Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn’t go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him.
Something fine and rare and sterling—something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.
Which important information should be included in a summary of The Gift of the Magi?
(1 point)
Responses
Della didn't have enough money to buy the Christmas gift she wanted to get for Jim.
Della didn't have enough money to buy the Christmas gift she wanted to get for Jim.
Della was crying.
Della was crying.
It was a gray day.
It was a gray day.
Della spent a lot of time thinking about what she wanted to buy for Jim.
1 answer
The important information that should be included in a summary of The Gift of the Magi is:
Della didn't have enough money to buy the Christmas gift she wanted to get for Jim.
This detail captures the main issue Della is facing in the passage and is central to the themes of sacrifice and love in the story.
