“The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry’s tale of gift giving and self-sacrifice, is the perfect December short story, and friend of the blog Kate McCook shared a link to a 15-minute film that beautifully modernizes the classic short story. “I came across this lovely short film set during the Greek economic crisis,” she emailed. “I’m thinking of showing it to my class for a little treat and exposure to world culture.” Thanks, Kate, for sharing the good stuff!
You can view Ismene Daskarolis’ “The Gift of the Magi” (yes, it is in Greek and subtitled) on YouTube here:
Warning: A frustrated Della mutters the word “shit” early in the film. Her language fits her situation, but I know some schools are more conservative than others. Far worse words are regularly hollered across the Quad and student parking lot (“Hey!” I’d yell at them. “You kiss your momma with that mouth?”), so one little s-bomb wouldn’t stop me from showing the film. You could also cover the bottom third of the projector lens with an index card for the brief moment the subtitle appears.
If you’ve never taught O. Henry’s story, you should. It not only has a great theme, but also allows for discussion of irony, allusion, foreshadowing, and symbolism. I have a two-day lesson available here that includes questions to help guide students through the story and a creative writing task with two options – write a modern version of the story that includes different precious objects or retell the events of the original story but from the husband’s perspective. Watching Daskarolis’ film and then listening to a few student-created stories read aloud sounds like a great pre-holiday break activity to me, yes?
Want to expand the lesson to help students learn more about O. Henry’s intense life story, including his time as an outlaw? Click here for a student-led author biography research activity that’ll take another class period to complete: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/O-Henry-Author-Study-Worksheet-Biography-Activity-PDF-Google-Drive-CCSS-4701134
Okay, teacher friends, hope you’re set for a strong December. Just three weeks ‘til winter break!
