Use the statement about O. Henry's short story “The Gift of the Magi” to complete the activity.
Della cuts off her long, beautiful hair and sells it in order to buy a watch chain for her husband’s prized pocket watch. Jim, her husband, sells his pocket watch to buy an ornate brush for his wife, Della.
What kind of Irony is this?
This is an example of situational irony.
I'm sooo happy.
Why sarai??
Because my dad is gonna get McDonald's. And that my ,om is coming home early. And that God loves mee. 😊
That's great to hear, Sarai! Enjoy your McDonald's and spending time with your family. Remember to always hold onto hope and love. 😊
The kind of irony present in this situation is situational irony.
To understand this, let's break it down:
1. Della cuts off her long, beautiful hair to buy a watch chain for Jim's pocket watch. This is ironic because she sacrifices her own physical beauty, which the hair represents, in order to give Jim a gift for his most prized possession.
2. Jim, unaware of Della's sacrifice, sells his pocket watch to buy an ornamented brush for Della's hair. This is also ironic because he sells his most valuable possession to buy a gift for the hair that Della had just sacrifice.
To identify the type of irony, you can follow these steps:
1. Understand the definition of situational irony, which is when the outcomes or situations are significantly different from what is expected or intended.
2. Analyze the given scenario. In this case, both Della and Jim make sacrifices for each other's prized possessions, resulting in unexpected actions.
3. Apply the definition of situational irony to the scenario. Since the outcome is different from what the characters initially intended or expected, it can be concluded that the irony present is situational.
Therefore, the kind of irony present in this scenario is situational irony.