Question

In "The Gift of the Magi," why is the information about how Jim was able to afford Della's combs so surprising?
A.The story states that Jim owns absolutely nothing of value and never once mentions his watch up to this point.
B.To this point, the story has shown Jim as selfish, so readers do not expect him to sacrifice his most prized possession for Della.
C.The story tells readers that Jim is a very honest and good man, so it is shocking that he would resort to dishonest means to afford Della's gift.
D.To this point, the story focuses only on Della, so readers do not know of

Answer 1

Jim's plan to sell his most prized possession, too.

Answer 2

@dinopyte

Answer 3

plz help

Answer 4

Give me a sec I'm reading the story.

Answer 5

ok

Answer 6

So the first part of the story is about a poor couple at Christmas time who are each at a loss of how to buy their spouse a Christmas present. The story follows Della's point of view. She decides to take her most valuable possession and trade it for money. In this case, she cuts her hair and sells it for $20. With the money she buys her husband a chain for his beloved watch. When he comes home he presents her with a set of hair combs that he bought by selling his watch. She presents him with the chain that she bought by cutting off her hair. It's ironic.

Answer 7

His watch was mentioned early in the story so that rules A out.
There was nothing in the story describing Jim as selfish so that rules B out.
The story (thus far) does not indicate that he resorted to dishonest means to purchase the combs, so that rules C out.
D is your answer. The audience was unaware of Jim's plan to sell his watch.

Answer 8

ok thank you