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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 Biblical king and queen are referenced in "The Gift of the Magi"?
(a) Candace, Queen of Ethiopia and King Ahab.
(b) The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.
(c) Queen Elizabeth and King Henry.
(d) Queen Berenice and King David.

2. The narrator says in the beginning of "The Gift of the Magi" that Della knows that her hair is more beautiful than what?
(a) A flower in the meadow.
(b) A mountain looking over a lake.
(c) A queen's jewels and gifts.
(d) A field of fresh-fallen snow.

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

4. When was "The Gift of the Magi" first published?
(a) 1765.
(b) 1953.
(c) 1905.
(d) 1865.

5. What has Jim bought Della for Christmas?
(a) A gold ring.
(b) Hair combs.
(c) A gold watch.
(d) A diamond ring.

Short Answer Questions

1. How much money is offered for Della's hair?

2. How is the looking-glass described in Della and Jim's home?

3. What does the narrator say Jim would have done if a king had lived in the same home as he and Della?

4. The narrator says in the end of "The Gift of the Magi" that these two (Jim and Della) were what, among all who give gifts?

5. How much was Jim being paid weekly when he and Della moved into their current apartment?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does the rising action take place in "The Gift of the Magi"?

2. Describe one simile or metaphor from the short story and how it serves the reader.

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

4. Describe one example of irony in "The Gift of the Magi." What type of irony is described?

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

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

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

8. What statement do you think the author is making regarding wisdom in "The Gift of the Magi"?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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