The best Christmas Present in the world
characters
- Author - Michael Morpurgo
- Jim MacPherson - captain of the British army
- Connie - Jim MacPherson's wife
- Hans Wolf - Captain of the German army
Important places
- Junkshop at Bridport
- Connie's address - Mrs Jim MacPherson, 12 copper Beeches, Bridport, Dorset.
- Hans Wolf place - Dusseldorf.
- Connie's neighbour house number - 12
- Nursing homes - Burlington House, Dorchester Road.
Important points
- Michael Morpurgo bought the roll-top desk from a junk shop at Bridport.
- He struggled to open the last row of the desk.
- Inside there was a secret box having one letter
- The letter was tapped by cello tap
- Top of the cello type "Jim's last letter. Received January 25,1915. Buried with me when my last day comes"
- Due to curiosity, Michael Morpurgo open the letter and began to read it
- The letter was written by Jim MacPherson to her wife Mrs Jim MacPherson (Connie).
- The letter was about the two sides of the soldier from German and British
- Without any hate, they were celebrating their Christmas day celebration with two enemy country.
- After that Jim MacPherson died. So this was his last letter from Jim MacPherson to his wife Connie
- After Michael Morpurgo read this, he decided to hand over the letter to Mrs Jim MacPherson.
- The next morning he rushed to visit her home.
- But the house was burned with fire.
- With the help of the neighbourhood, he knows that she was in the nursing home at Dorchester.
- Finally, he reached there and gave the letter to Mrs Jim MacPherson.
- That day was Christmas. Except for Connie, all were celebrating their Christmas day.
- But when Michael Morpurgo handover the letter to Connie, she said that it was the best Christmas Present in the world.
Theme
The theme of this lesson is spreading love. The war cannot bring any peace to the people. Because when the war starts, most of the soldiers got injured. And both sides of the soldiers died during wartime. It's their duty to save the people, but when a soldier died in the war, just think about their family members, their family members may miss him as a father, husband, son, uncle, cousin etc., If a family without a family man (father) what would be a result of his family. Due to save the people's life they are ready to sacrifice their life. This is what we can see in this story "The Best Christmas in the World"
World War I happened during 1914 - 1918. It was happened between German and British. So both sides of the soldiers were hiding from their enemies. But when Christmas Day arrived, German soldiers were shown the white flag for peace to celebrating the Christmas party. At that time, all the soldiers were happily enjoyed the moments. Even though they both were enemies, they together enjoyed the Christmas party. The war didn't give peace between the two sides of the soldier, rather, they forget about the war and were celebrating the party. After the celebration, all soldiers were separated without willingness. The two sides of the soldiers became friends, but when the party finished they returned to their camp without enthusiasm. The World War was between German and British but the soldiers didn't want to fight with their German friends but they fought each other and died because of the Government.
Mrs Jim Macperson was the wife of Mr Jim Machperson. During World War I, as a captain of British, Mr Jim Machperson died. So his wife was in so much depression, her only relaxation was reading the letter by her husband. It was the last letter from him, so her wish wants to bury the letter with her, after her death. The soldier may die, but his family still alive and got depression.
