Although O. Henry had no allusions
to which his story of “The Gift of the Magi,” it can be inferred that the
couple Jim and Della lived during the 1900s in New York when money was scarce
and the federal debt was on the rise. The event of the two characters unfolds
as it is revealed that the married couple has not enough money to buy each
other a gift for Christmas. The two then goes out to sell their most valuable
belongings: Della, her hair, and Jim, his gold watch. With the money that they
make from selling their possessions, they decide to buy extensions to their
partner’s most valued item: Jim buys a comb for Della to brush her hair, and
Della buys a gold chain for Jim’s gold watch.
O.
Henry’s use of irony is implied when both Jim and Della behaved impulsively,
sacrificing their most valued possessions to make one another happy. However,
these two did not consider the consequences of what would happen to them or
their spouse if they were to sell their treasures. The married couple only
thought about “the now” and the idea of materialistic love when they already
gave each other a greater gift of their sacrificial love. The moral of the
story of “The Gift of the Magi” is that their love for each other cannot be
bought with money and is worth more than any material possessions. The Magi that
O. Henry alludes to is from the Bible, in which refers to the story of the
three wise men who brought presents to baby Jesus: gold, frankincense, and
myrrh.
No comments:
Post a Comment