william sydney porter

The love and generosity in The Gift of the Magi- O.HenryWilliam Sydney Porter was the real name of the American short-story writer О.Henry.. The Gift of the Magi is about a young married

The love and generosity in The Gift of the Magi- O.Henry

William Sydney Porter was the real name of the American short-story writer О.Henry Henry was very famous and popular in his day, and he is often referred to as the father of the modern short story He had a very inventive mind and made plots from the most commonplace things In rapid-moving prose, he developed his stories imaginatively and skillfully, keeping readers wondering about the outcome, which was always a surprise

The Gift of the Magi is one of О Henry’s best-known works It was first published

in a New York City newspaper in 1905 In 1906, it was published as part of The Four Million, a collection of stories

The Gift of the Magi is about a young married couple and how they deal with the

challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money The central idea in this story is the love between Della and Jim and the sacrifices that they make to please each other

Della and her husband Jim live in a meager flat They are very poor materially but not poor spiritually They are generous lovers and the love, care and sacrificed they show

to each other is beyond doubt and beyond limit In order to buying gift for each other,

they sold their own treasures- Jim’s golden watch would be the envy of King Solomon

and Della's hair said to be so gorgeous that it would inspire envy in the Queen of Sheba

As the story opens, Della is counting her money, one dollar and eighty-seven cents That is all and sixty cents of it is in pennies Pennies saved one and two at a time

by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheek burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied Della loves her husband more than anything else in the whole world Plus, she positively needs to buy him the perfect Christmas present with $1.87 She stands by the window and crying She looked at her reflection in the glass and makes the decision to sell her hair Through the

window she also sees a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard The “gray” was likely a reflection Della’s situation, gloomy and depressing

With 20 dollars from the sale of her plus her one dollar, Della buys a platinum fob chain for Jim It was like him, quietness and value After buying chain, she hurries home with 87 cents She is afraid that Jim will not love her with short hair but happy with her act of love However, she don not realize that Jim has already sold his treasured watch to buy a Christmas gift for her, a beautiful combs

When Jim goes home, he does not seem to react well: he stares at Della and cannot seem to process that her hair is gone He is not angry with Della, so much as simply shocked When Della opens Jim's present to find the combs, we understand why Jim is so shocked He assures her he will love her no matter how she looks

When he sees his gift from Della and says “They're too nice to use just at present

I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.” His statement seems a natural

commentary on the uselessness of the gifts since their intended purpose has been ironically removed

However, Jim’s remark is also a comment on the value of the gifts They are too nice not only because of the money they represent but also because of the sacrificial love they represent Self-sacrifice in the name of love is the greatest gift

The coincidence of Della and Jim’s thoughts and actions is the irony of life in The gift of the Magi Jim and Della in the stories try to show their love, care They sell their

personal treasure in order to enhance the treasure of the other Della sells her hair in order

to buy a watch chain for Jim’s only valuable inheritance Jim sells his watch in order to enhance Della’s crowning glory The narrator of the story comments on their actions by

saying “And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.” Their gift of love and generosity turns to be

unacceptable to the other but they feel happy with their thoughts and actions

The Gift of the Magi teaches the meaning of true love: Della and Jim love each

other more than they love themselves, for they are willing to sacrifice the object of which they are proudest her hair and his watch in order to buy something which they hope will please the other For this reason O.Henry states that, paradoxically, "these two

foolish children in a flat" are the "wisest of all who give gifts," wiser than the Magi who brought expensive gifts to the baby Jesus because they brought of themselves; they

gave of their hearts Jim and Della are wise because they realize that their love is far more important than any material gift