The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry - Essay Example

Introduction to Literature College: The story d The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry is about a young couple who want to buy each other Christmas present but are desperately short of money. To buy a chain for her husband’s watch, Della cuts and sells her beautiful hair, while Jim sells his watch to buy jeweled combs for his wife. There are several themes in this short story. The first one is the theme of love which knows no bounds. The second theme deals with sacrifice as both the husband as wife sacrifice their most valuable possessions to buy each other gifts.

Also, among the themes of the story is the one of wealth, although it is not material but rather spiritual wealth, that is, love. There is a number of literary elements and techniques in the story that help reveal its theme. The first of them is the story’s setting. The author gives quite a detailed description of the character’s apartment: it is cheap, scarcely furnished, with a tiny mirror and broken doorbell and mailbox. Overall, the place is rather dull, gray and even miserable; it helps understand the poverty the young family lives in and contrasts with their rich and warm inner world as well as the atmosphere of Christmas.

In addition to this, the use of repetitions helps illustrate the themes of the story. For example, the repetition of the phrase “one dollar and eighty-seven cents” highlights the character’s desperation and hopelessness; the same atmosphere is created through the repetition of the adjective “gray”: “She […] looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.” (O. Henry, n. d.) Finally, the allusions to the Bible (King Salomon and Queen of Sheba) reveal how the characters feel about their possessions and once again highlight the importance of their sacrifices.

References O. Henry. The gift of the magi (1st ed.). Retrieved from http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Henry/Gift_Magi.pdf