tful chronicle of two foolish children the appearance ofa little parable with a significant meaning. The Magi, he reminds the reader, were wise men who brought gifts to the Christ child, and thus inventing the giving of Christmas present. As for Jim and Della, “ they are the magi ”. (Voss, 1973:24) This is the ending of the story with O· Henry ’s style. B esides the twist of plot and the surprising ending, he also used a variety of rhetoric tactics to portray the characters in his short stories. With the various portraying methods, the characters are made more vivid, distinct and lifelike. So it is said that a writer is just like a magician of life since he can use his pen to make so many fictional characters with flesh and blood. O· Henry isa skillful magician too, who figured many visual
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