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Two Thanksgiving Gentlemen by O. Henry

l. Think Before You Read

Answer the following questions:

  1. What is a tradition? What are some traditions in your family?
  1. Do you think traditions are important? Why or why not?
  1. What do you know about the American holiday of Thanksgiving?
  1. Have you ever pretended to be happy to please someone else? Why or why not?

2.Story Preview

Read the preview of the story and try to guess what the story will be about.

Stuffy Pete is one of the two main characters in “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen.” His nickname is “Stuffy” because he stuffs himself with food at every opportunity. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have many opportunities to do this because he is poor - so poor that he wears torn, ragged clothes. For the last nine years, however, the Old Gentleman, the other main character in the story, has taken Stuffy to a restaurant on Thanksgiving Day. The Old Gentleman enjoys paying for Stuffy’s dinner and watching Stuffy enjoy his feast.
The Old Gentleman is a philanthropist who gets pleasure from giving to someone less fortunate than himself. He and Stuffy Pete see each other only on Thanksgiving Day for their traditional dinner. This story is about a Thanksgiving Day that turns out to be unusual for both of them.

I predict that the story will be about…

3. Vocabulary Comprehension

Match each vocabulary word in the left column with the correct definition on the right. Write the letter of the definition in the space provided.

______1. wheezea. brave

______2. proudb. stopped

______3. annualc. breathe with difficulty

______4. splitd. weakness or death due to lack of food

______5. feaste. fill something too full

______6. shiverf. old and not in good shape

______7. starvationg. large, luxurious home

______8. valianth. stuck out, pushed out

______9. wane i. divided into two or more parts

______10. ceasedj. shake because of feeling cold

______11. patriotk. torn and in bad condition

______12. raggedl. a person who loves his or her country

______13. decayedm. large, delicious meal

______14. bulgedn. once a year

______15. stuffo. weaken

______16. Mansionp. feeling satisfaction for something you possess or have achieved

4. Comprehension Questions

Directions: For each question below, make sure to support your responses with specific textual evidence from the story.

  1. What is Stuffy Pete’s tradition on Thanksgiving and how long has he been doing it?
  2. Closely examine paragraph four and five. Using the details from these paragraphs, make an inference as to why Stuffy Pete might keep returning to this same bench every Thanksgiving Day for 9 years.
  3. In paragraph six locate the line that describes “kind Salvation fingers.” What might this phrase mean?
  4. In paragraph six, what kind of connotation does “ragged” evoke?
  5. In paragraph six, describe what Pete has just done. Look carefully, too, at the two similes in this paragraph and incorporate their meanings into your response.
  6. In paragraph seven, what tradition do these old ladies practice on Thanksgiving? Why?
  7. Using page one and the two lines at the top of page two, what clues have been given that imply that Stuffy Pete is probably poor or disadvantaged?
  8. In paragraph eight, in the last sentence of this paragraph, what emotions is Pete experiencing?
  9. In paragraph ten, what is the Old Gentleman’s tradition on Thanksgiving Day?
  10. In paragraph twelve, how has the Old Gentleman changed since last year?
  11. In paragraph fourteen and fifteen, how does the Old Gentleman interact with Stuffy Pete? How is this interaction part of the tradition? Do you think this interaction adds meaning or takes away meaning from the tradition? Why?
  12. In paragraph fifteen, why is Stuffy Pete practically in tears?
  13. Looking at paragraph fifteen and sixteen, why might the Old Gentleman want someone, like a son, to carry on this tradition he has started for Thanksgiving Day?
  14. After examining paragraph seventeen, with this background on the Old Gentleman, what inference can you make about why this Thanksgiving tradition might have such importance to him?
  15. Using the details in paragraph eighteen, what details in these lines reveal how important this day and this meeting is to the old man?
  16. Using details from paragraph twenty, what does Pete believe about the importance of the old man’s tradition?
  17. Looking at paragraph twenty one, what is another aspect to this yearly tradition?
  18. At the start of paragraph twenty three, with this simile, what does it show about the old man’s attitude about this tradition?
  19. Using details in paragraph twenty four, in what way is Pete acting like a hero? Why is he eating the meal when he is already so stuffed he feels sick?
  20. During and after the meal how did the two men interact?
  21. Looking again at the similes in paragraph twenty seven, what just happened to Pete?
  22. The events at the end of the story are an example of situational irony—when the last thing the reader expects to happen, happens. What has happened to the old man? What does the reader learn about his sacrifice in order to be able to buy a meal for Pete on Thanksgiving Day?

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