William Sydney Porter (using the pen name “O. Henry”) wrote a short story concerning the love two people have for each other at Christmas time. Published in 1905, it has endured through the years as an example of writing in irony and using the “twist ending” still popular in literature and film today. It may be supposed “The Gift of the Magi” is taught in every high school in the country for a number of reasons.
In order to analyze the story of Della and Jim, it is necessary to understand the three types of irony. Watt (2015) defines
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