Love is a powerful feeling and when you are in love there is not anything you would not do or sacrifice to see a smile on their face and happiness in their eyes. Almost everyone can relate to the main characters wanting to find that perfect present. O. Henry’s short story The Gift of the Magi is about love and reveals to the reader the sacrifices one will make for the one they love. The story shows its readers the true meaning of love.
O. Henry’s story The Gift of the Magi tells the story of a poor couple in love, Della and Jim. They live in a shabby, little flat. The story starts with Della wanting to buy Jim a present but doesn’t have enough money. She loves her long hair. It is one of the two things that the couple prides themselves on, the other is Jim’s watch. Della decides to sell her hair to pay for a watch chain for Jim’s watch. Jim comes home later and sees Della’s short hair and is puzzled by the change in her appearance. He then shows her the present he bought her, the hair combs she had wanted for her long hair. He sold his watch earlier to pay for the combs. Della then gives him his present, the chain for his watch. They decided to put their presents away and eat.
There are several themes that radiate throughout the story love, wealth, and sacrifice. The theme represents the idea of the story (Clugston, 2010). The first theme would be the most obvious, love. Della and Jim may not have much and are poor but they had love. The love they share is the most important thing they have. The love they have for one another is what allowed them to sacrifice possessions that are meaningful to them so the other can have a gift.
Another theme that was shown throughout would be sacrifice. They both end up selling their most prized possessions to buy the other a Christmas present. O. Henry shows us how Della goes into the decision of selling her hair for Jim's watch chain. Jim also had to decide to give up his prized family heirloom watch, so Della would have the combs for her beautiful long hair. This shows how true love sometimes is about sacrifice.
The final theme that can be found in the story is wealth. Wealth is measured by how much something means to someone, not the price tag of it. Della found wealth in her beautiful long hair. She took pride the appearance of her hair. Jim also found wealth in his watch. It was an old watch but he loved to show it off. They also had wealth in the love they had together. Even though they were poor, they felt wealthy in love.
The symbolism in a story has a literal identity but also stands for something else (Clugston, 2010). The symbolism is shown in many ways in the story. Della’s hair can symbolize beauty. She took pride in having long hair. Jim’s watch represents time and family. His watch was an heirloom and the time they have together. The combs and watch chain symbolism the love both Della and Jim have for one another and the sacrifices they made to make the other happy.
The setting of the story is the time or place and sets boundaries around the actions and defines the environment in which the conflicts and developments of the characters are seen (Clugston, 2010). The setting takes place on Christmas Eve in a modest flat with a shabby little couch. The dreariness of the surroundings make the love they have stand out like a flower in the snow, “She stood by the window and looked out dully at the gray cat walking the gray fence in a gray backyard.”(Henry, O. 1906).
The literary elements symbolism and setting have effects on the narrative theme of the story. The symbolism help bring out feelings and emotions of the love the couple share. It also helps the reader feel the joy Della felt to be able to find a way to get the gift through her sacrifice, “With a whirl of shirts and with brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street.” (Henry, O. 1906). The “gray” outside world and shabby, modest home only showed the importance the couple placed on their love. It showed their love in a bright light and that their flat was full of love and happiness. The poverty in which they lived forced them to have to make sacrifices.
The Gift of the Magi was a great short story from O. Henry. It has special meaning to me since it reminds me of how it was when my husband and I first were married. I had to sell my grandmother’s ring so my husband would have gas to get to work. The ending showed how through their sacrifice they grew together. They put the presents away and ate dinner. They were appreciative for the gifts even if they could not use them. The most important element to take away from this story is the importance of unselfish sacrifice, which is the greatest present one can give another.
References
Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey Into Literature. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc
Hafiz Ahmad, B. (2012). DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE GIFT OF THE MAGI (Smith’s Discourse Modes). Academic Research International, (1), 686.
