magi(麦琪的礼物)

麦琪
东方三博士（Magi，读作 /ˈmæd ʒaɪ/），又称东方三王、东方三 贤士、三智者、麦琪，术士等，是艺术作 品和基督教刊物经常提到，出现在许多与 圣诞节有关的画像里面的人物，一般会与 耶稣和其父母、牧羊人，以及马厩中的动 物一同出现。 麦琪送的礼物是黄金、乳香和殁药 一、黄金是耶稣基督将来作万王之王、 万主之主的象征。 二、乳香是象征耶稣基督为大祭司。 三、殁药是象征耶稣基督为先知，殁药 味苦，他在世上教训人脱离罪恶，过圣洁 生活。他为救人，自己喝了父神所预备的 苦杯，甘心为人类钉十字架而死。
wealth
In many ways, "The Gift of Magi" is a story about what it means for something to be valuable. Does something's value lie in how much money it is worth? Or are other things more valuable than money? The main characters are very poor – this is repeatedly emphasized – and yet the story suggests that their love for each other makes them very rich. It is that love, which motivates them to give up the only things of monetary (or personal) value they have to buy presents for each other. Perhaps their poverty is what enables them to appreciate what really matters.
Sacrifice
The two main characters in "The Gift of Magi" are a husband and wife who give up their most precious possessions to be able to afford gifts for each other on Christmas Eve. The story seems to be all about sacrifice. Della goes through the process of deciding to make the sacrifice and going through with it, only to discover that her husband has made the same sacrifice. The story's narrator assures us that in their willingness to give up all they have, they have proven themselves the wisest of all giftgivers. It might remain unclear, though, exactly what their sacrifice has accomplished, or how it has affected them.
Setting
• A drab flat in a gray city on Christmas Eve • The narrator calls our attention almost immediately to the two most important details of the story's setting: it takes place on a Christmas Eve, and its two main characters live in a very unassuming flat. The action of the story depends on the fact that Christmas is sufficiently close that Della needs to buy a present now, even with her small amount of money. The couple's very humble abode brings out their poverty vividly. It's their poverty which both forces them to make the sacrifices they do, and which makes those sacrifices meaningful. O. Henry sketches the flat with just enough detail to convey an image of its squalor: it's cheap, sparsely furnished, and has a broken mailbox and a broken doorbell.
The name: The gift of Magi
The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger(马厩). They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
Writing Style
• Oral ---(capture that feeling of telling a
story orally)
• Simple--- (simple sentences,easy to
understanding.)
The Gift OfThe Gift of Migi • • • • • The Name The Setting The Themes The Writting Style The Narrator
Magi
In the conventional version of the Christmas story, the wise men or magi: Melchior （梅尔基奥尔）Gaspar （加斯帕） and Balthasar（巴尔撒泽） started the giftgiving custom of Christmas by bringing gold（黄金）, frankincense (乳香), and myrrh（殁药）to the Christ child （指耶稣）on Epiphany（主显节）, the day on which the infant was presented. The 3 magi have been described not only as wise men, but also as kings or Persian priests an astrologers(占星家).
• • • •
Theme Theme Theme Theme
of of of of
The themes
Love Sacrifice Wealth Women and Femininity
love
"The Gift of Magi" is the story of a poor, young couple whose love for each other is the most important thing in their lives. Such is their love that they're led to sacrifice their most valuable possessions to find Christmas gifts for each other. The warm home they make together contrasts with the drabness of their poverty and the dreary world outside. Their love seems to know no bounds, though Della (the wife) worries about how her sacrifice will affect her husband because of how it affects her looks. If ever there were a story with the message that all you need to be happy is love.
Women and Femininity
The main character of "The Gift of Magi" is a woman named Della. Lovable as she is, at times, Della is hysterical, often overreacting, characteristic（典型的） that the narrator identifies as "feminine." Della's complete and single-minded devotion to her husband could raise the question of whether the love in their relationship is between equals or based on a difference in power between the two.
为什么小说名字是“麦琪的礼物”？
那三位麦琪，读者都知道，全都是有智慧的人——非常 有智慧的人，他们把礼物带来送给出生在马槽里的圣婴耶 稣。他们首创了圣诞节馈赠礼物的风俗。由于他们是聪明 人，毫无疑问，他们的礼物也是聪明的礼物，如果碰上两 样东西完全一样，可能还具有交换的权利。在这儿，我已 经笨拙地给你们介绍了住公寓套间的两个傻孩子不足为奇 的平淡故事，他们极不明智地为了对方而牺牲了他们家最 最宝贵的东西。不过，让我们对现今的聪明人说 最后一句话，在一切馈赠礼品的人当中，那两 个人是最聪明的。在一切馈赠又接收礼品的人 当中，像他们两个这样的人也是最聪明的。无 论在任何地方，他们都是最聪明的人，他们就 是麦琪。