Compare and Contrast Gift of the Magi and The Necklace
Deanna Pennington
Eng125 Journey into Literature
Instructor Carter
September 28, 2014

There are many differences in The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry and The Diamond Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant, there are also various similarities. Some of the similarities include being set around the same time of year, winter, both set at the turn of century, both couples have the same economic situation, both couples love each other, both couples made sacrifices and the pride shown in both stories. The differences are what stands out the most, Mathilde is selfish and only thinks of herself, Della and instead of just bemoaning their lack of funds figure out a ways to get each other a gift for Christmas, Mathilde lies to her friend about the necklace. Although there are many similarities and differences, these are just a few.
Both stories are set in the winter, this is made obvious in both stories by certain passages. In The Gift of the Magi we know that Della is trying to by a Christmas gift for Jim. “One dollar and eighty seven cent. And the next day would be Christmas” (Henry, 1906). In The Diamond Necklace, we are left to draw the conclusion that it is winter with the date of the ball being January 18th. “The Minister of Public Instruction and Madame Ramponneau request the honor of M. and Madame Loisel at the palace of the Ministry on Monday evening January 18th” (de Maupassant, 1884). The time of year in The Gift of the Magi is told to the reader in the first passage, whereas the time of year in The Diamond Necklace is alluded to by the invitation that is given to Monsieur Loisel for the ball.
The Gift of the Magi and The Diamond Necklace are both set at the turn of the century. The short stories were written in 1906 Gift of the Magi and 1884 The Diamond Necklace. This conclusion was reached based