Gift of Love: Jim and Della's Sacrificial Christmas Gifts - Essay Sample

Introduction

Authors use different literary elements to make their writing more enjoyable by providing details that describe the scene vividly. Language is used to elevate the story. O. Henry published “The Gift of the Magi” on December, 10, 1905. The story takes place in New York City around Christmas season about a young couple, Jim, and Della as the make sacrifices for each other to buy Christmas gifts. As the story unfolds, both sell their most valuable possessions to pay for a gift for the other person. As they unfold must be delivered in a way that creates anticipation or suspense in the reader to want to read more. The storyline must be delivered in a way that makes it more interesting to read. Therefore, the plot makes a viable literary element for fictional stories. This paper discusses the theme as the most important narrative in “The Gift of the Magi” because it illustrates selflessness, poverty, and generosity in the short story.

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Throughout the fictional story, O. Henry creates a lot of tension in the narrative by depicting a kind of action with the clock ticking. The main characters, Jim and Della, are dirt poor, and Christmas is near. However, Della is in desperation, wanting to get Jim a gift (Gale 3). The sense of urgency is represented in the story, which gets the narrative going. This way, the reader's attention is grabbed as a need to know what Della will do arises. The problem she must solve seems insoluble. Shockingly, Jim is also desperately looking for ways that he can get Della a gift of something that she has always wanted. The introduction of the story shows an environment of ticking clock as the couple needs to hurry in making their wishes come true. This makes the reader become sympathetic to the couple that is in a desperate crisis and has no means to makes things work out. The irony is used throughout the story. The plot of this story is set out from the introduction to the rising and then falling action and finishes with the resolution between the couple. Della has only $1.87, which she had saved from her careful spending and wants to get Jim, her husband, a gift for Christmas. The couple lives in difficulty, spending only $20, and $8 are used to pay rent for their apartment. Form the condition of their apartment, the picture painted is that they are poor. There is a shabby little couch, the doorbell is broken, and their carpet is worn out. Della is in a dilemma situation, but she knows what to do that is important for them both. She loves her husband dearly and wants to get him something special, but she is discouraged by the lack of money. She cries on the couch, gets up, dries her tears, and stares out from the window (Henry 2).

In pursuit of a solution, Della develops an idea. She turns her attention in the mirror. She unties her long, beautiful, and knee-length hair. It is the most prized thing she has. The author describes it as "rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters." After a while, she puts it back up quickly, and she seems nervous. She hesitates for a short while, and tears roll out her eyes. She puts on her jacket and hat and leaves the house determined and with a sparkle in her eyes. She goes to a shop and meets the proprietor who is Madame Sofronie, and asks her if she would buy her hair. The proprietor asks Della to remove her hat so she could examine the nose. After examining it, she offers $20. Della agrees to the price, and the proprietor cuts it off (Henry 3). Della now has enough money that she would use to buy a unique gift that is worthy of her husband. She spends two happy hours going from store to store in search of the present. She finds a gold watch chain, dignified and made. Arriving home, she fixes up her short hair and is worried about what Jim may say. She makes coffee and prepares dinner while she waits for Jim to come home (Henry 5). Around seven O’clock, she hears Jim’s footsteps. She panics and prays that her husband would still like her. When Jim gets into the house, he stares at her with an expression on his face that is not clear. Della is terrified by this even though Jim does not show anger, surprise, horror, disapproval, or any sentiments that she was prepared for. She walks to him and asks him not to look at her in such an odd way. She explains that she sold her hair to get him a Christmas gift and that it would grow back quickly (Henry 6). Jim is in disbelief as he keeps asking her if she cut her hair. Della gives Jim his Christmas gift and asks for Jim’s watch to see how the chain would look on it (Henry 6). Jim sits on the couch and tells Della that they need to put their gifts away for some time. Afterward, he explains that he had sold his watch to get the combs that she needed for her hair.

The outcome is that both Della and Jim had sold their most valued possessions to get gifts for each other. The gifts are now useless because the treasured things that they were meant for are no longer with them. As a result, Jim suggests that they should put their gifts away at that moment because they were too lovely for use (Henry 6). Jim and Della are both unduly upset about the irony and confusion that had happened, although O. Henry explains why. The narrator points out that the two have sacrificed for each other the treasures that they had in the most unwise ways. Love is expressed as the intangible gift that they have for each other. The narrator says that this makes the two the wisest people of all, and refers to them as the magi.

The story is a classic Christmas story. It shows how important the gift of love is over any material gift that one can give to another person. Della and Jim make universal types of characters that are developed highly (Null 6). They are young individuals who are struggling with their life financially and still want to show their love towards each other through the Christmas gifts. The Author, however, does not develop these characters beyond this point. These are the only characteristics he provides (Kalelioglu, 814). For instance, he suggests that the couple had recently moved to New York City and that the husband, Jim Young, is a career professional but does not go into details concerning his career. The readers would not know which particular career Jim was aspiring to. Such characteristics would have made the characters to be more individual, unique, and stand out. Instead, they are presented as types, characters who would represent anyone in any career. They could have come from anywhere, either the south or Midwest. Jim could be someone kind or easily grumpy, an ambitious man, or just someone who is trying to make things happen.

The first sentences of the fictional story, “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all.” are meant to grab the attention of the reader (Henry 1). As the first paragraph ends, the story of Jim and Della is revealed. The couple is desperately separately planning to get Christmas gifts despite the financial challenges they are facing. As the story unfolds, the narrator tells the characters and the situation they are in. The thoughts of Della and her actions are the first ones to appear (DJ3B1 25). Then later, the efforts of Jim. The story begins by an introduction, a rising action where both are determined to get gifts, the falling action when the gifts become useless and the resolution in the end when they agree to put their gifts away and move on with what they had the gift of love, which the author describes as magi.

The story brings out different themes to the learner. Some of the ideas are love, poverty, irony, and wisdom, as well as foolishness between the characters (Banerjee 8). The main characters in the story are Jim and Della. Such themes are more elucidated as they appear in the course of the story as the reader reads and meditate about it.

Love is the most prominent theme in the story. Love is much shown between Della and Jim (Henry 9). They are consenting to part their beloved possessions for making each other in a happy situation hence demonstrating that material poverty can be neglected where there is a wealth of love between the two couples (Newman 8). Such is identified where Jim and Della try to give up their dearest possessions to purchase a special gift to each other.

In the couple's life, a theme of poverty is identified. At the beginning of the story, poverty is defined where Della is in much want to purchase her husband a Christmas present (Newman 6). The problem comes in where she finds that she has no enough money to obtain such a gift, for they are weak.

The irony is where the actual outcome differs significantly from what is expected. In the story, irony comes in where both the two couple tries to make each other fully enjoy by buying a gift to one another (Eggert 16). The two have a plan of selling what they possess, yet neither of them expects that the other has the same sacrifice. The irony, therefore, works in both a practical as well as on an emotional level (Null 6). Purchasing of each other a gift according to their status ultimately reflects financially foolish. As they are weak, they should not afford to make such a waste of money on tips.

Works Cited

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Eggert, Marijke. Is the short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry still relevant today?: An analysis of the major themes love, sacrifice and wisdom and the ‘O. Henry twist’. GRIN Verlag, 2012: 15-20. https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk00DlXF2EabuKW6QEEnKaq2Bo5La6w:1589524306579&q=Eggert,+Marijke.+Is+the+short+story+The+Gift+of+the+Magi+by+O.+Henry+still+relevant+today?:+An+analysis+of+the+major+themes+love,+sacrifice+and+wisdom+and+the+O.+Henry+twist.+GRIN+Verlag,+2012:+15-20.&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwih2p69n7XpAhUlAmMBHX1aASIQgwN6BAgLEAE

Gale, Cengage Learning. A study guide for O. Henry's" The Gift of the Magi". Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qk0vDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT4&dq=The+gift+of+the+magi+summary&ots=_Z7Woabllk&sig=doYMfCvgkglqzFayPJjLuM0v2IA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20gift%20of%20the%20magi%20summary&f=false

Henry, O. "UNIT ONE THE GIFT OF THE MAGI." 8-16 http://cdsonla.edu.vn/knn/attachments/article/123/1.%20Trich%20giang%20van%20hoc%20anh.pdfHenry, Oh. The Gift of the Magi. Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., 1978. https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/1-the_gift_of_the_magi_0.pdf

Kalelioglu, Murat. "Multidisciplinary approach to the texts: Semiotic analysis of the process of meaning construction in O. Henry’s the Gift of the Magi." (2018). http://acikerisim.artuklu.edu.tr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12514/345/Multidisciplinary%20Approach%20to%20the%20Texts%20Semiotic%20Analysis%20of%20the%20Process%20of%20Meaning%20Construction%20in%20O.%20Henry%E2%80%99s%20The%20Gift%20of%20the%20Magi.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Newman, Cory. "Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread by Don Robertson and The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry the authors spotlight the theme of love through the use of symbols, style, plot, and other elements of literature to convey their message. Cleverly placed throughout The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread, Robertson uses certain physical items to symbolize the many different kinds of love in the novel. At the." (2014): 6-8. http://home.ubalt.edu/students/id81ij44/short/Portfolio/Writing/Whats%20Love.pdf

Null, Peggy McMorries. The gift of the magi: a tagmemic analysis. Diss. Kansas State University, (1971): 6-7. http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/7704/LD2668R41971N84.pdf?sequence=1...