Week 2 - Discussion 1
Describe the core conflict represented in the story.
The core conflict in this story would be how the couple had to struggle to survive.. O. Henry portrays
in detail how the couple lived in their condo to indicate exactly how poor the couple is in material
riches. They are a couple, but they have their own inward battle. Della, has the most delightful long
dark hair and it is by all accounts her most prized ownership, however Della, needs to persuade
herself that getting her hair styled is the best thing to do. Jim, has a family treasure which is a watch
that was passed on to him. If Jim somehow happened to choose to dispose of his watch and take
cash for it, he might do the wrong thing since he can't go out and purchase this watch once more.
Describe the theme of the story.
The themes of this story is wealth, poverty, generosity, and love. The theme of riches and destitution
are critical topics in this story. While being monetarily poor, Jim and Della end up being candidly rich.
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- Summer '09
- O'DONNELL
- Semantics, Della
