The Gift of the Magi - Analysis

The Gift of the Magi

-      O. Henry

“The Gift of the Magi” is a well-known short story by O. Henry. The original name of the author is William Sydney Porter. This story was first published in1905.

The story narrates the life of a young married couple James who is known as Jim and Della Dillingham. The couple lives in a modest apartment. They have only two valuable possessions: Jim's gold pocket watch that belonged to his grandfather and Della's long hair that falls almost to her knees.

It is Christmas Eve. Della wants to buy Jim a Christmas present. But, she has only $1.87. When Della looks at herself in the mirror, she suddenly gets an idea. She sells her hair for $20.00. With that money, she buys a platinum chain for $21.00. She is very happy about the present. She thinks that the chain will add beauty to his watch.

When Jim comes home from work, he stares at Della. She prays to God that he should not find the absence of her hair at first sight. She admits that she sold her hair to buy his present. Before she can give it to him, however, Jim pulls a package out of his overcoat pocket and gives it to her. Inside, Della finds a pair of costly decorative hair combs that she admired once. But, they are now completely useless since she has cut off the hair. Hiding her tears, she holds out her gift for Jim- the watch chain. Jim tells Della that he has sold his watch to buy her present. He asks her to forget about the presents and enjoy the Christmas eve saying “They’re too nice to use just at present”.

The story ends with a comparison of Jim and Della's gifts to the gifts that the Magi, the three wise men who visited Baby Jesus. The narrator concludes that Jim and Della are far wiser than the Magi because their gifts are gifts of love. Those who give out of love and self-sacrifice are truly the wisest since they know the value love. Their deed is nothing but, as the writer says, “generosity added to love”.

The Gift of the Magi is a classic example of irony in literature. The author ends the story with a twist which surprises the readers. Thus, O. Henry illustrates true love in the story “Gift of the Magi”.