the gift of the magi-麦琪的礼物

1、The gift of the Magi麦琪的礼物,O. Henry,The gift of the Magi,O. Henry (1862.9-1910.6) Real name: William Sydney Porter American writer One of the three most famous masters of short novel,His best known short stories consisted of ： “The Cop and the Anthem”, “The Gift of the Magi ”, “The Last Leave” et al.

2、,O. Henry s short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and clever twist endings.,Summary of “TheGiftoftheMagi”,IthappenedonaverypoorbutblissfulyoungcouplenamedJimandDellaintheendof19thcenturyinAmerica.Theyworkedhardbutearnedlittle.Lifeisveryhardforthem.They have only two

3、 possessions between them in which they take pride: Dellas beautiful long, flowing hair and Jims shiny gold watch.,Despiteofthis,theirlovetoeachotherandtheenthusiasmforlifedidntchangedatall.WhenChristmasdaywasapproaching,with only $1.87 in hand, and desperate to find a gift for Jim, Della sold her b

4、eautiful hair whichshetreasuredverymuch for $20 and eventually finds a platium pocket watch fob chain for Jims watch.,ButJimhadalreadysoldthatwatchtobuya combstoDellafor wearinginherlonghair,notknowingshe hadcutitoff.Although Jim and Della are now left with gifts that neither one can use, they reali

5、zed how far they are willing to go to show their love for each other, and how priceless their love really is.,background,It happened in the 1899 ，at that time, O. Henry was worrying about as a prisoner that he was no money to the beloved daughter to buy Christmas gifts when Christmas approaching. He

6、 is so painful and finally he remembered he had done before in a magazine , he had received a generous remuneration for writing some essays and stories. Why not try it again - he thought. So he have a hurry to write a novel: “The gift of the Magi. The novel was published, it caused a great sensation

7、 in American society and also he received a generous reward to get a favorite Christmas gift for her daughter.,As we know, During this period, the United States was experiencing a severe economic crisis. So the novel also depicted the tragic life of the working people, exposed the brutal nature of t

8、he bourgeois monopoly indirectly, accused the persecution of the people by rulers ,reflected the peoples dissatisfaction with the rule of the bourgeoisie;,Great Works are normally based on the social real life.,economic crisis,O. Henry In prison for Economic disputes,JimandDella Work hard but poor y

9、et,Sell their precious possession,No money to buy christmas gift for daughter,Write novel to earn the money,No money to buy christmas gift for each other,The gift of the Magi,Why do people give gifts each other on Christmas day?,Christmas is a religious festival. It is the day we celebrate as the bi

10、rthday of Jesus. And now Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America it is one of the biggest event of the year (especially for kids), and for members of the Christian religions it is an important day on the religious calendar. Exchanging gifts and sending Christmas cards are the modern w

11、ays of celebrating the Christmas in the world.,The Magi- are the three wise men coming to send gifts at the time Jesus was born. They created the custom of sending gifts which represented being respectful, holy and noble to each other at Christmas. Thus in the eyes of western people, Christmas gifts

12、 are most precious, hoping they themselves can receive the most valuable gifts.,Itappearsthatthegiftstheygaveeachotherhavebeen useless.ButIthinktheygaveeachotherthebestofwhat theyhadtomaketheotherhappy.Isntthattruelove?Wecanimage,insuchroughconditions,asitsaidinthestory,Lifeismadeupofsobs,sniffles,a

13、ndsmiles,with snifflespredominating.Itisabsolutelyreasonablefor themtobebeatenbythemisery.Butthefactisthatnomatterhowroughlifehadbeen,theywouldntloseheart.Withstrongfaith andtheirlove,theydidtheirbesttomaketheotherpleased.,About love,at that time, nearly 23 billion number of times people watched thi

14、s film in China. many people have watched several times and the film showed about full 5 months, it was nearly the longest time in film history.,This film was presented in 1998, then I was in the third grade of senior middle school, and maybe some of you were in nursery school at that time. Unpreced

15、ented, The first time, the school organized all of us to watch this film. that was the only one film in my senior middle school career.,True love is that someone can sacrifice his life for you. True love is not going to die together when someone died for you but really living better of you by love a

16、nd never let go.,JACK: Winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you. And Im thankful for that, Rose, Im thankful. You must do me this honor. You must promise me that you will survive that you wont give up no matter what happens no matter how hopeless. Promise

17、 me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise. ROSE: I promise. JACK: Never let go. ROSE: I will never let go, Jack, Ill never let go.,Do you still remember this dialogue : OnceIletatureloveslipawaybeforemyeyes,onlytofindmyselfregrettingwhenitwastoolate,nothingcanbeaspainfulasthis intheworld, ifGo

18、dwouldgivemeachanceto come again, I wouldtellthegirlthreewords:“Iloveyou!, ifyou have to add a term in this love, Iwish-tenthousandyears!,“I prefer to cry in a BMW than laugh on the back of the bicycle”,Its correct or wrong? maybe everyone has different answer! But do you think that maybe one day BMW may become bicycle? Bi