English 1102
“The Gift of the Magi”
“The Gift of the Magi” is a very touching story written by O’Henry. This story is often told during the Christmas season and teaches the true meaning of gift giving. The main characters in the story are Jim and Della. They are a very poor married couple that lives in a ragged flat with only two prized possessions. Della's beautiful, brown, knee-length hair is one of the two great prized possessions of the poor couple. Her hair was gorgeous and she loved it. The other is Jim's gold watch that was passed down from his grandfather and father. Jim also loved his watch. The story opens with Della counting one dollar and eighty seven cents. It is one day before Christmas and she wants to buy her husband Jim a gift. She cries hysterically because there was not enough money to buy a gift. The story continues as Della walks to the mirror and gains her composure. She looks at her hair, pulls it back, and walks out of the door. Della walks to Madame Sofronie's hair goods shop, and she sells her hair for twenty dollars. She now has twenty-one dollars and eighty seven cents. After Della sells her hair, she goes to several different stores looking for Jim’s gift. She looks for several hours until she finds the perfect gift. The gift she finds seems to be made perfectly for Jim’s watch. Della finds a platinum fob chain. As soon as she saw the chain she knew it was perfect. The chain seemed to be like Jim with its quietness and value. The new chain would replace the old leather strap Jim had on his gold watch. Della paid twenty-one dollars for the chain. She ran home with eighty seven cents. When Della made it home she began to curl her very short hair. She thought she looked like a little schoolboy and wondered what Jim’s reaction would be. By 7pm, Della had made the coffee and had the stove ready to cook dinner. It was time for Jim to come home, and Della waited by the door. To Della’s surprise, Jim made it home late. When Jim finally walked into the door, he looked at Della. He stared at her for a very long time. Della began to beg him not to be upset. She continued to tell him how and why she sold her hair. She tells him that it will grow back and that she did it for love. Jim continuously asked, "You've cut off your hair?" After Jim comes out of his state of shock, he gives Della her present and explains that she would soon understand his reaction. As Della opens the gift, she is very happy then she begins to cry. Jim had bought her a set of fancy combs that she had always wanted. She cries because she realized that she cannot use them because she cut her hair. Jim holds Della as she cries. Eventually, Della gives Jim his gift. Jim sits on the couch and tells Della that he sold his watch to buy her combs. They put their gifts away and have dinner. In the end, the narrator tells the reader that the magi were wise men, who invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Since they were wise, their gifts must have been wise too. The theme of this story is all about love and sacrifice. The couple displays the measure of true love and sacrifice. The reader learns that love is the greatest gift of all. The author shows the reader how even though the couple was poor; they both gave their most important possession to make their spouse happy. Love is the most important aspect of this story. The author shows the reader that true love is not dependent on riches. The reader learns how much this couple really loves each other. In the conclusion, the story shows the reader what it truly means to be rich. This story is a perfect example of situational irony because neither the characters nor the reader knows what will happen next in the story. As the reader reads the story, he or she is surprised as the story unfolds. The gifts that they sold each had something to do with what they had gotten each other. While reading the story, the reader knows that Della has cut her hair to buy a gift for Jim. The reader does not know until the end that Jim is out doing the same thing. In the end, Della finds herself with beautiful hair combs but no hair to comb. Jim finds himself with a grand chain and fob for his pocket watch but no pocket watch to attach them to. They both wanted to give each other a very meaningful Christmas present. Each person selling something that was very valuable to them shows irony in “The Gift of the Magi”.