Return to English III Block 4B

by Matt Bruggeman, Breanna Maskel, Stephen Hunt, Kevin Sterling 

     Many critics agree, “The Gift of the Magi” is, in all respects, an amazing and one of a kind story. One critic says, “Ironically, Fagin arrives at something utterly crucial to the success of 'The Gift of the Magi': that it has everything—an absorbing (if short) narrative drive and a twist ending that makes it wholly original” (Korb). Even renowned critic, Rena Korb, agrees; O.Henry did an excellent job with this story. Though O. Henry wrote many great stories, one of his most famous, and favorite, stories of all time is “The Gift of the Magi.” “The gift of the Magi” is a classic about a couple who sacrifices their happiness for the other. It is one of Henry’s most popular stories by far; even being remade many times. Such a popular story must have a powerful base with which to explain its message. That message is incorporated quite well into a few major themes; though, many different themes were used in this story. These themes ranged from materialism, generosity and love to more subtle undertones like selflessness and poverty. Of course, the most prominent is materialism; though, Henry goes to great lengths to show such a complex theme to his audience. He uses excellent literary devices like setting, conflict, creative syntax, and even figurative language all to his advantage. O. Henry uses many different, complex, literary elements to portray these different themes in “The Gift of the Magi.”

     In “The Gift of the Magi,” Mrs. James Dillingham Young, Della, is the main round, static protagonist that is driven to make a difficult decision in order to buy her husband a Christmas gift that is worthy of him. Della is a round character because she does show many different sides. In the beginning of the story, it reads: “There was clearly nothing to do but flop down and… howl. So Della did it” (Henry). When she realized she had so little money, she was rather upset and cried about it. O. Henry included two more quotes, “ Her eyes were shining brilliantly….” and “…it terrified her,” to show that her emotions changed many times. Della's emotions went from being sad, to being hopeful of getting money, and then to terrified that she would no longer be accepted by Jim. Though Della's emotions change, Della is still static overall. Without being directly stated in the story, it is shown that Della loves Jim in the beginning and also loves him at the end. Della even went to lengths of having her hair cut off in order to please him with a great gift. Throughout the entire story, hints are displayed, telling the reader that Della loves Jim (Henry). A major show of this being that she cut her hair off just to get him a good present. Critic Rena Korb talks about the sacrifice of goods stating, “convey… unselfish sacrifices we make for those we love…. Not sentimental, but universal truth” (“The Gift of the Magi”). Interpreted, this means that people give up things close to themselves in order to please people they love. Everybody does it, so nobody can say that they have not, or would not. Della is no different. Also, since there is no concrete proof of these feelings, it leads to the realization that there is indirect characterization and also sort of shows that the story is not driven to characterize the people. “The Gift of the Magi” is a plot driven story, not a character driven one (“The Gift of the Magi"). The entire goal of Della's is to get Jim a good Christmas present. She sells her hair to get the money. With that money, she then bought him a chain for his prized watch. She gave up her most prized possession to give him something special for his. Della is driven simply by the need to please her love and this is the object of the entire story. For every protagonist, in this case, the not-so-elaborate Della, there is an antagonist and for the purpose of this story, the antagonist is society and it works very hard to make sure Della does not achieve her goal.

     In this story the main antagonist is, unexpectedly, society. Generally, society will only show the same values; therefore, it is a flat character. In this instance, society’s main characteristic is the emphasis on materialism. For example, often in the text possessions were referenced as a point of interest. In the beginning of the story, when the author, O.Henry, was developing the setting, he made specific mention of a plaque in the vestibule, “now when the income has shrunk to 20$, the letters of ‘Dillingham’ looked blurred, as though they were thinking seriously contracting to a modest, unassuming D….” (Henry). This passage explains how the couple was considering shrinking the size of their plaque in order to save money. Society in itself is static; it never changes and never will. Materialism is an overlying plot throughout the story. Even in the end the couple thought gifts were a measure of love. Della said after giving Jim his gift, “isn’t it dandy Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You’ll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch,” she said, “I want to see how it looks” (Henry). At this point, Della’s flaws are apparent. Society will never change; therefore, people are more inclined to assimilate in order to become “normal.” Della thought her love for Jim was defined by what gift, if any, she could buy for him. This only leads back to the main motivation of society; in this instance it’s materialism. Society’s motivation can often be shown through the author's use of atmosphere and mood. Rena Korb writes,” So, even before having knowledge of the impoverished circumstances of the protagonists Della and Jim Dillingham Young, the reader has learned that the main conflict of the story concerns their lack of money.” This explains that the motivation is materialism. Unfortunately it is also the conflict. Della, in an attempt to make Jim happy, sacrificed her own happiness, even if only temporarily. She sold off her hair to feed back into a materialistic world. This creates a feedback loop and conflict in result. She wanted to give him a gift because that’s what society does. She couldn’t afford it and this is where the conflict lies. In the end this theme, materialism, still prevailed; however, the conflict was resolved when Della was able to meet the social standards called from her.

     The story “The Gift of the Magi” is set in New York; it was most likely set the early nineteen-hundreds; Henry wrote his stories mostly in this time period due to the fact it helped set a mood and atmosphere for the piece (Korb). Though this information is not directly in the story, basic context clues can be used to figure out that Henry set his story in New York. Henry used dialogue like, “For there lay the combs…in a Broadway window.” (Henry). Broadway is, of course, a famous street in New York. Henry used diction well; he forces in context clues on several occasions to help find more information on the setting. Della, the protagonist, says, “He’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl” (Henry). This line also references a famous New York icon, Coney Island, an amusement park. Frequently, the New York setting helps to form a detailed mental image. The location of this story is just as important to the story as the time period is.

     “The Gift of the Magi” has two main characteristics related to time: the first is the era in American history; the second, and more important, is the time of year in which the story is set. As previously mentioned, this story was set in the early nineteen-hundreds. This is important because it was the time in American history when industries exploded. This is not immediately relevant to the story; however, it does help a reader form a better mental image of what the city might look like. Though, this is note-worthy, it is not nearly as important as the time of year: Christmas Eve. Henry was much more obvious with this information; on several situations he explained the next day would be Christmas by even stating, “…the next day would be Christmas.” This passage was taken from the beginning from the story. Henry tries intentionally to explain the importance of it being Christmas. This is where the materialism theme comes into play most. The marriage of materialism and Christmas can be portrayed quite well in this passage, “Della and Jim are poor; she has only managed to scrape together $1.87, despite saving carefully for months. But O. Henry makes Della’s happiness in her love for Jim quite clear: ‘Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling.’” (Korb). Della has been planning for months buying her husband a fine gift; however, she has little money. The time of year is one of the most important concepts in the entire story. Not only does it allow for a major conflict with Della and society, but the concept of Christmas sets up the story for a biblical allusion the story is based on, the story of the Magi found in the “Bible.”

     Also noteworthy in the story is the atmosphere and tone. Atmosphere and tone are possibly the most interesting elements to explore in O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.” This is simply because he does an excellent job of using atmosphere and mood to influence the story indirectly. One article explains, “The writer’s careful rendering of setting—and mood—help the reader understand just how big are the sacrifices Della and Jim are making when they sell their most prized possessions” ("The Gift of the Magi"). This quote explains, in detail, how Henry’s details in relation to setting are not only important, but they help explain serious concepts throughout the story. Given the atmosphere it’s important to note just what these two are giving up for one-another. They are giving up their most precious possessions in order to please the other. In a time and place like New York during the early 1900’s the money they spent on each other’s gifts could have easily fed them both for a few weeks. This selflessness adds to the tone and atmosphere of the story quite well. Setting is by far one of the most crucial ideals of this story and even helps lead the way into conflicts that set the stage for the story.

     Two of the hardest conflicts to overcome are the ones that cannot be directly fought, such as two apparent ones in “The Gift of the Magi.” These conflicts are man versus self: Della versus her emotions; and man verses society: Della versus society.

     The first conflict, man versus self, is that of Della versus her emotions. In the story, there is a quote that says, “once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet” (Henry). This quote is taken out of the story, just after Della realizes that she is going to have to make a sacrifice. The only sacrifice she can make is selling her most prized possession: her hair. Critic Wilton Eckley reviewed this issue in an overview stating, “Della’s predicament at the opening of the story is mundane enough as is her crying about it…. We are shown explicitly the love and loyalty that she feels for her husband, but we can only wonder whether these feelings are returned.” According to this quote, Della is obviously worried about Jim’s feelings for her. The struggle of finding a gift just to show him the level of love Della has towards him makes it seem like Della is trying to buy his continuous love. Thus, another conflict of Della versus herself with the uncertainty. A cheap, quick gift would not have done according to Della. In the story, it is stated, “If Jim doesn’t kill me…. Oh! What could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?” (Henry) Della would not have been happy just getting Jim anything; he needed the best, no matter the cost. All of these points combined showed that Della is insecure with herself and Jim and struggles with herself to do things, just to please him and this is caused by the workings of a second conflict.

     Along with the major conflict, there is an underlying conflict of Della versus society. Everything that she does is driven by this. Society says that this, this, and that have to be done in order to live up to match someone else. Della shows that she believes in this by doing things to make Jim able to fit in with the rest of the world. “The Gift of the Magi” has a line in it saying that a present was needed that was “worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim” (Henry). In other words, the better the present, the more worthy it will be for Jim. It seems like Della is putting Jim up on a pedistal and making him out to be all high and mighty. This is society’s role in the story. According to society, people are based on what they have, so, in essence, the better possessions someone has, the higher their standing. Another quote in the story says that, “with that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company” (Henry). If Della could get Jim a great present, he would be high on the totem pole of his friends. According to society, people should flaunt what they have to others. This in turn will make them feel inferior and want to do things to raise their status. The vicious circle continues on and on and will continue as long as the population always feel the need to be the best and fit in, no matter the price. This cycle is now known as "keeping up with the Jonses" and it is a driving factor of society, and thus a conflict in this story. Even though there are a few conflicts in the story, it is not driven by conflict really. The entire story is based on plot, but has these two conflicts driving it to the point that it reaches. These conflicts are based on love generally, which is one of the themes of the story. Rena Korb, a critic, states that the conflicts are a “prime example of…. presenting [difficult] situations to which people could, and wanted to, respond.” Everyone has dealt with these conflicts, in some way, at some point in their life. With these situations, people know exactly what it is like to have these problems and they can relate to the story; these simple conflicts are what makes it easy for people to relate to the situation Jim and Della are faced with. Along with the conflicts, O. Henry uses his words and writing style to draw all attention into his story, and the syntax allows for the story, and the message, to be easily understood.

     O. Henry’s style is very unique and his way of writing is effective to the reader. His style of writing is unique because it is an easy read with a complex story line. Henry uses short sentences, such as, “And then she did it up again nervously and quickly,” to quickly show actions in the story as well as the mood in the character's actions. It shows how she is nervous and does not want to cut her hair off. The sentence is not too complex and gets right to the point, grabbing attention. The style is effective to the reader because it shows main points over and over again. Another short sentence in the story is, “She was ransacking the stores for Jim’s present” (Henry). This sentence shows how Della is rushing to get Jim’s present. The sentence is not a difficult to understand and it easily shows what is happening in the story, getting right to the point. Though Henry has a habit of using short, choppy sentences, he manages to throw in a few difficult words to the story.

     O. Henry’s vocabulary is pretty easy to read, but his style of writing has a few difficult words throughout the story. In the story, it reads, “Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the red worn carpet”. The word “faltered” is not a word that many people would understand, but the rest of the sentence is easy to read. Using the context clues, an image can be drawn that Della is not too grounded on her feet or emotionally. Another sentence that shows an example of difficult words is, “A very thin and very agile person may by observing his reaction in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips” (Henry). The words agile and longitudinal are hard words that an everyday person may not understand. Basically, the sentence says that his actions may be viewed of that of a comic strip, or play-by-play. A third sentence that shows this is, “For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction” (Henry). In this sentence there are many words that many people would not recognize, like discreet, scrutiny, and inconsequential. Many of his sentences are very easy to understand, but every once and a while O. Henry throws in difficult words. This puts a lot of emphasis on his writing making his work an easy read and still challenges the mind and vocabulary. Along with regular word choice, Henry's choice in words helps provide a mental picture of everything.

     The writing style Henry uses also provides imagery. He explains the setting using descriptive words to help create a picture. A sentence O. Henry uses that would be an example of this is, “So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.” The words beautiful, rippling, and shining are words that create a picture of brown, light, wavy hair.. The phrase “like a cascade of brown waters” also helps show imagery of Della's hair falling. Another example of sensory images in the story is, “The dull precious metal seems to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit” (Henry). The words in this sentence that show imagery are dull, precious, bright and ardent. This paints on image of something lively lightening up something dull. A third sentence is, “She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.” The word dully, and the word gray both show that the setting is boring and depressing. The word choice Henry uses allow for easy flow of sentences and the piece in general.

     O. Henry’s word choice is effective and allows the story to flow well. An example of this is, “Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating” (Henry). This is a good word choice because it helps keep the readers attention and uses a good flow of words to keep novelists entertained. Another sentence that Henry uses and shows good word choice is, “Pennies saved on and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied.” This shows good word choice because it challenges a mind while keeping it's attention at the same time. A critic’s review by Fredrick Houk said that, “'The Gift of the Magi' illustrates a unique and artistic type of the short story, founded partly on French models, but springing more truly from the virile life and thought of America.” Even a critic’s point of view stated that his style of writing is unique and artistic. Mixed in with Henry's style is the use of figurative language.

     O. Henry has written over six hundred successful short stories. He is famous for his plot twists and surprising ironic endings. Among his most famous stories is The Gift of the Magi. O. Henry is a genius when it comes to using figurative language to get themes across in his short stories. One critic once said, “…metaphors and similes are brilliantly portrayed in O. Henry’s short stories such as The Gift of the Magi…”(Korb). His use of similes, metaphors, and personification really to paint pictures and draw people into the story.

     O. Henry is great at comparing two things. In "The Gift of the Magi" he says, “...immovable as a setter at the scent of a quail” (Henry). He is also really good at describing things. It is obvious that O. Henry pulled out the thesaurus more then just a couple of times when writing his short stories. “The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent soul” (Henry). He used figurative language to express the beauty of the gold chain. This sentence seemed to lighten up the entire thing. At another point in the story, Henry states a sentence saying, “So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters” (Henry). This quote from "The Gift of the Magi" is used to describe Della’s hair as it is being cut. These sentences each are prime examples of his skills with describing something and it shows his very extensive vocabulary. Perhaps the best quote from the story that shows his amazing vocabulary would have to be, “And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! A quick feminine charge to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat” (Henry). It is known that hysterical crying isn't just done by women. So, this sentence realtes crying to being femenine when, in fact, men do it too.

     Metaphors are also one of O. Henry's greatest abilities when it comes to using figurative language. “Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied” (Henry). This quote from "The Gift of the Magi" is a great example of O. Henry’s skill as a writer that uses metaphors. With these comparisons, Henry uses a third skill that is personification.

     O. Henry gave human qualities to inanimate objects or actions that could not actually perform such actions. To show how dull Della’s situation is and how anxious she is of seeing Jim, O. Henry wrote, “Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings”(Henry). Obviously, hours can not trip on anything so that is why this statement is effective. Another quote that shows his use of personification is, “Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating” (Henry). This is a great example of personification because sniffles are not living and, therefore, cannot predominate. Overall, Henry's use of any figurative language makes the piece more interesting to read.

     In conclusion, O. Henry is a very famous writer for his excellent plot twists and figurative language in his short stories. His use of similes, metaphors, and personification is great at painting a picture in your head about what is going on in the story. As a critic from Gale said, “…metaphors and similes are brilliantly portrayed in O. Henry’s short stories such as The Gift of the Magi…” (Korb). This story is still considered classic and is worthy of analysis because it is full of clever figurative language and it’s surprise ending is a shock to everyone.

     Using literary elements such as conflict, setting, syntax, and figurative language, O. Henry made a story with an extreme power of drawing in a person and creates a compelling, realistic story in “The Gift of the Magi.” One of the themes of this story is the use of materialism. Materialism is a big driving factor of the story because neither character can just be happy with their known feelings for each other, they have to try and put those feelings into something literal. If they had not felt the need to show their love with a gift, this story would not even exist. The author’s choice is syntax is what displays the theme of selflessness in the piece. Selflessness is shown through his choice of words and how the characters act and react to different things in the story. With some inclusion of figurative language to indirectly display all of the aspects of the story, O. Henry made a wonderfully constructed piece of literature that catches the hearts of all people. With a final theme of the story being generosity and love, Henry works those into the story using all four of the stated literary elements. Some conflicts of the story show love, the theme and setting and all actions show both the generosity and love of the story, and the figurative language as well as how the author presents the information also shows both of these themes. Any and every critic viewed had nothing but good things to say about O. Henry and his work. With all the different pieces of the story, as well as it’s appeal to a wide range of audiences shows that it is an overall great story. Each and every person knows what it is like to be in Della’s or Jim’s spot. Knowing the intentions of people, everyone knows that they would make the name decision as the two protagonists did. People in the world are caring people that normally would do anything for a person that they love, and “The Gift of the Magi” is a published example of something everyday people would do.

 Works Cited

Eckley, Wilton. "The Gift of the Magi: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, Literature Resources from      Gale. Gale. Web. 21 Jan. 2010.

"The Gift of the Magi." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 67-82. Short Stories for Students. Gale. Web. 19 Jan. 2010.

Henry, O. "The Gift of the Magi." LitFinder Classic Collection. Detroit: Gale, Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Web. 19 Jan. 2010.

Korb, Rena. "An overview of 'The Gift of the Magi'." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Web. 12 Jan.      2010.