The Gift of the Magi
O. Henry
William Sydney Porter
.
Born - September 11, 1862
Died - June 5, 1910
his pen name O. Henry
an American writer
Porter’s stories are known for their
naturalist observations, witty
narration, and surprise endings.
Famous works
“The Skylight Room”
“The Cop and the Anthem”
“After Twenty Years”
“One Thousand Dollars”
“The Last Leaf”
.
The story was initially published
in The New York World under the
title “Gifts of the Magi” on
December 10, 1905.
It was first published in book
form in the O. Henry collection
The Four Million in April 1906.
Characters
James “Jim” Dillingham Young ( 22)
Della Dillingham Young- Jim’s wife.
Sofronie - the owner and proprietor
of a hair goods shop.
Introduction
The gift of magi tells the story
of a young husband and wife
and how they deal with the
challenge of buying secret
Christmas gifts for each other
with very little money.
The Savings of Della
Della counts one dollar and
eighty seven cents.
This amount she has saved by
living in a miserly manner, by
bargaining with the grocer, the
vegetable men and the butcher.
The Savings of Della
She is disappointed with her
savings because next day will
be Christmas.
She dropped down on the
coach in despair and cried.
The couple’s poverty-stricken state
Their home is a poorly
furnished flat which cost them
8 dollar a week (rent)
A letter-box too small to hold a
letter.
There was an electric bell, but
it could not make a sound.
The couple’s poverty-stricken state
Jim and Della don’t have
adequate clothing for the
winter.
Jim had nothing to cover his
cold hands
Both looked very thin
.
His income had come down from
30 dollar per week to 20 dollar.
But still Della’s love for her
husband was as great as ever.
There was a name beside the door:
“Mr. James Dillingham Young.”
Two treasured possessions
The James Dillingham Youngs
were very proud of two things
which they owned.
One thing was Jim’s gold watch.
The other thing was Della’s hair.
Two treasured possessions
It had once belonged to his father.
And, long ago, it had belonged to
his father’s father.
Jim regarded his gold watch more
valuable than the treasures of
King Solomon
Two treasured possessions
The other thing was Della’s long
and beautiful hair.
Della considered her brown
rippling hair richer than all the
jewels of the Queen of Sheba
Della’s love for Jim
Della whirled from the window
and stood before the pier glass.
Her eyes shone and her face lost
the colour.
She pulled down her hair which
fell to its full length.
Della’s love for Jim
It reached below her knee and
made itself almost a garment
for her.
She made up her mind.
She decides to cut her hair and
sell it to buy Jim a present.
While Jim is at work, Della
.
put on her old brown jacket
and old brown hat.
She rushed out of home and
arrived at the shop of Mme
Sofronie
“Mme. Sofronie. Hair Goods
of All Kinds.”
She offers $20 for her hair.
Quietness and value
After her hair cut, Della shops for
two hours, She was going from one
shop to another, looking for the
perfect gift for Jim.
At last she came by platinum fob
chain that was worthy of Jim’s gold
watch. It cost her twenty one dollars.
Quietness and value
“It was like him. Quietness and
value—Jim and the chain both
had quietness and value.”
She paid twenty-one dollars for
it. And she hurried home with the
chain and eighty-seven cents.
“he’ll say I look like a girl who
.
sings and dances for money.”
Della waits anxiously for
Jim’s return that evening,
afraid that he will no longer
think that she’s pretty.
“Please God, make him think
I’m still pretty.”
The Couple’s sacrifice
Jim’s eyes fell on Della and
he is shocked. He kept
staring at her with a peculiar
expression on his face.
It was not anger, nor
surprise, nor anything she
had been ready for.
The couple’s sacrifice
Della was terrified.
Della tried to comfort him by
explaining that she had sold her
hair to buy him a present and
assures him that her hair will
grow back
To explain his strange reaction,
Jim hands Della a package.
The couple’s sacrifice
Della opened the package quickly and
excitedly. She was at first screamed
in joy and then she broke into tears.
The package contained a beautiful set
of combs made of tortoise shell.
she had admired many times in the
store window but never hoped to own
because of how expensive they were.
The couple’s sacrifice
Della excitedly hands Jim his present.
Della showed him the fob chain she
had bought for Jim.
She said how she searched every
shop to buy it which would suit so
excellently his gold watch.
She asked for the gold watch.
The couple’s sacrifice
Jim sat down on the couch and
asked Della to put away the
Christmas presents.
He had sold the gold watch to buy
the Christmas present for her.
So their presents were of no avail.
Jim asked her to give him his chops
and forget all about the presents.
Value of love
Both Della and Jim sacrificed
their most prized possession to
buy each other a Christmas gift
they knew the other would value.
The story ends with the narrator
reflecting on the significance of
Della and Jim’s sacrifice and the
depth of their love
The Gift of Magi – Gifts of love
The story ends with a
comparison of Jim and
Della’s gifts to the gifts that
the Magi, or three wise men,
gave to Baby Jesus
The Gift of Magi – Gifts of love
The narrator concludes that
Jim and Della are far wiser
than the Magi because their
gifts are gifts of love, and
those who give out of love and
self-sacrifice are truly wise
because they know the value
of self-giving love.
Themes
Poverty and shame,
The importance of generosity,
The selflessness
sacrifices
Selfless love
Beauty
Value
