Summary 'The Christmas Present

Title : The Christmas Present
Author : O. Henry
Characteristic : @Della
Modest, Loving, Jolly, Feminine, Good Wife
@Jim
Seriously, Modest, Patient, Good Husband
Summary :
One day, the day before Christmas Day, Della counted her money, only one dollar and eighty seven cents. Three timed Della counted it but the result is same. Della was crying. Tomorrow would be a Christmas Day, and she had only one dollar and eighty seven cents with which to buy Jim, her husband, a present.
Della finished crying, got up and began to powder her face. She had spent many happy hours planning for something nice for her husband, something fine and rare, something worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim. Suddenly, she got brilliant idea. Rapidly she pulled down her beautiful hair and let it tall to its length. She combed it again and tears appeared in her eyes.
She walked some distance and finally stopped at a Madame Sofronio’s shop. She cut off and sold her hair to Madame Sofronio with price twenty dollars. After that she went to the stores, bought platinum watch chain for Jim. It cost twenty one dollars.
When Della arrived home she began to comb and arranges her hair. At seven o’clock the coffee was made and the dinner almost ready. The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. Della said to Jim if she cut off her hair and sold it because she wanted to give him a Christmas present. Jim kissed Della and gave a package to her.
Her white fingers quickly undid the package and crying when she looked it. It’s a beautiful combs but the hair in which she was to wear them was gone. But at least she was able to smile through her tears and say, “My hair grows so fast, Jim.” Then, she asked Jim’s watch to change with a new chain, her present. But Jim said, “Della lets put our Christmas present away and keep them awhile. They are too nice to use at present. I sold my watch in order to get the money to buy your combs. And now perhaps you can get dinner ready.”

Analysis Poem 'War is Kind'

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War Is Kind Stephen Crane (1899)
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them.
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--
A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!

The 'War is Kind' poem by Stephen Crane seems to be very cynical, Stephen Crane writes this poem as though he doesn't respect life as much as he should and that he isn't optimistic about life either. This poem certainly shows his pessimistic Stephen Crane is about life. During the poem he writes, 'Hoarse booming drums of the regiment, little souls who thirst for fight, these men were born to drill and die. The unexplained glory flies above them.' It seems that he is trying to make a very emotional and strong statement as he tries to question whether during any war, is death worth it or as everything is destroyed. He tries to highlight this point because people believe that wars shouldn’t be fought because they are for the wrong reasons but of course some wars are for the right reason, such as the First World War and the Second World War to stop the invasion of neighboring country throughout Europe and to stop the persecution of the Jewish, Black people, disabled people and to people who Hitler thought was different.

I think that Stephen Crane is trying to tell us that there is never any winner of wars and that Wars, even though they are fought for by the soldiers of two different countries, that there is no winners but just losers as people in conflicts - on both sides - will lose not just soldiers but innocent people who are caught in-between. I believe that Stephen Crane doesn't believe war is important when he goes over the fact that war isn't really worth fighting for but there is a level of sarcasm, in which Stephen Crane uses throughout the poem. He uses, which is also a powerful statement. 'Mother whose heart hung humble as a button on the bright splendid shroud of your son, do not weep. War is kind.' Stephen Crane clearly shows us that any glory or honor in battle has no effect to the family to whom they had lost a father, son, brother, uncle. I think Stephen Crane is trying to question the warfare for everyone and is trying to make people think about what war is really about.