ordinary.
✅ Answer: (a) Rare and sterling.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Something fine and rare and sterling—something just a little bit near to being worthy of Jim.”
◼️ 49. What expression shows Della’s possessive love?
(a) “Mr. Young” (b) “Her Jim” (c) “The Dillingham” (d) “Gray cat.”
✅ Answer: (b) Her Jim.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The phrase “Her Jim” emphasizes affection and belonging.
◼️ 50. Which word best describes the Youngs’ financial condition?
(a) Affluent (b) Prosperous (c) Modest (d) Destitute.
✅ Answer: (c) Modest.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The $20 income and $8 rent show a modest working-class life.
◼️ 51. “Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles” is an example of—
(a) Simile (b) Metaphor (c) Alliteration (d) Personification.
✅ Answer: (c) Alliteration.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Repetition of the ‘s’ sound emphasizes the rhythm of life’s emotions.
◼️ 52. The “gray cat, gray fence, gray backyard” symbolize—
(a) Joy (b) Hope (c) Monotony and poverty (d) Wealth.
✅ Answer: (c) Monotony and poverty.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The repeated ‘gray’ imagery reflects dullness and hardship.
◼️ 53. The “letter-box into which no letter would go” is a symbol of—
(a) Illiteracy (b) Hopelessness (c) Isolation and poverty (d) Family love.
✅ Answer: (c) Isolation and poverty.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The unused letter-box suggests their lack of social connection and means.
◼️ 54. The reference to “mendicancy squad” suggests—
(a) Wealth and charity (b) Beggary and poverty (c) Royal protection (d) Nobility.
✅ Answer: (b) Beggary and poverty.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: ‘Mendicancy’ means begging, hinting at the family’s near-poverty.
◼️ 55. “Her cheeks burned with silent imputation of parsimony” uses—
(a) Hyperbole (b) Metaphor (c) Simile (d) Satire.
✅ Answer: (b) Metaphor.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The burning cheeks metaphorically describe her shame at bargaining.
◼️ 56. “Flop down on the shabby little couch and howl” expresses—
(a) Anger (b) Childlike helplessness (c) Triumph (d) Determination.
✅ Answer: (b) Childlike helplessness.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The phrase shows Della’s emotional breakdown in poverty.
◼️ 57. “The Dillingham had been flung to the breeze” implies—
(a) The name was famous (b) They displayed prosperity (c) They hated the name (d) They wanted anonymity.
✅ Answer: (b) They displayed prosperity.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The surname was used proudly in better times.
◼️ 58. “Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles” conveys—
(a) Life’s dominance of sorrow over joy (b) People always smile (c) Wealth is happiness (d) Love conquers all.
✅ Answer: (a) Life’s dominance of sorrow over joy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The narrator notes that sniffles predominate over smiles.
◼️ 59. The phrase “Her Jim” reveals—
(a) Ownership (b) Devotion and intimacy (c) Class difference (d) Anger.
✅ Answer: (b) Devotion and intimacy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The possessive pronoun ‘Her’ reflects deep emotional bond.
◼️ 60. “Expenses had been greater than she calculated. They always are.” expresses—
(a) A universal truth (b) A complaint (c) A metaphor (d) A satire.
✅ Answer: (a) A universal truth.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The narrator generalizes a common human experience about money.
◼️ 61. What object in the room allowed Della to see her reflection?
(a) Window. (b) Pier glass. (c) Wall mirror. (d) Shiny cupboard.
✅ Answer: (b) Pier glass.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “There was a pier glass between the windows of the room.”
◼️ 62. What unusual feature of the pier glass is described?
(a) It was cracked. (b) It showed strips of reflection. (c) It was round. (d) It magnified the image.
✅ Answer: (b) It showed strips of reflection.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks.”
◼️ 63. How had Della mastered the use of the pier glass?
(a) By painting it. (b) By using it to check her hair. (c) By using it to see her slender figure. (d) By polishing it daily.
✅ Answer: (c) By using it to see her slender figure.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Della, being slender, had mastered the art.”
◼️ 64. How long did it take for Della’s face to lose its color after turning to the mirror?
(a) Ten seconds. (b) Twenty seconds. (c) One minute. (d) Instantly.
✅ Answer: (b) Twenty seconds.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...her face had lost its color within twenty seconds.”
◼️ 65. What did Della do rapidly after facing the pier glass?
(a) Took off her jacket. (b) Let down her hair. (c) Called Jim. (d) Sat down to write.
✅ Answer: (b) Let down her hair.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.”
◼️ 66. Which two possessions were the pride of the Dillingham Youngs?
(a) Their flat and clothes. (b) Jim’s watch and Della’s hair. (c) Della’s beauty and Jim’s job. (d) Furniture and pier glass.
✅ Answer: (b) Jim’s watch and Della’s hair.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Now, there were two possessions... One was Jim’s gold watch... The other was Della’s hair.”
◼️ 67. Whose treasures would Della’s hair put to shame according to the story?
(a) Cleopatra. (b) Queen Victoria. (c) The Queen of Sheba. (d) Helen of Troy.
✅ Answer: (c) The Queen of Sheba.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat... Della would have let her hair hang out... to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts.”
◼️ 68. Whose envy would Jim provoke by showing his watch?
(a) Caesar’s. (b) Napoleon’s. (c) Solomon’s. (d) Alexander’s.
✅ Answer: (c) Solomon’s.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Had King Solomon been the janitor... Jim would have pulled out his watch... just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.”
◼️ 69. To what natural image is Della’s hair compared?
(a) A golden flame. (b) A cascade of brown waters. (c) A flowing river. (d) A shining crown.
✅ Answer: (b) A cascade of brown waters.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.”
◼️ 70. How long was Della’s hair?
(a) Down to her shoulders. (b) Below her waist. (c) Below her knee. (d) Touching the ground.
✅ Answer: (c) Below her knee.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her.”
◼️ 71. What emotion overtook Della when she let her hair fall?
(a) Joy. (b) Nervousness and tears. (c) Anger. (d) Confidence.
✅ Answer: (b) Nervousness and tears.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...she did it up again nervously... and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.”
◼️ 72. What clothing items did Della wear before leaving the flat?
(a) A red scarf and black coat. (b) An old brown jacket and old brown hat. (c) A shawl and bonnet. (d) A blue dress and gloves.
✅ Answer: (b) An old brown jacket and old brown hat.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat.”
◼️ 73. Where did Della go to sell her hair?
(a) To a goldsmith. (b) To Mme. Sofronie’s shop. (c) To a jeweler. (d) To a tailor.
✅ Answer: (b) To Mme. Sofronie’s shop.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Where she stopped the sign read: ‘Mme. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds.’”
◼️ 74. How is Mme. Sofronie described?
(a) Large, too white, chilly. (b) Tall, thin, cheerful. (c) Short, dark, warm. (d) Young, elegant, pretty.
✅ Answer: (a) Large, too white, chilly.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the ‘Sofronie.’”
◼️ 75. How much money did Della receive for her hair?
(a) Ten dollars. (b) Twenty dollars. (c) Fifteen dollars. (d) Thirty dollars.
✅ Answer: (b) Twenty dollars.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘Twenty dollars,’ said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.”
◼️ 76. What phrase describes how the hours passed after Della sold her hair?
(a) On broken feet. (b) On rosy wings. (c) On golden wheels. (d) On silver clouds.
✅ Answer: (b) On rosy wings.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings.”
◼️ 77. What kind of present did Della buy for Jim?
(a) A diamond ring. (b) A platinum fob chain. (c) A gold ring. (d) A pair of shoes.
✅ Answer: (b) A platinum fob chain.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “She found it at last... It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design.”
◼️ 78. How much did the chain cost?
(a) $20. (b) $21. (c) $18. (d) $25.
✅ Answer: (b) $21.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it.”
◼️ 79. How much money did Della have left after buying the chain?
(a) 50 cents. (b) 1 dollar. (c) 87 cents. (d) 2 cents.
✅ Answer: (c) 87 cents.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...and she hurried home with the 87 cents.”
◼️ 80. Why was the platinum chain suitable for Jim’s watch?
(a) It was bright and heavy. (b) It was simple and valuable. (c) It had jewels. (d) It was cheap and strong.
✅ Answer: (b) It was simple and valuable.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone.”
◼️ 81. What does the pier glass symbolize?
(a) Wealth. (b) Vanity. (c) Self-awareness and truth. (d) Poverty.
✅ Answer: (c) Self-awareness and truth.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Della sees herself stripped of illusions, realizing the gravity of her decision.
◼️ 82. The comparison of Della’s hair to a “cascade of brown waters” is an example of—
(a) Simile. (b) Metaphor. (c) Personification. (d) Hyperbole.
✅ Answer: (a) Simile.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...like a cascade of brown waters” directly compares her hair to flowing water.
◼️ 83. “On rosy wings” is an example of—
(a) Personification. (b) Hyperbole. (c) Metaphor. (d) Irony.
✅ Answer: (a) Personification.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Time is personified as having wings that carry hours away joyfully.
◼️ 84. What does Della’s sacrifice symbolize?
(a) Desperation. (b) True love and selflessness. (c) Foolishness. (d) Pride.
✅ Answer: (b) True love and selflessness.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Selling her most prized possession reflects the depth of her devotion to Jim.
◼️ 85. Why is the watch chain described as “worthy of The Watch”?
(a) To emphasize its price. (b) To highlight its beauty. (c) To match Jim’s heritage and dignity. (d) To show it was rare.
✅ Answer: (c) To match Jim’s heritage and dignity.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The chain complements the heirloom watch that had belonged to Jim’s father and grandfather.
◼️ 86. The Queen of Sheba reference serves to—
(a) Indicate Della’s arrogance. (b) Highlight the richness of her hair. (c) Contrast luxury with poverty. (d) Show historical context.
✅ Answer: (b) Highlight the richness of her hair.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Della’s hair is portrayed as more dazzling than the Queen’s jewels.
◼️ 87. The King Solomon reference conveys—
(a) The foolishness of wealth. (b) The value of Jim’s watch. (c) Biblical irony. (d) Della’s envy.
✅ Answer: (b) The value of Jim’s watch.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Jim’s watch is shown as more enviable than Solomon’s treasures.
◼️ 88. What does Della’s nervousness after letting her hair fall suggest?
(a) She feared Jim’s anger. (b) She anticipated sacrifice. (c) She regretted her beauty. (d) She thought she looked ugly.
✅ Answer: (b) She anticipated sacrifice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Her nervousness and tears foreshadow the painful act of selling her hair.
◼️ 89. Why is Mme. Sofronie described as “hardly looking the Sofronie”?
(a) She was unattractive. (b) She lacked elegance expected from her name. (c) She was cruel. (d) She was foreign.
✅ Answer: (b) She lacked elegance expected from her name.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The irony lies in the contrast between her glamorous name and her plain, cold reality.
◼️ 90. The inner meaning of Della’s choice of gift is—
(a) Materialism. (b) Sacrifice dignifies love. (c) Women’s foolishness. (d) The futility of poverty.
✅ Answer: (b) Sacrifice dignifies love.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The platinum chain represents her willingness to give up beauty for devotion.
◼️ 91. What did Della use to repair the “ravages made by generosity added to love”?
(a) Powder rag. (b) Curling irons. (c) Comb. (d) Scissors.
✅ Answer: (b) Curling irons.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love.”
◼️ 92. How long did Della take to curl her hair?
(a) Thirty minutes. (b) Twenty minutes. (c) Forty minutes. (d) One hour.
✅ Answer: (c) Forty minutes.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls...”
◼️ 93. After curling, Della looked like whom?
(a) A truant schoolboy. (b) A circus clown. (c) A poor widow. (d) A gypsy girl.
✅ Answer: (a) A truant schoolboy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy.”
◼️ 94. What did Della fear Jim would call her after looking at her hair?
(a) A poor beggar. (b) A circus joker. (c) A Coney Island chorus girl. (d) A witch.
✅ Answer: (c) A Coney Island chorus girl.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...he’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl.”
◼️ 95. What amount of money forced Della to sell her hair?
(a) $2.50. (b) $5.00. (c) $1.87. (d) $10.00.
✅ Answer: (c) $1.87.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “But what could I do—oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?”
◼️ 96. At what time was the coffee made?
(a) 6 o’clock. (b) 7 o’clock. (c) 8 o’clock. (d) 9 o’clock.
✅ Answer: (b) 7 o’clock.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “At 7 o’clock the coffee was made...”
◼️ 97. What food was ready to be cooked along with the coffee?
(a) Bread. (b) Chops. (c) Rice. (d) Vegetables.
✅ Answer: (b) Chops.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.”
◼️ 98. Where did Della sit while waiting for Jim?
(a) On the chair. (b) On the bed. (c) On the corner of the table near the door. (d) On the sofa.
✅ Answer: (c) On the corner of the table near the door.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door...”
◼️ 99. What was Della’s whispered prayer before Jim entered?
(a) Please God, forgive me. (b) Please God, make him think I am still pretty. (c) Please God, let him not be angry. (d) Please God, bless our Christmas.
✅ Answer: (b) Please God, make him think I am still pretty.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...she whispered: ‘Please God, make him think I am still pretty.’”
◼️ 100. How old was Jim?
(a) Twenty-four. (b) Twenty-two. (c) Twenty-five. (d) Twenty-one.
✅ Answer: (b) Twenty-two.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two...”
◼️ 101. What did Jim lack in terms of clothing?
(a) Overcoat and gloves. (b) Hat and shoes. (c) Tie and socks. (d) Shirt and trousers.
✅ Answer: (a) Overcoat and gloves.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.”
◼️ 102. What was Jim’s initial reaction upon seeing Della?
(a) He laughed. (b) He cried. (c) He stared immovably. (d) He turned away.
✅ Answer: (c) He stared immovably.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail.”
◼️ 103. What emotion did Jim’s expression NOT show?
(a) Anger. (b) Surprise. (c) Horror. (d) Happiness.
✅ Answer: (d) Happiness.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror...”
◼️ 104. How did Della try to console Jim about her hair?
(a) By saying it would grow again. (b) By offering money. (c) By laughing. (d) By crying.
✅ Answer: (a) By saying it would grow again.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘It’ll grow out again—you won’t mind, will you?’”
◼️ 105. What habit did Della have about everyday things?
(a) Complaining. (b) Silent prayer. (c) Writing notes. (d) Singing.
✅ Answer: (b) Silent prayer.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “She had a habit of saying a little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things...”
◼️ 106. What phrase shows Della’s appeal for happiness despite her sacrifice?
(a) Let’s smile. (b) Say ‘Merry Christmas!’ Jim, and let’s be happy. (c) Forget the hair, be happy. (d) Love is stronger than loss.
✅ Answer: (b) Say ‘Merry Christmas!’ Jim, and let’s be happy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘Say ‘Merry Christmas!’ Jim, and let’s be happy.’”
◼️ 107. How did Jim ask about Della’s hair?
(a) Casually. (b) Laboriously. (c) Angrily. (d) Mockingly.
✅ Answer: (b) Laboriously.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘You’ve cut off your hair?’ asked Jim, laboriously...”
◼️ 108. What did Jim call Della’s act of selling hair?
(a) Foolishness. (b) Vanity. (c) Idiocy. (d) He didn’t label it.
✅ Answer: (c) Idiocy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...with an air almost of idiocy.”
◼️ 109. What simile shows Jim’s immobility?
(a) As stiff as a tree. (b) As immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. (c) As still as a stone. (d) As motionless as a statue.
✅ Answer: (b) As immovable as a setter at the scent of quail.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...immovable as a setter at the scent of quail.”
◼️ 110. Which Biblical allusion does Della make?
(a) Samson and Delilah. (b) Hairs of my head were numbered. (c) The lost sheep. (d) Solomon’s wisdom.
✅ Answer: (b) Hairs of my head were numbered.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,’ she went on with sudden serious sweetness...”
◼️ 111. What symbol does Della’s hair represent?
(a) Poverty. (b) Vanity. (c) Love and sacrifice. (d) Shame.
✅ Answer: (c) Love and sacrifice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Her hair...went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered, but nobody could ever count my love for you.”
◼️ 112. What does the fob chain symbolize in the story?
(a) Luxury. (b) Pride and devotion. (c) Vanity. (d) Anger.
✅ Answer: (b) Pride and devotion.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Della doubled the fob chain in her hand...”
◼️ 113. Which figure of speech is used in “ravages made by generosity added to love”?
(a) Hyperbole. (b) Personification. (c) Metaphor. (d) Irony.
✅ Answer: (c) Metaphor.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love.”
◼️ 114. What imagery dominates when Della curls her hair?
(a) Visual imagery. (b) Auditory imagery. (c) Tactile imagery. (d) Olfactory imagery.
✅ Answer: (a) Visual imagery.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls...”
◼️ 115. Which literary device is present in ‘Please God, make him think I am still pretty’?
(a) Irony. (b) Apostrophe. (c) Metonymy. (d) Alliteration.
✅ Answer: (b) Apostrophe.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...she whispered: ‘Please God, make him think I am still pretty.’”
◼️ 116. “Ravages made by generosity” outwardly refers to—?
(a) Poverty. (b) Hair cutting. (c) Hunger. (d) Misery.
✅ Answer: (b) Hair cutting.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...repairing the ravages made by generosity...”
◼️ 117. Inner meaning of “Coney Island chorus girl” reference is—?
(a) Della’s fear of appearing cheap. (b) Her wish to be glamorous. (c) Jim’s mockery. (d) American culture.
✅ Answer: (a) Della’s fear of appearing cheap.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...he’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl.”
◼️ 118. What is implied when Jim looked with “an air almost of idiocy”?
(a) He could not process Della’s sacrifice. (b) He hated her. (c) He mocked her. (d) He was careless.
✅ Answer: (a) He could not process Della’s sacrifice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “...with an air almost of idiocy.”
◼️ 119. What does “nobody could ever count my love for you” symbolize?
(a) Eternal love beyond measure. (b) Anger. (c) Futility. (d) Calculation of wealth.
✅ Answer: (a) Eternal love beyond measure.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘...nobody could ever count my love for you.’”
◼️ 120. What does the final line “Shall I put the chops on, Jim?” reveal?
(a) Della’s frustration. (b) Return to normal domestic life despite sacrifice. (c) Disrespect. (d) Humor.
✅ Answer: (b) Return to normal domestic life despite sacrifice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘Shall I put the chops on, Jim?’”
◼️ 121. How long did Jim enfold Della after waking from his trance?
(a) Five seconds. (b) Ten seconds. (c) Twenty seconds. (d) Half a minute.
✅ Answer: (b) Ten seconds.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object...”
◼️ 122. What amount is contrasted with eight dollars a week to show insignificance of wealth in love?
(a) A thousand a month. (b) A hundred a week. (c) A million a year. (d) Ten thousand a year.
✅ Answer: (c) A million a year.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Eight dollars a week or a million a year—what is the difference?”
◼️ 123. What object did Jim draw from his overcoat pocket?
(a) A watch. (b) A letter. (c) A package. (d) A chain.
✅ Answer: (c) A package.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.”
◼️ 124. What did Jim say could never lessen his love for Della?
(a) Her poverty. (b) A haircut or a shave. (c) The loss of the watch. (d) Her worries.
✅ Answer: (b) A haircut or a shave.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “I don’t think there’s anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.”
◼️ 125. What was Della’s initial reaction after unwrapping the package?
(a) Silence. (b) Ecstatic scream of joy. (c) Sad laughter. (d) Quiet prayer.
✅ Answer: (b) Ecstatic scream of joy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears...”
◼️ 126. What kind of combs did Jim buy for Della?
(a) Wooden combs. (b) Plastic combs. (c) Tortoise shell combs with jewelled rims. (d) Silver combs.
✅ Answer: (c) Tortoise shell combs with jewelled rims.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims—just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.”
◼️ 127. What had Della longed for but never hoped to possess?
(a) A platinum chain. (b) The Combs. (c) A velvet gown. (d) A diamond ring.
✅ Answer: (b) The Combs.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession.”
◼️ 128. How did Della console herself after receiving The Combs?
(a) By hugging Jim. (b) By saying her hair grows fast. (c) By crying silently. (d) By cooking chops.
✅ Answer: (b) By saying her hair grows fast.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “But she hugged them... and say: ‘My hair grows so fast, Jim!’”
◼️ 129. How did Della describe the gift she bought for Jim?
(a) A treasure. (b) A jewel. (c) A dandy. (d) A masterpiece.
✅ Answer: (c) A dandy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘Isn’t it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it.’”
◼️ 130. What precious metal was Jim’s gift made of?
(a) Silver. (b) Platinum. (c) Gold. (d) Bronze.
✅ Answer: (b) Platinum.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.”
◼️ 131. Where did Jim put his hands after sitting on the couch?
(a) On his knees. (b) Behind his back. (c) Under the back of his head. (d) On the table.
✅ Answer: (c) Under the back of his head.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.”
◼️ 132. What did Jim propose they do with their Christmas presents?
(a) Use them immediately. (b) Sell them again. (c) Keep them for a while. (d) Give them away.
✅ Answer: (c) Keep them for a while.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘Dell,’ said he, ‘let’s put our Christmas presents away and keep ’em a while. They’re too nice to use just at present.’”
◼️ 133. What had Jim sold to buy the combs?
(a) His coat. (b) His gloves. (c) His gold chain. (d) His watch.
✅ Answer: (d) His watch.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.’”
◼️ 134. What meal did Jim remind Della to prepare at the end of the scene?
(a) Rice. (b) Coffee. (c) Chops. (d) Bread.
✅ Answer: (c) Chops.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “‘And now suppose you put the chops on.’”
◼️ 135. Who are described as the inventors of Christmas gift-giving?
(a) The shepherds. (b) The apostles. (c) The Magi. (d) The angels.
✅ Answer: (c) The Magi.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “The magi, as you know, were wise men... They invented the art of giving Christmas presents.”
◼️ 136. How does the narrator describe Jim and Della’s sacrifice?
(a) Wise. (b) Foolish. (c) Brave. (d) Careless.
✅ Answer: (b) Foolish.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house.”
◼️ 137. According to the narrator, what is said in the “last word to the wise”?
(a) They were the poorest. (b) They were the richest. (c) They were the wisest. (d) They were the weakest.
✅ Answer: (c) They were the wisest.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “But in a last word to the wise... of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.”
◼️ 138. What phrase does the narrator use to describe his own storytelling?
(a) Grand tale. (b) Uneventful chronicle. (c) Merry story. (d) Great narration.
✅ Answer: (b) Uneventful chronicle.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children...”
◼️ 139. What reaction did Della show immediately after screaming with joy?
(a) Hysterical tears and wails. (b) Silence. (c) Laughter. (d) Running away.
✅ Answer: (a) Hysterical tears and wails.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “And then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails...”
◼️ 140. What quality does the narrator attribute to the Magi’s gifts?
(a) Cheapness. (b) Durability. (c) Wisdom. (d) Simplicity.
✅ Answer: (c) Wisdom.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones...”
◼️ 141. What symbolic meaning do The Combs carry?
(a) Vanity. (b) Sacrifice and unattainable desire. (c) Wealth. (d) Festivity.
✅ Answer: (b) Sacrifice and unattainable desire.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The combs symbolize the beauty Della longed for, but also the sacrifice that made them useless.
◼️ 142. Which figure of speech is used in “dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit”?
(a) Simile. (b) Hyperbole. (c) Metaphor. (d) Irony.
✅ Answer: (c) Metaphor.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The dull metal is metaphorically described as reflecting her inner spirit.
◼️ 143. What literary device is present in “two foolish children in a flat”?
(a) Paradox. (b) Alliteration. (c) Metonymy. (d) Irony.
✅ Answer: (a) Paradox.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Their foolish sacrifice is paradoxically described as the wisest act.
◼️ 144. What do the Magi symbolize in the story?
(a) Poverty. (b) Wisdom in giving. (c) Wealth. (d) Youth.
✅ Answer: (b) Wisdom in giving.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: “They are the magi” connects Jim and Della’s sacrifice to the wisdom of the Magi.
◼️ 145. Which image conveys the irony of the couple’s sacrifice?
(a) The frying pan. (b) The vanished hair with combs. (c) The empty couch. (d) The unopened package.
✅ Answer: (b) The vanished hair with combs.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: The combs, meant for her hair, become useless because she sacrificed it.
◼️ 146. What does “Eight dollars a week or a million a year—what is the difference?” suggest?
(a) The insignificance of wealth compared to love. (b) That wealth is everything. (c) Money brings happiness. (d) Sacrifice is worthless.
✅ Answer: (a) The insignificance of wealth compared to love.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: It shows that true value lies in love, not money.
◼️ 147. What deeper meaning lies behind Jim’s calm reaction to Della’s haircut?
(a) Disappointment. (b) Detachment. (c) Acceptance of true love beyond appearance. (d) Anger suppressed.
✅ Answer: (c) Acceptance of true love beyond appearance.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Jim assures her no haircut could lessen his love.
◼️ 148. What is the inner irony of their exchanged gifts?
(a) Both are useless due to each other’s sacrifice. (b) Both are too expensive. (c) Both are ordinary items. (d) Neither is cherished.
✅ Answer: (a) Both are useless due to each other’s sacrifice.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Della has no hair for combs; Jim has no watch for the chain.
◼️ 149. What does the narrator mean by calling Jim and Della “wisest”?
(a) They understood money. (b) They valued appearance. (c) They realized love’s supremacy. (d) They outwitted the Magi.
✅ Answer: (c) They realized love’s supremacy.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Their sacrifice reveals the highest wisdom of love.
◼️ 150. What is the apparent contradiction resolved by the story’s ending?
(a) Poverty and wealth. (b) Foolishness and wisdom. (c) Joy and sorrow. (d) Gift and giver.
✅ Answer: (b) Foolishness and wisdom.
🔷📘 Supporting Statement: Though called “foolish children,” their love makes them the wisest.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<🌹The End🌹>>>>>>>>>
