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Without money, he pawns his prized bowling ball to buy her an expensive gift, only to find out in the end that she bought him a custom bowling ball bag. Most government run schools frown on gift exchanges. Most government run schools have teacher shortages. If a parent gives you any flack, tell them it’s only one of many great multicultural “Gift of the Magi” activities.
Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Gift of the Magi, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Jump-start your essay with our outlining tool to make sure you have all the main points of your essay covered.
Material versus Spiritual
Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is in the idea that the value of a gift comes not in its actual cost, but from giving from the heart. While the narrator of the story calls Jim and Della "not wise," he goes on to call them "the most wise" before comparing them to the Magi, who "Being wise, their gifts were doubtless wise one." The "magi" of the title refers to the three wise men from the Biblical story of Jesus' birth. The three traveled a great distance to bring valuable gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the new baby, and, as O. Henry put it, "invented the art of giving Christmas presents." The idea of love permeates “The Gift of the Magi,” as Della and Jim give their most prized items to show their love for one another.
The sentimentality and personal value of these possessions is greater than any monetary value that could be ascribed to them. Start an Essay Della scours every store in town for two hours before finding the perfect gift for Jim. She notes the similarities between the simple yet valuable watch chain and her understated but loving husband. The watch chain is not merely a shiny trinket; instead, it represents Della’s regard for Jim, and the inherent value she sees in him. Similarly, the combs are not merely an extravagant bauble meant to impress Della; instead, they represent Jim’s commitment to Della and to their relationship.
What is the theme of the story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry?
It is fitting, then, that both Jim and Della decide to sacrifice their prized belongings not in order to change their material circumstances but rather to buy a sentimentally motivated gift for their partner. Though the combs and the watch chain are given monetary value, it is the sentiment behind each gift that makes them truly meaningful. Della and Jim may remain materially impoverished, but their exchange of functionally useless Christmas gifts only serves to emphasize the wealth of love that exists between them. Henry contrasts the warmth that exists between Della and Jim with their bleak surroundings. The most prominent theme in “The Gift of the Magi” is love. Jim and Della are willing to part with their most prized possessions to make each other happy, demonstrating that a wealth of love makes up for material poverty.
Some additional themes are generosity, selflessness, and poverty. The central theme of “The Gift of the Magi” is explicitly discussed at the end of the story, when the author addresses the reader directly, relating his characters to the wise men in the Bible. On Christmas Eve, Della Young discovers that she has only $1.87 (equivalent to about $62 in 2022) to buy a present for her husband Jim. She visits the nearby shop of a hairdresser, Madame Sofronie, who buys Della's long hair for $20 (about $600 in 2021). Della then uses the money to buy a platinum pocket watch chain for Jim.
'The Gift of the Magi' Discussion Questions
Despite this, she readily gave everything up in order to buy the one item she believed would make her husband happy. In 2018, an episode of Puppy Dog Pals entitled "Bingo and Rolly's Birthday" had each of the two dog characters trading their prized possessions to obtain gifts for each other . How does understanding their relationship underscore the story’s central idea? The central idea being that people will make sacrifices for the one’s they love.
The mood ranges from happy to sad and everything in between. In The Gift of the Magi, what does the chain represent? The watch chain, like the combs, is a sign of the wife’s devotion to her husband. Her hair has the same emotional value for her as his watch had for him.
They both feel really stupid, but the narrator calls them wise. Unbeknownst to Della, Jim sold his watch in order to buy her the beautiful combs that she’s been wanting. These actions show that Jim and Della’s love is a sacrificial love. Each person is willing to sacrifice and give up their most prized possession in order to make the other person happy.
The beginning moments of the 2002 special It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie feature gags based on the story. For example, while Rizzo the Rat sells his collection of rare cheese to buy Gonzo a dish for his mold collection, Gonzo reveals he sold his mold collection to buy Rizzo a cheese slicer. In 1993, an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 had TV's Frank selling his hair and buying Dr. Forrester a watch fob. However, Dr. Forrester did not sell his watch to buy Frank a comb, merely thanking Frank for the watch fob for his still-owned watch.
The concepts of wealth and poverty are important themes in the story as well. While financially poor, Della and Jim prove to be emotionally rich. The love they have for each other overshadows their poverty. But in the final analysis, none of this matters.
Be sure to explain connotation and tone (the specific emotions of the author, speaker, characters, etc.). I love analyzing characters, whether the character is in a poem, book, play, television show, or even a movie. So let’s help our students examine characterization with ease. The combs are beautiful and expensive on the outside—but with Della’s hair gone, their external value is diminished. However, they still have the same sentimental value, coming from Jim.
The second is the date of publication online or last modification online. The last date is today's date — the date you are citing the material.
The “the gift of magi elements of the story” is a short story written by O. The plot follows a young couple who are very poor but deeply in love. They make a decision to sell their possessions and give the money to charity, so that they can afford to buy each other gifts on Christmas Day.
Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. Using pronouns "he" and "she." The narration then changes in paragraph 32 to a more omniscient narration.
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