The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry

Authored by O Henry, The Gift o the Magi; is available now in the digital e-book PDF format.

The Gift of the Magi is a well-known short story by American short story writer O. Henry, the pen name of William Sydney Porter. The story's setting at Christmas time makes it a popular story for the holiday season. The author cleverly portrayed the difference between wisdom and foolishness, or having or not having, a sense of judgment and understanding. This article was first published in The New York Sunday World on December 10, 1905, and was subsequently added in O. Henry's collection The Four Million on April 10, 1906.

The Gift of the Magi tells of a young married couple, Della and Jim. They were poor and lived in a modest home. Between them, they only had two possessions that they consider their treasures.

It's Christmas Eve, Della found herself running out of time and money to buy Jim a Christmas present. After paying all of the bills, she was left with a meagre sump. Desperate to find her husband a perfect Christmas gift, she went out looking in shop windows for something she could afford.

Similarly, Jim also tried hard to scout for a perfect Christmas gift for his wife, with the little money he had in his pocket.

The Gift of the Magi is a classic example of irony in literature. Irony is a literary technique in which an expectation of what is supposed to occur differs greatly from the actual outcome. In this case, Jim and Della sacrifice their most treasured possessions so that the other can fully enjoy his or her gift

The irony here works both on a practical and on a profound, more sentimental level. It ended up both husband and wife bought each other a gift that ultimately seemed financially foolish. Being poor, they could not afford to waste money on things they could not put to practical use. However, what they gained was something they did not expect, that was an intangible gift that reminds them how much they loved each other and were willing to sacrifice to make each other happy. What they lacked in fancy materials possessions, they made up for with expression of selfless love.

Both Jim and Della behaved impulsively, sacrificing their greatest treasures without thinking about the consequences. Their only main concern was to make one another happy. Judging from the practicality perspective, this doesn't make much sense because they can't enjoy the gifts that are supposed to make them happy. The author did bring out an important message, those who give out of love and self-sacrifice are truly wise because they know the value of self-less love.

The story ends with the author O. Henry made a somewhat humorous yet thought-provoking comparison of Jim and Della's gifts to the gifts that the Magi, or three wise men, who brought gifts to Baby Jesus in the manger in the biblical story of Christmas.

Are they any wiser?

The Gift of the Magi ebook features easy navigation between pages. With the function of increasing in font sizes makes it easy to read especially for senior readers.

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Enjoy!