Category: The Gift of the Magi

One of the reasons why short story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry continues to enjoy an undermined popularity with contemporary readers is that, despite its apparent shortness, it presents a high literary and philosophical value. In its turn, this can be explained by the fact that, while exposed to this story, readers become enlightened of what accounts for the actual qualities of a truly loving relationship between both spouses and what can be considered the discursive significance of the act of gift-giving.

The short story in questions also contains insights, as to what can be thought of as the observable indications of one’s endowment with the sense of nobleness. In this paper, I will aim to explore the validity of the above-statement at length.

The plot of The Gift of the Magi is rather straightforward. While experiencing the acute shortage of money, Della Dillingham decides to cut off and sell her luscious hair, so that she would be able to buy her husband a respectable Christmas gift – a platinum chain for his pocket-watch. However, by the time Jim returns back home and is being presented with his gift, Della realizes that he had sold his pocket-watch, in order to be able to buy his wife the set of jeweled combs for her hair.

Given the fact that, as it was implied earlier, ever since it was first published in 1906, The Gift of the Magi never ceased appealing to readers, we can well assume that the themes and motifs, contained in the story, are thoroughly consistent with people’s unconscious anxieties, in regards to the notion of love.

Apparently, O. Henry knew perfectly well that the strength of the romantic involvement between husbands and wives (men and women) is being reflective of their willingness to sacrifice for each other, while deriving a strong emotional satisfaction out of the process.

Therefore, even though that, as a narrator, O. Henry does refer to the way in which Della and Jim went about exchanging gifts as ‘foolish’, he nevertheless cannot help considering it utterly wise, at the same time: “Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they (Della and Jim) are wisest.

Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi” (1906, 9). The reason for this is quite apparent – in order for a particular gift to be appreciated by the person that receives it, he or she must be perceiving it as such that proves the gift-giver’s unquestionable loyalty. In this respect, the gift’s utilitarian value comes second in importance.

Therefore, Della’s choice for a gift is explainable. By presenting her husband with a platinum watch-chain, she unconsciously strived to assure him of the fact that being a remarkable individual; he well deserved to be sacrificed for – the considerations of practicality did not bother Della, whatsoever.

In the similar manner Mary Magdalene treated Jesus – even though that the oil, with which she washed Jesus’s feet was ridiculously expensive, she did not hesitate even for a second buying it. It appears that Della used to perceive her husband in terms of a godlike figure, whose existential significance did not have anything to do with his de facto social status.

The message that is being conveyed through the story lines, in regards to the acts of gift-giving, on the part of both characters, can be interpreted as follows: the condition of poverty, which loving husband and wife get to experience, as they go through life, has no effect on the actual quality of their relationship. In fact, it is something that allows this relationship to thrive – whatever illogical it may sound.

That is, of course, for as long as the individuals in question are thoroughly noble, in the discursive sense of this word. The way the characters of Della and Jim are being represented in The Gift of the Magi leaves no doubts that, despite their poverty, both spouses were capable of not allowing their worrisome financial situation to affect their sense of self-identity.

Hence, the philosophical significance of how the author describes the appearance of the room, in which the couple resided: “It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad” (3). Apparently, he wanted to promote the idea that, even while experiencing hardships, existentially noble people never allow the resulting sensation of frustration, on their part, to begin defining who they actually are.

We can well speculate that the earlier mentioned description serves as the proof that Della and Jim used to be endowed with the so-called ‘Faustian’ mentality, concerned with people’s ability to overcome their animalistic instincts, while striving to realize what accounts for their true calling in life.

herefore, there is nothing incidental about the fact that in his story O. Henry made a deliberate point in accentuating Della’s artistic aspirations, “Della, being slender, had mastered the art” (4). By having done this, he succeeded in ensuring that readers would never doubt the psychological plausibility of Della’s sacrificial gesture.

The rationale behind this suggestion is simple – one’s affiliation with art naturally causes the concerned individual to seek what can be considered the surrounding reality’s hidden (metaphysical) aspects. As a result, the manner in which he or she addresses life-challenges and relates to others ends up being increasingly perceived by conventionally minded people as somewhat ‘odd’.

Yet, even though that these people may well think of Della’s gift as a rather impractical one, deep on an unconscious level, they nevertheless realize that, while choosing her husband a gift, she could not act in any other way than she did. Being an essentially ‘Faustian’ individual, Della was naturally presupposed to think of her husband in terms of what he should have been, rather than in terms of what he was in the reality.

Nevertheless, even though that, formally speaking, O. Henry does not seem to wholeheartedly approve the sacrificial acts of gift-giving, on the part of Della and Jim (hence, his reference to them as ‘foolish children’), he nevertheless does admire both characters. Partially, this can be explained by the particulars of the author’s biography, as a man with extensive life-experiences.

That is, the fact that throughout the course of his life, O. Henry never ceased taking an active stance on the matters of a socio-political importance, while suffering a number of setbacks, such as having been in jailed for the duration of 5 years, naturally endowed him with the sense of perceptual wisdom.

Hence, the discursive significance of how he reflects on the integral components of one’s life: “Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating” (p. 3). The above-quotation suggests that, having been an analytically minded person, O. Henry was capable of deconstructing even the most complex phenomena, such as the phenomena of people’s existence, down to their basic elements.

Given the fact that, being a wise man often causes the concerned individual to look ‘deeper’ in the discussed subject matters, as compared to what it is being the case with ordinary people, there is nothing too surprising about the author’s tendency to approve the earlier mentioned ‘foolishness’, on the part of Della and Jim.

Apparently, he knew that people’s endowment with ‘Faustian’ mentality does not only enable them to ensure the continual vitality of their marital relationships, but that it also makes them the agents of the ongoing social and cultural progress.

After all, it was due to Della and Jim’s belief that there are ‘higher’ things in life, worthy to be sacrificed for, that the plot’s unraveling is being perceived by the majority of readers as emotionally intense and intellectually stimulating. In its turn, this implies that Della and Jim were more than capable of operating with utterly abstract categories, while having the voice of the ‘monkey from within’ suppressed.

After all, as the story’s context suggests, the sensation of hunger was certainly well known for both characters. Yet, instead of finding a more practical use for the money that she received from selling her hair, Della end up buying a watch-chain. Yet, as we are well aware of, it is specifically people’s ability to transcend beyond the physiological aspects of their existence, which makes it possible for them to act as the society’s productive members.

Therefore, there can be only a few doubts that, while exposing readers to the characters of Della and Jim, O. Henry strived for nothing less than promoting the idea that, contrary what it is being commonly assumed, it is only those individuals that radiate ‘nobleness’ around them, who deserve attaining a social prominence in life.

Unfortunately, this is rarely being the case. Hence, the strongly defined tragic overtones to the story of Della and Jim – apparently, the author wanted to emphasize the sheer unfairness of the situation when, due to poverty, existentially noble individuals are being denied the chance to make their lives count, in the social sense of this word.

The very same overtones, however, cause The Gift of the Magi to emanate the spirit of humanism. This simply could not be otherwise, because the story’s themes and motifs do prompt readers to think that the pathway towards ensuring the fairness of the society’s functioning is being concerned with establishing social preconditions for people, capable of acting as the agents of progress and justice, to be able to advance in life.

The story also specifies what can be considered the indications of people’s ‘qualification’, in this respect – their endowment with the ‘Faustian’ sense of idealism, which naturally causes them to adopt the altruistic mode of existence.

I believe that the earlier provided line of argumentation, as to what can be considered the discursive significance of the themes and motifs, contained in The Gift of the Magi, is fully consistent with the paper’s initial thesis. In light of what has been argued, there indeed appears to be a good rationale in referring to this particular story by O. Henry, as such that will continue representing an uncompromised literary value well into the future.

Works Cited

Henry, O. 1906, The Gift of Magi. Web.

Introduction

Narratology should be viewed as a specific discipline, the purpose of which is to examine different elements in a text as a narrative with a focus on its unique structure. In this context, a literary text becomes perceived as a narrative discourse or the description of a series of events to represent a certain story or a plot through accentuating actions performed by the characters of a story. Thus, the scope and nature of the narratological interpretation can be discussed as limited by different researchers’ visions regarding narrative structures to examine and narrative components to pay attention to (Genette 1980: 2-9). From this perspective, the thematic or textual content of any narrative as the presentation of sequences of different events is usually influenced and formed by narrative structures.

While referring to O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” it is possible to state that this work can be viewed as a traditional textual narrative representing its key elements in a clear manner. A closer analysis of the text and its narratological interpretation allows for concluding that this literary work is a typical example of a narrative. The purpose of this paper is to provide the discussion of different approaches to narratological interpretation with reference to theorists’ and researchers’ views and illustrate the details of the analysis referring to O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” as a narrative.

Nature and Scope of Narratological Interpretation and the Idea of a Narrative Discourse

Many researchers tried to define a narrative in the context of narratology to explain the subject of examination and analysis. Thus, a narrative is a recollection of events (a story) that can be narrated in different forms, and there are also various modes of expression (a discourse) (Genette 1980: 5-14). Some narratologists limited the definition of a narrative to representing only past events in these types of literary texts (Cobley 2014: 212-215). The focus on discourse and a story provoked the development of two traditions and directions in narratology: discourse narratology and story narratology (Culler 1981: 170-172). Culler (1981: 186) noted that “Analysis of narrative depends … on the distinction between story and discourse, and this distinction always involves a relation of dependency.” In this context, according to Culler (1981: 186), discourse narratology identifies stylistic and pragmatic features in a narrative text with a focus on the way it is expressed. Story narratology concentrates on examining a plot, themes, and events that “employ” this story. This idea was also actively discussed in the work by White (1981: 2-18). Thus, “emplotment” is an important feature of narratives to be analyzed.

In any way, a narrative is associated with presenting a certain story by a narrator with the help of specific linguistic tools. From this perspective, in narratives, it is important to pay attention to the ways of transferring the text with the plot and meaning to readers with the help of linguistic means. Following the ideas by Barthes (1977, 1966: 109), it is important to identify an act of narrative communication with a focus on the donor of this narrative and the receiver of information. Thus, the forms of textual narratives differ significantly from musical narratives or visual narratives.

One of the main features that allow for distinguishing narratives from other literary forms is the recounting of events in a sequence, and these described events become closely linked to each other. This specific feature of narratives explains the determination of the following components of this discourse: a plot, a viewpoint, time, and a described logical sequence of events. This definition comes from the ideas of different researchers regarding the nature and characteristics of narratives (Barthes 1977, 1966; Culler 1981). Thus, according to Genette (1980: 25), a narrative or a narrative discourse refers “to the succession of events, real or fictitious, that are the subjects of this discourse, and to their several relations of linking, opposition, repetition.” If a logical sequence of events in telling a story is accentuated by a narrator, it is possible to speak about a narrative.

A more developed definition and vision of narratives were formulated by Miller. According to Miller (1990: 75), the key components of a narrative include “an initial situation, a sequence leading to a change of reversal of that situation, and a revelation made possible by the reversal of situation … there must be some use of personification whereby character is created out of signs.” One more required element is “some patterning or repetition of elements surrounding a nuclear figure or complex word” (Miller 1990: 75). The school of Russian Formalists had their own interpretation of levels and components in narratives, identifying the level of a story as representing the argument and characters and the level of discourse, representing tenses and modes (Barthes 1977, 1966: 87). Referring to these definitions and discussions presented by different researchers, it is possible to identify the following essential components of a narrative: the voice, focalization or point of view, situation, plot, and time.

The focus on a voice is important for analyzing a narrative. Genette (1980) proposed the classification based on determining whether a narrator is homodiegetic, autodiegetic, or heterodiegetic. A homodiegetic narrator acts as a character in a story, an autodiegetic narrator is a protagonist of a story, and a heterodiegetic narrator does not act in a story. Other researchers determined only two categories, without distinguishing between homodiegetic and autodiegetic narrators.

Focalization means the perspective or mood for presenting story events. It is another concept that was proposed by Genette (1980). Zero focalization is associated with an omniscient narrator who knows more than all characters. External focalization is associated with representing a story without involving a narrator’s point of view as he or she knows less than a character. Internal focalization is associated with representing events from a character’s perspective. A narrative situation is another important component that explains the situation of narrating a story that determines the features of a final product. The plot component is not determined by many researchers, and they chose to focus on a sequence of events and the idea of action. Finally, time in a narrative can be represented as narrative past and present tenses, order, duration, and frequency identified by Genette (1980), as well as fictional, narrative, and real-time.

In addition to unique components, researchers also distinguished between the features of narratives. These features include narrativity, sequentiality, the presence of a narrator, the recollection of events (Barthes 1977, 1966; Miller 1990). In order to determine whether a text is a narrative, it is important to focus on finding these listed features. Narrativity, in this case, means a particular quality of a narrative to identify it among other texts. According to White (1981: 23), the “value attached to narrativity in the representation of real events arises out of a desire to have real events display the coherence, integrity, fullness, and closure of an image of life that is and can only be imaginary.” Sequentiality, the focus on a narrator, and the approaches to recollecting events were also widely discussed in researchers’ works, but each theorist had a specific interpretation of these notions.

There are also different genres of narratives because they cannot be viewed only as representing when type and category. According to Barthes (1977, 1966), there are numerous types or genres of narratives that need to be taken into account. Thus, “Among the vehicles of narrative are articulated language, whether oral or written, pictures, still or moving, gestures, and an ordered mixture of all those substances” (Barthes 1977, 1966: 237). Furthermore, the “narrative is present in myth, legend, fables, tales, short stories, epic history, tragedy, drama [suspense drama], comedy, pantomime, paintings (in Santa Ursula by Carpaccio, for instance), stained-glass windows, movies, local news, conversation” (Barthes 1977, 1966: 237). This classification is viewed as most complete, and other researchers included its elements in their vision and discussion of narrative genres (Miller 1990). However, Brooks (1984: 4) did not limit a view of a narrative to a specific genre: “narrative, in fact, seems to hold a special place among literary forms – as something more than a conventional ‘genre’ – because of its potential for summary and retransmission.” Thus, it is possible to state that researchers have dissimilar views regarding genres related to narratives.

Having reviewed the ideas of different researchers regarding the concept of narrative, it is important to make certain conclusions on the specific features and components of a narrative as a result of narration. Narratives in their different forms and genres can be found in different situations when texts are narrated, including the pieces of literature, the recollection of events, descriptions, explanations, and conversations. In order to understand whether the discussed text is a narrative, it is necessary to answer the question of whether this text tells a story with sequential events and whether there is a narrator to produce a discourse through the mode of expression. Researchers proposed to distinguish such basic components of narratives as the voice or narration, focalization or a point of view of a narrator, a specific narrative situation, a plot, and a certain time (Cobley 2014; Culler 1981; Genette 1980). Additionally, a narrative is characterized by narrativity, sequentiality, the presence of an obvious or hidden narrator, and the recollection of events in a sequence.

If these components and features of a narrative are recognized, it is possible to speak about a real narrative. It should be further analyzed from the perspectives of discourse narratology and story narratology in order to discuss all its elements and characteristics. From this point of view, the scope of narratology can be discussed with reference to analyzing the key components, genres, and features of a narrative to be further illustrated in this paper with the help of examples from “The Gift of the Magi.”

Narratological Analysis of “The Gift of the Magi” as a Narrative

The discussed theoretical concepts and ideas presented by different researchers in the field of narratology need to be applied to the analysis and interpretation of O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.” This short story was published in 1905, and it is about Mr. James (Jim) Dillingham Young and his wife Della. The described events happened before Christmas, and both Jim and Della wanted to buy perfect presents for each other, but they have rather limited finances. Realizing that Jim loved his gold watch, Della buys a perfect chain for the watch after selling her long hair. When Jim comes home, he becomes upset seeing Della, who cut her hair, but the real reason for sadness is that he sold his gold watch in order to purchase beautiful combs for Della’s hair and please his wife (O. Henry 2015). It is necessary to analyze this story focusing on the genre, components, and features of a narrative.

“The Gift of the Magi” is a narrative because the textual message of O. Henry as a narrator is transferred to the reader with the help of a plot, a specific sequence of events, a certain viewpoint, and time frames. In this context, this narrative represents the genre of a short story (Barthes 1977, 1966), and it is a recollection of sequential events with the determined “emplotment” (White 1981: 2-18). The donor of this narrative is the author of a short story (O. Henry) and the receiver of information is a reader. According to Genette (1980: 213), much attention should be paid to the voice of the narrator, which should be viewed as “the mode of action” and the “sign of subjectivity in language.” In “The Gift of the Magi,” a narrator is heterodiegetic, so he does not act directly as a character in this story. From this perspective, this text can be analyzed in the context of story narratology with a focus on the representation of events in their sequence and as the narration of this particular narrative by a narrator – a narrative discourse.

The next component to analyze with reference to “The Gift of the Magi” is focalization or mood. This term was developed by Genette (1980: 189) in order to discuss a point of view in narratives. In the short story under analysis, zero focalization is used, and the narrator is omniscient as readers learn about the events in Jim and Della’s life from an outside perspective of a narrator who is not involved in the story.

A narrative situation is another important component of a narrative to discuss. This situation is created with the help of recollecting the events from Jim and Della’s life by the narrator. There are two perspectives of the narration in this literary piece: the narration of the author (O. Henry) to the reader and dialogues between the characters within the story that can be used to create a narrative situation (Genette 1980). However, it is important to note that a narrative situation related to the relations of the author and the reader is complete when dialogues presented in the text lack some important components of a narrative to be discussed in detail in this paper.

The plot is one of the most important components of a narrative. According to Ricoeur, “a story is made out of events to the extent that plot makes events into a story” (qtd. in Brooks 1984: 14). Thus, the plot was determined as the key notion in narratology by many theorists, including Brooks, Genette, Miller, and Ricoeur among others. The events that compose the plot in “The Gift of the Magi” are sequential: the story starts from describing how Della counts her family’s money: “Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas” (O. Henry 2015: 1). Then, the narrator tells how Della “attended to her cheeks with the powder rag” and “stood by the window” (O. Henry 2015: 2). After that, Della “whirled from the window and stood before the glass” (O. Henry 2015: 2). Thus, a reader can focus on a narrator’s story and follow Della’s actions step by step.

While following a narrator’s story, a reader has an opportunity to learn the whole path made by Della, from deciding to cut her hair to presenting the chain for the watch to Jim and focusing on his reaction. Thus, the plot of “The Gift of the Magi” is centered on narrating the events of one day in Jim and Della’s life: Christmas Eve. The main focus is on describing the events that occurred with Della, and Jim’s actions and thoughts are not presented by the narrator. Recollecting the sequence of events, the narrator describes Della’s day in much detail, with an emphasis on her thoughts, feelings, and dialogues. This aspect can be explained with reference to Brooks (1984: 12): “plots are not simply organizing structures, they are also intentional structures, goal-oriented, and forward-moving.” This idea allows for concluding that it was the narrator’s intention to organize the plot with a focus on Della as the main character to accentuate the woman’s path to buying a present for her husband, as well as all the associated feelings.

Such a component of a narrative as time should also be discussed in detail with a focus on researchers’ ideas and examples from “The Gift of the Magi”. According to Genette (1980), there are the storytime and the narrative time that differ in the fact that the storytime is related to the described events, and the narrative time is related to the act of narration. However, the researcher also notes that it is necessary to determine the real and fictional time to analyze narratives.

The time inside the text of “The Gift of the Magi” is the storytime (fictional) that can be identified with the help of several important phrases. They are the following ones: “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas,” “Tomorrow would be Christmas Day,” “At 7 o’clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops” (O. Henry 2015: 1-3). The narrator emphasizes several times that the next day for the characters will be Christmas Day, and the problem Jim and Della of the story face is the lack of money to purchase products for each other. It is important to note that this situation caused by this specific time of the year motivates the characters to take certain actions and determines the path for events in the story.

The narrative time is associated with the period when the story is narrated, and in this case, it is the time when a reader is reading “The Gift of the Magi”. The real-time in this case should be viewed from two perspectives: the time when the story was written and published (1905-1906) and the time when any reader is reading it. Similar views regarding the concept of time in narratives are also shared by other researchers and theorists who support Genette’s views.

When analyzing “The Gift of the Magi” as a narrative, it is also necessary to focus on such key features of this type of text as narrativity, sequentiality, the presence of a narrator, and the recollection of events. Narrativity is observed in the story through the situation of narrating certain events that are united in a plot. Sequentiality is also present in this text because all the events are described in chronological order (Genette 1980). The narrator is present in “The Gift of the Magi” as the third person omniscient that contributes to describing the situation and conflict in much detail. The realization of these features in the text guarantees the recollection of events to conclude that this story is a narrative.

Conclusion

The narratological analysis of “The Gift of the Magi” indicates that this short story has all the features and components of narratives. The analysis of the text has been conducted with a focus on the narratological interpretation of the complex theory regarding narratives. It should be noted here that there are many diverse views and ideas promoted by researchers on the question of narratives. However, many theorists share similar ideas that have been taken as the basis for the analysis of “The Gift of the Magi” in this paper.

Works Cited

Barthes, Roland. 1977 (1966). “Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative.” In Image – Music – Text, edited and translated by Stephen Heath, 79-124. London: Fontana.

Brooks, Peter. 1984. Reading for the Plot: Design and Intention in Narrative. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cobley, Paul. 2014. Narrative. 2nd ed. New York and London: Routledge.

Culler, Jonathan. 1981. The Pursuit of Signs: Semiotics, Literature, Deconstruction. London: Routledge.

Genette, Gérard. 1980. Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. Translated by Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Miller, J. Hillis. 1990. “Narrative.” In Critical Terms for Literary Study, edited by Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin, 66–79. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

O. Henry. 2015. The Gift of the Magi. New York: Diversion Books.

White, Hayden.1981. “The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality.” In On Narrative, edited by W. J. T. Mitchell, 1-23. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

“Appointment with Love” and “The Gift of the Magi” are two stories devoted to the same topic of love. The stories are completely different in their plot but have many similarities in the main characters and the relationships between them. “Appointment with Love” was written by Sulamith Ish-Kishor and was first published in 1943 in the heat of World War II. In this story, a military pilot, Lt. Blandford, returns from the frontline and is getting ready to meet the lady he has been corresponding with for more than a year for the first time. “The gift of the Magi” is a Christmas story which was written by O’ Henry and was first published in 1905.

The plot of this story is built around a young married couple Della and Jim. They are facing serious financial challenges and doing their best to preserve their feelings. While one story was written by a man and the other by a woman about forty years apart, both feature love and affection on the different stages of their development. Sulamith Ish-Kishor in “Appointment with Love” and O’ Henry in “The Gift of the Magi” feature characters who are ready to sacrifice a lot for their beloved people. The stories convey the theme that love should be seen as an internal power that never lies on the surface; both stories show that one has to be devoted and wise to support the feelings of the close people because only true feelings make life real.

The stories under analysis have a number of common traits and some differences. The similarities result from the choice of the theme, and unique features typical of the stores are created by the vision of the author. All those features create the narration full of feelings and emotions sophisticatedly reflected in the plot.

The main characters of the stories have several traits in common. First of all, they are all young, creative, and determined in facing the challenges of the world. Secondly, they are full of feelings and emotions resulting from their perception of reality. The difference between the characters of “Appointment with Love” and “The Gift of the Magi” is created by the nature of the world. While Della and Jim are facing financial difficulties, the main character of “Appointment with Love,” John Blanchard, puts his life at stake fighting Nazi Germany. The intensity of feelings creates suspense from the first lines of the “Appointment with Love.” The routine life under the burden of poverty creates smooth narration abundant in mirror details in “The Gift of the Magi.”

While uncovering the theme of love and wisdom, the authors create the most lovely female characters corresponding to the conventional understanding of beauty in women. O’ Henry describes Della as a slender young woman with the most beautiful knee-length brown hair. Ish-Kishor describes Miss Maynell with the help of the main hero. With a leap of his heart, Lt. Blandford sees a young girl of about 18. “Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls from delicate ears. Her eyes were blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale-green suit, she was like springtime come alive” (para. 5). Both female characters are rather typical in their appearance. But their characters are not boring and predictable. Della or Mrs. James Dillingham Young is an inventive young lady and a devoted wife who finds a way to make a good present to her husband. Miss Maynell supports a soldier who is facing death every day of his life for thirteen months. She finds the right words that can renew the strength of a soldier facing the real death in battle. Besides, Miss Maynell has enough courage to test the relationship that lasted for more than a year in the bravest and most sophisticated way. In both stories, female characters represent strong and willful personalities who are not afraid of taking real actions when it is necessary and are ready to deal with the consequences.

Some degree of similarity can also be seen in the main characters of the stories. O’ Henry presents Jim to the reader in the following situation “He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two–and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat, and he was without gloves” (29). The main hero of “Appointment with Love” is presented with fewer words and in a less dramatic way “The tall young Army officer lifted his sunburned face” (para 1). That is all that can be said about the man of war searching for his true love. In general, young men can be described by their actions rather than by their appearance. We can say for sure that both of them are rather persistent. Lt. Blandford found a woman by her name written at the back of the books and became pen friends with her. Mr. James Dillingham Young or Jim is only 22 years old, but he does his best to support his family and make Christmas a real holiday for his wife.

Their characters are especially vividly unveiled in the moments of anxiety, and those moments show how similar those young men are experiencing stressful moments with a real storm of various emotions. In the course of a very short story, Lt. Blandford experiences a whole range of passions. At the very beginning of the story, he feels that “his heart was pounding with a beat that shocked him” (para. 1). Close to the outcome of the plot, “Blandford felt as though he were being split in two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own” ( para. 6). As a person who realizes that in love, one has to be wise, Lt. Blandford makes the right choice even in the state of anxiety. As for Mr. James Dillingham Young or Jim, facing the unexpected situation, he feels stunned and asks the same questions repeatedly, but as soon as he manages to collect himself, he finds the right words for his wife.

Some differences can be disclosed in the manner of the narration. Initially, “Appointment with Love” and “The Gift of the Magi” are written with the third-person narration. Usually, in such cases, the narrator is the author of the story. When the narrator is not one of the characters, the plot is described from the outside, and the reader is given an opportunity to see all the characters as equal and perceive the plot as a holistic picture rather than a line of events for a certain character.

Both stories have classical well-developed plots that go from the set-up to the payoff through the stage of climax. It is believed that “An outstanding quality of “Appointment with Love” is its plot” (Dunning 33). Stories written by O’ Henry are also characterized by neatly developed lines of narration. Well-organized and balanced plots contribute a lot to the disclosure of the theme of the stories.

Significant parts of the narration are devoted to the issues of the attractive appearance of a woman. In “Appointment with Love,” the conflict lies in the fact that in spite of having been corresponding with Miss Maynell for more than a year, Lt. Blandford never succeeded in talking her into sending him her photo. She responded to his request in the most sensible way “Suppose I am beautiful. I’d always be haunted that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose that I’m plain, then I’d always fear that you were only going on writing because you were lonely and had no one else” (para. 4).

The response of the girl brings us closer to the development of the theme. It discloses the meaning of inner beauty of true feelings and physical attractiveness that rivals it. The narration states that appearance can seriously influence human feelings. Della or Mrs. James Dillingham in “The Gift of the Magi is also really worried that her husband will not approve of her changed appearance. “If Jim doesn’t kill me,” she said to herself, “before he takes a second look at me, he’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl “(29). In the course of the narration, it becomes clear that appearance does not influence the feelings of the husband, whereas in “Appointment with Love,” the appearance of Miss Maynell has a crucial influence on Lt. Blandford’s feeling and their possible relationship, but the lieutenant manages to make the right choice.

Both “Appointment with Love” and “The Gift of the Magi describe young, active, and enthusiastic characters who realize that the course of life always tests deep real passions. It is vital to support the sincere feelings of the close people by looking into the heart and soul and supporting the person encouraging inner power and strength. The stories show that real feelings are not based on physical appearance; they take their roots in a person’s willingness to sacrifice a lot to support the human bond established by real emotional closeness.

Works Cited

Henry, Ossian. The gift of the Magi. Simon and Schuster, 2014. Print. 2-32.

Kishor, Sulamith Ish. “Appointment with Love.” Teaching Literature to Adolescents: Short Stories, edited by Stephen Dunning. Glenview, III.: Scott, Foresman, 1968. Print. 32-37.

Kishor, Sulamith Ish. Appointment with Love. 2017, Web.

“The Gift of the Magi” is a Christmas story by the 19th-century American writer O. Henry, a master of miniature laconic narration. The main characters of the story, Della and Jim, are married and, without a doubt, part with the most expensive things to make each other gifts for Christmas. The main characters live in a cheap apartment, and their income is low. Still, the touching love of a young couple works wonders because the smile of a loved one is more expensive than any gold watch or luxurious hair.

The main symbols of the story are tortoiseshell hair combs and a platinum chain for a pocket watch – the symbols of sacrifice and devotion. Gifts are unnecessary: there is no luxurious hair that could be decorated with tortoiseshell combs, and there is no watch that could be hung on a chain. Nevertheless, these gifts are priceless, Jim and Dell gave each other love, spiritual closeness, mutual understanding, and devotion. The story’s symbols embody real human feelings and values, sincere love, and willingness to make sacrifices. O. Henry (1992) writes about the two main characters in this way: “of all who give gifts, these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are the wise ones” (p. 5). These people turned out to be above everything petty and vain. Their gifts turned out to be more important and more valuable than the gifts of the Magi.

If someone were writing the story of my life, a bird would definitely be the present in this story. I believe that an essential attribute of a full-fledged life is freedom and independence. If people depend on someone’s opinion and rely on someone’s words so much that they lose their voice, then this is not life but existence. We are the creators of our destiny and future, and our life is in our hands. We are free to choose the direction we want and go there with our wings spread wide. A bird soaring freely in the sky would become a symbol of my life, a symbol of fearlessness and the desire for uncontrollability.

Reference

Henry, O. (1992). The Gift of the magi and other short stories. Dover Publications.

Looking for The Gift of the Magi essay? Summary and analysis of the themes, characters, and irony in the short story by O’Henry are below.

O. Henry, an American writer, is famous for his short stories with an unpredictable ending. The Gift of the Magi is one of his masterpieces, which has become a traditional Christmas tale. In this story, the author shows genuine love between young spouses, which is more precious than any material possessions. In this essay, the plot will be summarized, the main themes and characters will be discussed, and personal opinions will be given.

The Gifts of the Magi Summary

The story takes place just before Christmas, and Della Young is concerned about what she should give her husband, Jim, as a present. She counts her savings and finds only $1.87, which is not enough to buy a worthy gift. She is frustrated since she wants to present her husband with something he deserves for his hard work. Della tries to find a way out of the situation and finally comes up with an idea. The most precious thing she has is her long shining brown hair. After she looks at it in the mirror, she dresses up and goes to Madame Sofronie, a hairdresser. The woman cuts Della’s hair quickly and gives her $20.

Having enough money, Della visits several shops to find a present for Jim. She is not satisfied with anything she finds until she knows exactly what she needs. Della remembers that her husband’s most valuable thing is his gold watch, but he has to wear it with a leather strap since the original one has been broken. The woman finds a platinum chain that will perfectly suit the watch, pays $21 for it, and goes home.

When Jim arrives and sees his wife without her gorgeous hair, he becomes surprised and puzzled. Della cannot understand his reaction until she unpacks his present for her. She discovers a set of combs that she has desired for a long time, but since she does not have her long hair anymore, they appear to be useless. To comfort her husband, she hands him the platinum chain, only to find out that Jim has sold his gold watch to buy a present for her. Jim suggests they should put away their Christmas gifts and have dinner. The story ends with the statement that Della and Jim are the wisest of those who give presents.

The Gifts of the Magi Characters

Della is one of the two main characters of the story. She is young and beautiful, and she is distinguished by her complete devotion to her husband. Della appreciates him so much that she does not agree to present him with some trifle because he deserves something precious. For this reason, she dares sell her hair, which is the only treasure she possesses. She explains to Jim that she “couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present” (O. Henry 5). Apart from being deeply in love with her husband, Della is a highly emotional person. She does not hold back her tears when she is desperate and does not restrain her laugh when she is happy. Moreover, her mood can change in an instant, which happens when she grieves over her haircut, and the next moment she is anxious to give Jim his Christmas gift. Perhaps, the abundance of emotions contributed to Della’s deep affection for her husband.

Since Jim appears on the scene only at the end of the story, readers do not know his thoughts, but they see his actions. Like Della, Jim sacrificed the most precious thing he had, his gold watch, to buy a present for his wife. Thus, it may be assumed that he is as deeply in love with Della as she is with him. After all, the story is intended to show true affection, which is why the author made his characters so pure and loving.

The Gifts of the Magi Themes

The major theme of the story is pure love, which is the most valuable thing in the world. It is unconditional since Della and Jim do not need anything special from each other; they are just happy to be together. When Della counts her scarce savings, she does not even think to blame her husband for earning little money. On the contrary, she is happy to be his wife and wants to give him the best present she can afford (Study Guide 5). Due to the couple’s sacrifices, the author compares them to the magi who brought presents to baby Jesus (Zhang and Wang 657). However, he says that Jim and Della are wiser because they gave each other the most precious gift in the world, which is pure love (Zhang and Wang 657). Thus, the story conveys the idea of a relationship that should be pursued by everyone.

The Gift of the Magi also tackles the theme of wealth and poverty. According to Nagel, the story “resonates throughout American marriages, many of which went through periods of economic struggle at some point” (102). Indeed, the Young family is very poor, and Della has to haggle with vendors over every single penny (Tong 207). Even though they hardly make ends meet, Della and Jim are happy because they possess a much greater treasure than money – their love. As Zhang and Wang rightly stated, “There is no pure love in the world of money while there is no money in the world of love” (657). The story, therefore, conveys the idea that material possessions do not play a significant role in human life because deep affection is the only thing that matters.

The Gifts of the Magi Critique

Although the story is written to show readers pure love and encourage them to pursue this feeling in their lives, it seems slightly unreasonable when regarded from a realistic rather than a romantic point of view. The exchange of useless gifts would not have happened if the spouses had discussed their desires and plans with each other. Perhaps, they could have agreed upon a festive dinner or something pleasant for both, which would have saved their money and their personal treasures. After all, communication is a crucial part of a strong relationship. Therefore, instead of sacrificing something precious to surprise one’s partner, one had better inform him or her of one’s plans to avoid possible unpleasant consequences.

Conclusion

In conclusion, The Gift of the Magi is a kind and inspiring story about two young people truly loving each other. Their love is revealed by their willingness to sacrifice the most valuable things they own to bring joy to each other. Apart from the theme of affection, the story is concerned with the concepts of poverty and wealth. It asserts that rich people are not those with much money but those who love and are loved in return.

Works Cited

Nagel, James. The American Short Story Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

O. Henry. The Gift of the Magi. Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing, 2018.

Study Guide for O. Henry’s ‘The Gift of the Magi.’ Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015.

Tong, Lu. “A Brief Analysis on the Typical Writing Styles of O. Henry.” Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, vol. 30, 2016, pp. 205-208.

Zhang, Yue, and Lijun Wang. “On Different Types of Love Stories Written by O. Henry.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research, vol. 6, no. 3, 2015, pp. 656-661.

The Gifts of the Magi FAQ

1. What Is the Theme of The Gift of the Magi?
   The main theme in the story by O’Henry is unconditional love. Sacrificing their most precious things to make the other one happy, Della and Jim show that love is more important for them than any material possessions.
2. What Is the Irony in The Gift of the Magi?
   The most ironic episode in The Gift of the Magi takes place when Della opens the box with the gift from Jim. When she sees the tortoise shell combs, for a moment, she forgets that her hair isn’t long enough so she can use them.
3. What Point of View Is The Gift of the Magi?
   The Gift of the Magi is written in the third person point of view. The narrator is a non-participant. The story is told using pronouns like “she,” “he,” “they,” and “it.”

Introduction

The act of giving is described as the presentation of a gift to the intended individual with the purpose of pleasing or offering assistance to the recipient (Myss 7). This act is clearly depicted in two books, namely, In the American society by Gish Jen and The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.

This paper will analyze the theme of giving present in both pieces, as well as provide an evaluation of the theme’s existence in the two literature pieces.

In the American society

The book chronicles the challenges and tribulations faced by a Chinese-American family. The Chang family migrates to America from Taiwan, China, in pursuit of the American dream. However, all is not rosy as they realize that the American dream is an illusion, especially for Mr. Chang, who refers to it as an immigrant’s dream (Gish 44). The family struggles to fit in the American society and finds the task more difficult than they had previously imagined.

The book represents the social exclusion and culture shock that confronts most immigrants upon their arrival in America (Castillo 24).

The Gift of the Magi

The short story revolves around Jim and his wife Della, a poor couple that loves each other dearly. The couple only has two valuable possessions, Jim’s pocket watch that was given to him as a gift by his grandfather and Della’s long brown hair (Priddy 12). The author compares the value of these two possessions with King Solomon’s and Queen Sheba’s gifts. In this case, Jim and Della hold great importance to their possessions in a similar manner as the expensive gifts owned by King Solomon and Queen Sheba (Priddy 17).

The couple goes to great lengths to buy the perfect gift for each other for Christmas, only to realize the external value of their gifts is no longer of any use to either one of them.

Theme of giving

The act of giving as illustrated in In the American society adopts a give and take approach. In this case, any gift offered to the intended beneficiary is expected to be repaid in another form. This situation is represented by Mr. Chang’s character. He occasionally offers money to his employees and in return, he expects them to undertake odd jobs at the pancake house (Gish 29).

This situation also presents itself in Mrs. Chang. She tries to fit in the American social circle together with her daughters and as such, manages to obtain an invitation from Mrs. Lardner. In effect, she buys her husband a coat that he agrees to wear for her sake.

The twisted intent of giving in the book also reveals itself in Mrs. Lardner. Her real intention of gifting the Chang family with an invitation to her party is exposed when she requests Callie Chang to assist in serving at the party.

The book also depicts the consequences of not requesting something in return. Mr. Chang offers to help his employees, Booker and Cedric, obtain their permanent resident permits. However, they turn down his help. In addition, he gets into trouble with the Immigration Department when a disgruntled former employee reports Mr. Chang and accuses him of hiring illegal immigrants. However, he is set free, at the expense of Booker and Cedric. Mr. Chang however, posts their bail without expecting anything in return (Gish 77).

On the other hand, the theme of giving in The Gift of the Magi adopts a different approach. Jim and Della selflessly gift each other precious and expensive presents for Christmas. They each sacrifice their happiness and joy for the sake of their partner. The recipients also appreciate the gesture shown by the giver.

Della decides to cut her extremely long and beautiful hair to sell it to the hair salon where she gets it for $20. With the money in hand, she manages to buy Jim a platinum chain for his pocket watch (Priddy 25). However, she is apprehensive about Jim’s reaction to her cutting her hair. Although Jim is initially shocked by his wife’s new look, he appreciates the lengths his wife went to buy him the perfect gift.

Jim, on the other hand, decides to sell his pocket watch so as to buy the expensive hair combs his wife had long admired. Upon the realization that each partner’s gift was useless, it is revealed that the diminished external value does not have any effect on the intent that forms the basis of the gift.

The author at the end of the story compares Jim and Della to the magi or the three wise men that visited Baby Jesus and offered Him the gifts of Frankincense, myrrh and gold (Morgan-Cole 22). He indicates that Jim and Della are wiser than compared to the magi. Their love and sacrifice evidenced by the sale of their most prized possessions is greater than the external and material value of any gift.

Conclusion

According to Wright (12), the true value of a gift lies not on its material value, but on the sacrifice and intent of the giver. Therefore, the differences in the intent of the gift clearly come out in both In the American society and The Gift of the Magi.

Works cited

Castillo, Susan. American literature in context to 1865. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, 2011. Print.

Gish, Jen. In the American society. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2006. Print.

Morgan-Cole, Trudy. That first Christmas: The wise men. Hagerstown: Autumn House Publishers, 2010. Print.

Myss, Caroline. Invisible acts of power: The divine energy of a giving heart. New York: Simon & Schuster Publishers, 2013. Print.

Priddy, Joel. The gift of the magi and other short stories. New York: Dover Publications, 2010. Print.

Wright, Lauren. Giving, the sacred art: Creating a lifestyle of generosity. Woodstock: SkyLight Paths Publishers, 2008. Print.

Introduction

The short stories “The Gift of the Magi” by O Henry and “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence are both timeless classics that have touched readers all over the world due to their universal themes of love, luck, and poverty. In the Gift of the Magi, the story revolves around the unconditional love of a husband and wife, Jim and Della. They live in dire straits but desire to give each other something special for Christmas. The husband chooses to sell his expensive watch to get a lovely comb for his beautiful wife Della whereas Della sells her beautiful hair to get a watch chain for Jim. When it is time to exchange gifts, they find that the gifts are quite useless to them; but, at the same time, these gifts are priceless because of the selfless love they symbolized. The Rocking Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence revolves around Paul and his mother Hester who is an English woman haunted by a sense of failure and a fathomless passion for money. Her son Paul desires to get the “luck” that his mother desires. Paul soon realizes he has the gift of magically knowing in advance the winning horse in horse races if he rode on the rocking horse. This leads him to make some money that he gives to his mother. Instead of satisfying her, it merely sends her into a craving for more money. Paul rides the rocking horse to his death and in so doing makes eighty thousand pounds.

Similarities

Both the stories are based on the role of money in ordinary people’s lives. Jim and Della do not have the money to buy gifts for each other for Xmas. The story begins with the line: “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all” (O Henry 1). In the case of Rocking Horse Winner, the poverty is of a different kind: “There was never enough money. …for the social position which they had to keep up” (Lawrence, p. 30). As a result of the lack of money, Jim and Della are moved to sell their precious belongings while Paul is forced to push himself on the rocking horse in search of luck. Thus, Jim, Della, and Paul are pushed to a state of self-sacrifice as a result of a shortage of money.

Another unifying element in the stories is that the main characters are motivated by the emotion of love and the desire to give a gift to their loved ones. The love of Della motivates Jim to sell his watch while the love of Jim motivates Della to sell her precious hair. They do it so that they may give each other Christmas gifts. Paul’s love for his mom motivates him to go to the rocking horse in search of luck. His mother confides to him that she considers herself to be an unlucky woman married to an unlucky man. To allay her fears, Paul embarks on his quest for luck. He earns his first five thousand pounds and plans to gift it to his mother for her birthday. Loving and expressing love through a material gift are common elements in the two stories. Moreover, both the stories have a reference to Christmas.

Contrasts

The Gift of the Magi is a remarkably simple story with two main characters Jim and Della while the Rocking Horse Winner has many characters apart from Paul, his mother Hester, his two sisters, Paul’s uncle Oscar Cresswell and Bassett, the gardener are all important characters in the story. The main protagonists are of similar soft honest loving nature in the Gift of the Magi. But in the story “Rocking Horse Winner”, the characters are of different types.

Paul’s mother is a complicated woman who desires to have a high lifestyle that is always beyond what money she has. Paul is an isolated lonely young man who fiercely desires to get lucky to prove his self-worth and to bring money to his mother. Uncle Oscar is a gambling person who is into horse racing.

The stories convey different moods and different messages at the end. “The Gift of the Magi” ends on a very positive note and the author celebrates the love of Jim and Della through the words: “let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. …..They are the magi” (O Henry, p. 7). Contrastingly, “The Rocking Horse Winner” ends with the words of Oscar, mourning the loss of Paul in a deprecating manner: “But, poor devil, poor devil, he’s best gone out of a life where he rides his rocking horse to find a winner” (Lawrence, p.32).

Conclusion

While the Gift of the Magi has all good and simple characters, Rocking Horse Winner has complex characters in Hester and Paul. Both the stories show that love has the power to overcome the lack of money, though in different ways, and both the stories involve the element of self-sacrifice. Overall one finds that the Gift of the Magi by O Henry and Rocking Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence are powerful stories that make the readers think about the value of money and love in the world.

Works Cited

1. Lawrence, D. H. The Rocking-Horse Winner. Dramatic Publishing, 1966.
2. O Henry. “The Gift of the Magi”. Best Stories of O Henry: Gift Of The Magi, The Ransom Of Red Chief, Mammon And The Archer And Others. Kessinger Publishing, 2004

In this paper I would like to analyze the novel The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros and the short story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. In particular, it is necessary to discuss the themes, explored by two authors.

It seems that these literary works show how love of one’s family can help a person overcome many of his/her difficulties, like poverty or inability to raise one’s social status. The importance of family is one of the main issues, present in each of these works.

The characters of O. Henry’s story live beyond poverty line: James and Della have “one dollar and eighty-seven cents” at their possession, and they have to save money on everything in effort to make ends meet (O. Henry, unpaged). The same thing can be said about Esperanza and her family, who have to sleep in a single room. However, one should not assume that such poor living conditions force them into despair or egoism.

In The Gift of the Magi both James and Della are ready to make sacrifices for one another. As a matter of fact, they lose something that is most precious to them: Della decides to cut her beautiful hair, while James decides to sell his watch.

One cannot say that Esperanza is similarly devoted to her family but she also feels that even if she becomes successful, she would return to the family that she left behind (Cisneros, 111).

When speaking about the family life of the characters, one should mention that both authors give a very detailed description of the places in which they live in. For instance, O. Henry accurately depicts the furnishing of the department, rented by Della and James. From this description, one could easily understand that this family is not very wealthy, to say the least. Nonetheless, Della never blames Jack for it.

On the contrary she does her best to make her husband happy even despite the fact that she has to humiliate herself by wrangle over ever purchase with grocer or butcher (O. Henry, unpaged). Similarly, in the The House on Mango Street women also do not criticize their husbands, even though their families have to huddle together in a single room (Cisneros, 3).

For example, Esperanza’s mother gave up virtually all her ambitions in order to raise children: she turned to a traditional housewife. The thing is that neither Della nor Esperanza’s see themselves as victims of their husbands.

Finally, we need to say that love of one’s family gives characters hope for a better future, maybe not for them, but at least for their children. Esperanza’s mother cherishes the belief that her daughter will grow into an educated and independent person.

In her turn, Della hopes that in the future they will be able to get out of poverty. This examples show that love of one’s family really helps a person find better qualities within oneself. Probably, this is the main idea which the authors tried to convey to the reader.

Despite their overt differences in style, narrative mode, and structure, The House on Mango Street and The Gift of the Magi has a certain common feature, namely, the idea that the family unity is one of those things that can always support people especially at the time of need.

Works Cited

Cisneros. Sandra. The house on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1984. Print.

O. Henry. The Gift of the Magi. Available at: http://webhome.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html

The two stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry were examples of their authors’ writing talent. O. Henry and Poe were writers from separate eras; however, some similarities can be found in these stories, especially in terms of literary techniques employed. At the same time, the two stories differ in that they adopt distinct approaches to societal tensions and emphasize various parts of these and challenges.

“The Gift of the Magi” deals with a couple named James and Della, who eventually sold their most valuable belongings to buy each other presents for Christmas. Della discovers a set of pricey ornate hair combs, but they are worthless because she chopped off her hair to purchase Jim a chain for his watch, which he subsequently sold to give her a gift (O. Henry). In certain socioeconomic situation (the couple is impoverished), O. Henry employs irony to show the situation in which a person can give up the most precious thing to show love.

The major components of which “The Gift of the Magi” is being built up are irony and selfless love. While O. Henry’s story explores the positive aspects of these concepts, Poe delves into more negative, darker dimensions through the narratives of mental disorder. “The Gift of the Magi” became one of the foremost literary examples of irony (Sushma). Jim and Della offer their most valued belongings in this case so that the others might completely appreciate their gift. Jim sells his watch to purchase Della’s combs, anticipating that she will utilize them, while Della sells her hair to buy a present for Jim. Neither of them expects the other to go to such lengths. The irony here is effective on both a practical and a deeper, emotive level (Zafarovna). Della and Jim both purchase each other a gift that turns out to be financially foolish. They cannot spend money on stuff they won’t use since they’re impoverished. They do, however, receive something they did not expect: a present that reminds them of how much they love one other and are prepared to go to great lengths to make each other happy (Zafarovna). They offered each other the most powerful statement of their love they could muster.

One of Poe’s shortest stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” deals with paranoia and mental disintegration. While in “The Gifts of Magi” the aspect of mental illnesses is omitted, more focusing on the general assumptions of hardships of living being impoverished, Poe, as in most of his stories, delves into deeps of human mentality. In this story, Poe delves into a psychological mystery: why individuals damage those they love or need in their life (Bloom). Po, the narrator, adores the elderly gentleman. He is not envious of the elderly man’s fortune (he, himself, is impoverished), nor is he vengeful about minor matters. In this approach, the narrator removes potential reasons for a crime (Alsahafi). The narrator, claiming his own sanity, is fixated on the old man’s vulture look. In the end, the narrator further dehumanizes the elderly man by murdering him and dismembering his victim. The narrator validates his theory that the old man’s eye is distinct from him by fully killing him and dividing him into several bits (Poe). The protagonist, on the other hand, ironically confesses to the crime when the police turn up. Poe’s stories are known for literally bringing the dead back to life by utilizing memory as a trigger to bring them back to life (Alsahafi). He identifies the bothering sound as the old man’s heart beating beneath the floorboards, which completely ruins his mental health.

To make their stories more interesting for readers, O. Henry and Poe employed suspense, irony, or both. Irony has become a common thread running through both works, making them very similar in this aspect of their use of literary devices. Both O. Henry and Poe became well known for the twist endings, an unexpected outcome leading to a reassessment of the initial positions of their characters. However, the aspects of irony explored by authors are completely different. In “The Gifts of the Magi,” the irony brings the story to somewhat of a happy end. The ironic outcome of the gifts exchange serves as a bridge to the understanding of love, that is, sacrificing the most precious possessions (Sushma). Poe’s narrative is way darker in this regard, leading a reader not to expect the confession of a murderer, who is suddenly disturbed my ‘a heart pounding’.

Poe often employs dramatic irony, such as the narrator’s kindness to an elderly man a week before he murders him. The reader would not anticipate the narrator to be courteous to the elderly guy before killing him, therefore thus being a dramatic irony. Another ironic metaphor is situational, as the elderly gentleman keeps his windows securely shut due to his fear of intruders (Alsahafi). It is ironic since the narrator, who lives with him, is the only burglar near his house.

In both stories, the authors deal with impoverished protagonists who are going through a difficult time. This makes another point of comparison between stories. There are certain socioeconomic parallels between characters, and the environment is also nearly the same, namely, a modest flat. Moreover, both take place in the winter, one in January and the other at the turn of the century around Christmas time. The difference in socioeconomic conflicts, exaggerated by moral compasses, is still recognizable. Poe, in his usual manner, explores the insanity, leaving his protagonist with a moral imperative – he can not run away from your consciousness, no matter how finely did he cut it (and hid it) (Bloom). O’Henry built his narrative of slightly different construction, although also psychological – the connection between foolishness and socioeconomic conditions (Zafarovna). His protagonists sacrificed all they had for things they did not need, which theoretically can tear their lives apart.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry is exemplary literature works that contributed to the development of modern literature. As it was discussed, both authors resorted to the use of irony and similar decorations while exploring ultimately different outcomes in their own fashion. O. Henry presented us the eternal story of unselfish love, not deprived of more complicated, behind-the-bars dilemmas. In his traditional suspenseful, gothic style, Poe drove his protagonist to the murder of the person he tacitly adored, though at the same time hated. The differences and similarities of both pieces signify the uniqueness of the authors’ writing style, points of view, and overall impression on the readers.

Works Cited

Alsahafi, Morad. “A Narrative Discourse Analysis of Poe’s Short Story” The Tell-Tale Heart”: Implications for Language Teaching.” English Language Teaching vol 13, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1-17.

Bloom, Richard W. “In Search of the Tell-Tale Heart.”,2019, pp. 245-250.

Henry, O. The Gift of the Magi. Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., 1972.

Poe, Edgar Allan. The tell-tale heart. Penguin UK, 2015.

Sushma, B. “Interpretation of O. Henry’s Short Story ‘The Gift of the Magi’ Using Linguistic Approach.” International Journal on Multicultural Literature vol 9, no. 2, 2019.

Zafarovna, Zilola. “The Usage of Irony in O. Henry’s Story ‘The Gift of the Magi’. ” Chief Editor vol 84, 2021.