Pier glass (console mirror): So named because it was designed to be hung over a pier table. Originally a mirror that stood on the floor against the wall, intended as a facing for piers or to cover the wallspace between windows. The term is also used to describe wall mirrors set over console tables.

What is a pier glass used for?

Pier glass (console mirror): So named because it was designed to be hung over a pier table. Originally a mirror that stood on the floor against the wall, intended as a facing for piers or to cover the wallspace between windows. The term is also used to describe wall mirrors set over console tables.

What is a pier glass in the gift of the Magi?

A pier glass is a large mirror that was often placed between two windows in a room. They were usually as tall as the windows.

What is a pier mirror used for?

A pier mirror, or pier glass, is a large mirror designed to fit on the wall space between two windows. They were often designed to hang above a pier table — that is, a table supported by a single pier or column.

What does the term pier glass mean as it is used in paragraph 7?

Terms in this set (7) how does the first paragraph help develop the plot of the story? … What does the term “pier-glass” mean, as it is used in paragraph 7? a mirror. which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

How were mirrors made in the 19th century?

These were made by coating glass with a mixture of tin and mercury. … In the early 19th century, a new, safer method of mirror-making was invented, using silver nitrate to replace the highly toxic mercury. This soon replaced mercury altogether. Today we use aluminium in mirrors.

What is a Trumeau mirror?

Trumeau mirrors (pronounced troo-MO) are set in tall wooden frames with a large section of painted or sculptural decoration at the top. … In French, trumeau is the word for the thin section of wall between two doors or windows. The word was first used to describe a mirror on that section of wall in the early 1700s.

Why is the ending of the Gift of the Magi ironic?

The ending of the story is ironic because you would expect that Jim would have his watch and chain and the story would end. What really happened was Jim sold his watch to but combs for Della’s hair, and Della sold her hair to buy a chain for Jim’s watch. They both ended up with nothing to use with their new gift.

Why is Della's hair extremely valuable?

She only has $1.87 to buy a Christmas present for Jim. Della’s hair is extremely valuable. … Della’s hair grew awfully fast. Had the queen lived next door, Della would have hung her hair out the window to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty’s jewels and gifts.

What are two alliterations in The Gift of the Magi?

Alliteration that comes in threes: sobs, sniffles, smiles; sudden serious sweetness. Allusion to the Queen of Sheba known for giving three gifts to King Solomon.

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What is the purpose of paragraph 5 in The Gift of the Magi?

What is the purpose of paragraph 5’s discussion of the name “Dillingham”? It acts as a symbol of their decreasing wealth. It shows that they do not like their last name. It shows that last names are not important.

How much did Della pay for hair?

The woman pays Della $20 for her hair. The chain costs $21, so she now has enough money.

What does the gift of the Magi teach us about love?

In the Gift of the Magi the author O. Henry teaches us about the power of actions influenced by love and how sacrificing something important because of that can have a huge impact on people. … The characters sacrifice their most prized possessions for each other — out of love — but it ends up contradicting.

What does a trumeau look like?

The trumeau is a mirror (pronounced troo-mo) set into tall wooden frames with a large section of painted or carved sculptural decoration at the top. Almost always the trumeau is rectangular in size.

How can you tell a real trumeau mirror?

A trumeau is a mirror that has a painted or carved panel above or below the glass in the same frame. In architecture, it is a column supporting a tympanum of a doorway at the center.

What is an obsidian mirror?

The obsidian mirror was the primary accessory of the supreme Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca, whose name means “smoking mirror.” He is often depicted with an obsidian mirror on his chest, in his headdress, or replacing his right foot.

What did ancient mirrors look like?

METAL MIRRORS — Mirrors were used by the ancient Egyptians as early as c. 2900BC. These were made of polished bronze shaped into flat round discs—in representation of the sun-god Re—with handles of wood, metal or ivory. Likewise, in China, an unearthed cast bronze mirror has been dated as early as 2000BCE.

What does James's watch mean to him specific?

Jim’s watch holds sentimental value for him as well, having been passed down from generation to generation. … The gold in the watch can also symbolize several things, including purity, money (which the couple lacks), inner value, and permanence.

What did Della's beautiful hair look like?

So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. … Henry describes how she looks without all that beautiful hair. She looks like a shorn lamb.

Why did Jim sell his gold watch?

Jim sells his gold watch because he realizes that he cares more about making his wife, Della, happy than he does about keeping his most treasured possession. He knows that his love for her is more valuable than his watch, just as she realizes that her love for him is more important to her than her beautiful hair.

How do Della and Jim feel toward each other?

How do Jim and Della feel towards each other? Jim and Della love and value each other very much. This can be shown through the sacrifices they make for each other. … Della believes that Jim’s reaction means that he does not like her hair cut, he does not think she is beautiful anymore, and he will no longer love her.

What is the plot twist in The Gift of the Magi?

At the end of the story Della cuts and sells her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch, and Jim sells his watch to buy Della combs for her hair. Here we have a classic case of irony. The determination to find the perfect gift leads each character to make a sacrifice; that sacrifice makes each gift useless.

Why is Della upset at the beginning of the story?

Why is Della upset at the beginning of the story? She lost her job shoveling in front of the stores on her block. She has been fighting with Jim. She does not have enough money to buy a nice present for Jim.

What is a hyperbole in The Gift of the Magi?

hyperbole. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. metaphor. So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. simile.

What does the platinum chain in The Gift of the Magi mean?

Chain. Like the combs, the watch chain is a symbol of the wife’s love for her husband. She has just as much emotional attachment to her hair as he did to his watch. Yet she gave it up willingly to purchase the one thing she thought would bring her husband happiness.

Is there foreshadowing in The Gift of the Magi?

Foreshadowing occurs when Della begins looking in the mirror at herself. The narrator describes her hair as beautiful as a queen? s jewels.

Who made the biggest sacrifice Jim or Della Why?

In a word, it would vitiate purity of the giving. Second, the whole point of the story is to show that when two people give, then all stand to gain. Della gained in that she expressed her love in a great way. Jim gained as well, because he, too, showed his love.

How does the author bring out the gray mindset of Della?

Once she has cried herself out, Della powders her cheeks, goes to the window, and looks out “dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.” This is a very dismal and dreary description, and it gives us further insight into Della’s feelings.

What inference can you draw about Della from the following passage?

What inference can you draw about Della from the following passage from “The Gift of the Magi”? “Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied.”

How does Della make money?

Della does not mind making a sacrifice in order to get something nice for her husband. She sells her hair and makes twenty dollars. With that, she buys a special watch band for her husband’s favorite watch. She knows that the watch is his most prized possession.

What does della value about her husband Jim?

Jim and Della value non-material things more than anything else. nevertheless, the young couple obviously value most their love for each other. For, as narrator O. … Moreover, they are willing to deprive themselves of the pleasure of material objects in order to provide the other a gift of love.