Mrs. Carole Borowski
Eng 1102
May 6, 2013 Gift of the Magi
“Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to (Albom).” In this essay I will take a look at O Henry’s background, his life experiences and how it reflects in his work, “The Gift of the Magi”. As I travel through O Henry’s life you will see how there was no life event he regretted. Nor did he allow his life’s challenges to overtake him. If anything he used those challenges as opportunities to excel in his writing career. In his writings he is able to take all that he had experienced and learned by showing people in their ordinary form, just as he sketched the customers at his uncle’s drugstore.
William Sydney Porter, an American writer from North Carolina is better known as O Henry (Langford). He is known to have changed his name twice. The first time he changed the spelling of his middle name from Sidney to Sydney (Langford). The second was after trying several pen names, he settled on O Henry. The final name changed occurred after he had gone to jail for robbery, though he persisted he was innocent (Langford). It was his hope, once he changed his name, he would be able to forget the embarrassing ordeal he had faced. O Henry was not immune to suffering. “At age three he lost his mother to tuberculosis” (Langford). Growing up he was an avid reader, reading everything from the classics to comics.
O Henry several early years of career accomplishments. He worked for his uncle at his drugstore, where he later became a druggist (Langford). While working he would display a real talent of sketching his patrons. He later moved to Texas where he became a sheep shepherd, ranch hand, cook and baby-sitter on a ranch (Langford). After leaving the ranch he settled in Austin where he took on several other jobs. Going back to what he knew best, he once again became a pharmacist; later he took on jobs as a draftsman, bank teller and journalist. As a pastime he wrote stories for a hobby. His artistic talents were growing in other areas as well. He showed is talents by singing with a quartet, acting with several drama groups and becoming a musician by playing the guitar and mandolin.
As mentioned earlier, O Henry was no a stranger to suffering. After marrying Athol Estes, he suffered yet another loss when his son died after birth. He later would have a daughter, Margaret Worth Porter. After many years he would lose his wife also to tuberculosis, just as he had his mother (Langford). However, before this would happen O Henry worked for the First National Bank of Austin, as a teller. He had the misfortune of not keeping accurate books, resulting in an accusation of him embezzling funds from the bank and being fired. Though they could not definitively prove it, he was not charged with a crime at that time. While working at the bank he also worked at The Rolling Stone. When he was relieved of his position with the bank, he then went to The Rolling Stone full time. “The Rolling Stone featured satire on life, people and politics and included Porter's short stories and sketches” (O. Henry). This may be the starting of his illustrious writing style. When The Rolling Stone closed their doors O Henry moved his family to Houston, where he wrote for the Houston Post. When federal auditors audited the First National Bank of Austin it was determined there was a shortage in funds and a federal indictment was issued causing O Henry to be arrested and charged with embezzlement (Langford).
In his short story “The Gift of the Magi”, O Henry did not fail to provide his mastery for surprise endings. Even in the selection of the title, one can see how O Henry would use Magi to describe a foretelling in the story. Magi have been described as “the ability to read the stars and manipulate the fate that the stars foretold (Return of the Medes: An Analysis of Iranian History).” The short story portrays the level of unselfish act two people would go through for love and sacrifice. It is based on a husband and wife wanted desperately to get each other a Christmas gift. This is not uncommon for people who are in love. I assume O Henry had the same kind of love for his wife when he fired the bank. Because of the need to provide for his family he made a sacrifice of moving them to Houston to ensure they would not go hungry.
The husband and wife having no real possessions sold the only item they had of any value and took pride in owning. The husband, James, had a gold watch handed down from his grandfather, to his father and then to him. His wife, Della, had the most magnificent, graceful long hair, reaching down to her knees (). We can see from their actions, how they relate to how O Henry took on various jobs to provide for his family. He was willing to do whatever it took for the love of his family and for providing for their happiness. The ironic twist to the story is after they each sold their possessions to purchased items for the other’s precious possessions not knowing they had sold them. James had purchased a hair combs for Della’s hair, while Della purchased a chain for James watch.
O Henry brought out a humorous twist to the story by showing there was no regret felt by James and Della, only that they were wise in giving and receiving gifts from each other even though they no longer possessed the items they once owned. They sold them for love and the happiness on their spouse’s face to receive a present on Christmas. As O Henry showed the story portrays love without any boundaries. This twist relates to O Henry’s life because thought he had to spend three years in jail for his charges of embezzlement, which I can imagine were a difficult time since he had fled to Honduras to evade capture; his writing career moved to another level of distinction. I’m sure even though he wanted to forget those trying times he had suffered losses, they also helped to cultivate his writing style. Today O Henry’s writings are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings (Henry). I can also see where he used the female femininity a sign of great influence. Though he had loss both his mother and wife to the same disease, he showed their strength and femininity in the representation of Della’s hair.

Works Cited
Mirwaisi, Hamma F. Return of the Medes: An Analysis of Iranian History. Tucson: Wheatmark, 2010. XXVIII. Book.
Albom, Mitch. Get quotes daily Sign in with Facebook Sign in . New Your: Hyperion Books, 2003. Book.
Henry, O. O Henry Biography & Works. Anaheim: Golgotha Press, 2010. Book.
Henry, Ossuab. The Gift of the Magi; . MobileReference, 2009.
Langford, Gerald. Alias O. Henry: A biography of William Sidney Port. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1983. Book.
X.J. Kennedy & Dana Gioia (2012). Backpack Literature