English 9Mr. Rinka - Lesson #15

Objects of a PrepositionAnalysis of “The Gift of the

Magi ”

Object of the Preposition

The Object of the Preposition is a noun or pronoun which refers back to the preposition and ends the prepositional phrase.

Object of the Preposition

The cat walked across the room.

The pitcher threw the ball toward the batter.

The children on the bus talked with each other.

Find the Preposition &Object of the

Preposition

The car raced down the road.preposition = down object of preposition =

road

Find the Preposition &Object of the

Preposition

The airplane flew above the clouds.Preposition = above object of preposition =

clouds

Find the Preposition &Object of the

Preposition

We stopped reading before the end of the story.

Preposition= before object of preposition = end

Preposition = of object of preposition = story

Find the Preposition & the Object of the Preposition

We ran under the roof of the porch.

After the show we went to the park.

For the next test I will study with you.

During the class we read about Australia.

Answers = Prepositions & Objects of Prepositions

We ran under the roof of the porch.

After the show we went to the park.

For the next test I will study with you.

During the class we read about Australia.

Find the Preposition & the Object of the Preposition

I have not talked to Joe since last Tuesday.

He swam up the river against the current.

The two walked along the path by the creek.

We heard about the game from the players.

Answers = Prepositions & Objects of Prepositions

I have not talked to Joe since last Tuesday.

He swam up the river against the current.

The two walked along the path by the creek.

We heard about the game from the players.

Adjective & Adverb Phrases

Prepositional Phrases can act as either adjective or adverbs.

The books on the desk are mine.on the desk refers to noun books = Adjective Phrase

We walked across the road.across the road refers to verb walked = Adverb Phrase

Adjective & Adverb Phrases

The park in my neighborhood is very beautiful.

We talk with our friends everyday.

My friends from school will study with me.

Find the Prepositional Phrase & Identify it as an Adjective Phrase or Adverb Phrase

The children at the beach played until dark.

During lunch we ate with friends from school.

Father drove past the house with statues in the yard.

I left my book of poems on my desk in my room.

Find the Prepositional Phrase & Identify it as an Adjective Phrase or Adverb Phrase

The children at the beach played until dark.

During lunch we ate with friends from school.

Father drove past the house with statues in the yard.

I left my book of poems on my desk in my room.

Find the Prepositional Phrase & Identify it as an Adjective Phrase

or Adverb Phrase

A man about six feet tall walked toward us.

The people around the table spoke among themselves.

A car with a broken headlight crashed into the pole.

That house on the hill was sold to a friend of mine.

Find the Prepositional Phrase & Identify it as an Adjective Phrase

or Adverb Phrase

A man about six feet tall walked toward us.

The people around the table spoke among themselves.

A car with a broken headlight crashed into the pole.

That house on the hill was sold to a friend of mine.

The Gift of the Magi

Analysis Using Literary Concepts

Allusion

Reference to a statement, person, place, or event from history, literature, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture.

Allusion

The other was Della’s hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts.

Characterization

A description of the physical, mental, emotional and behavioral qualities of a person in a literary work.

Characterization

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

Direct Characterization

The writer describes the physical, emotional and mental qualities

directly to the reader.

Direct Characterization

The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two—and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.

Indirect Characterization

The reader has to use his own judgment to decide what a character is like based on the evidence that the writer gives.

Indirect Characterization

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.

Static CharacterOne who does not change much in

the course of a story.

Neither character changes in this story. There love for each other is simply more evident.

Dynamic CharacterOne who changes as a result of

the events of a story.

The only element that changes here is the strength of Della’s and James’s love for each other. 

Flat Character

A character who has only one or two traits that can be described in a few words.

Flat Character

James is a flat character because we know little of him except through his reactions at the end.

Round Character

A character who has many different traits that may even contradict one another.

Round Character

We learn a great deal about Della through the author’s descriptions of what she does and how she thinks and feels.

Epiphany

The moment of awakening or realization for a character.

Epiphany

Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds.

Della suddenly realizes what it is she has to do to get the money for James’s gift. 

Flashback A scene in a movie, short story,

novel, or narrative poem that interrupts the present action of the plot to go backward and tell what happened earlier.

Flashback

The “Dillingham” had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20.

ForeshadowingThe use of clues to hint at events

that will occur later in the story.

But if you’ll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first.”

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses to create a mental picture.

Imagery

It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation—as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch.

IronyA contrast or significant difference

between expectations and reality

Irony

They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.

Verbal Irony

A writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different

Verbal Irony

Dell,” said he, “let’s put our Christmas presents away and keep ’em a while. They’re too nice to use just at present.

Situational Irony

Both the audience and the characters experience a surprise or shock at what occurs because they expected something else.

Situational Irony For there lay The Combs—the set of

combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window.

I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.

Dramatic IronyOccurs when the audience or reader

knows something important that a character does not know.

Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment.

The reader knows something that Jim is about to learn.

Mood

The feelings a work stimulates in a reader.

Mood

When I read this story, I felt moved to a sadness then sympathy then joy as the love these two felt for each other evolved.

Tone

The attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject or a character

Tone

I think the author is very sympathetic of Della and of James as well. He feels the love they have for one another.

MetaphorA figure of speech that makes a

comparison between two unlike things in which one thing becomes another thing without using words such as “like,” “as,” “than,” “resembles.”

Metaphor

Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned..

Della is compared to a bulldozer operator, pushing something very difficult to move.

Metaphor

They are the magi. 

The most important metaphor. These two lovers are compared to the magi, profoundly wise people who understood what is important in life.

Simile

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things by using a connective word such as “like,” “as,” “than,” “resembles.”

Simile So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about

her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.

SymbolA person, place, thing, or event

that stands for itself and for something beyond itself.

Symbol

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.

Gray is a color, but also a symbol for a sad feeling.