The Magi

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Love, sacrifice, generosity, and happiness are all common motifs in “The Gift of the Magi.” However, they are all interconnected in the story to produce one overall theme, but how is this theme developed in the story? O. Henry’s short story, “The Gift of the Magi,” centers around Della and James Dillingham Young who struggle to buy one another Christmas gifts. In O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” he develops the theme that putting others before oneself is the ultimate sacrifice to prove love and gain happiness by using setting, irony, and characterization. The first literary element that O. Henry uses to develop theme is setting. A quote by the narrator proves this point as Della flopped down on the shabby little couch and howled. The narrator …show more content…
Henry uses to develop theme is irony. As the Della explains when Jim stares at her all confused, “You needn’t look for it [hair]. It’s sold.” A few stanzas later once Jim got out of his trance Della told him why she cut her hair. After that, Jim gave Della his gift, and she went ecstatic. Suddenly Della realized, she had not given Jim his gift yet, so she held out the chain she got for Jim in her palm and told Jim to put it on. Then Jim explained, “… I sold that watch to get the money to buy your combs.” There is situational irony in the quotes because nobody expected both main characters to sell their prized possession for the other characters prized possession. This may affect theme by showing how much Della and Jim cared for each other. Another example of irony comes at the end of the story when the narrator is talking about the magi he calls Jim and Della foolish, “And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house.” Later, O. Henry goes on to call Jim and Della the wisest, “O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are the wisest. They are the magi.” These statements are ironic because O. Henry dismisses Jim and Della as foolish, but comes back to say they are actually wise because of their self-sacrifice and love they represent the original spirit of the magi. This …show more content…
Henry uses to develop theme is characterization. Characterization is the process through which the writer reveals the personality of a character. For instance, when Della exclaims, “Give it to me quick,” to Madame Sofronie she is desperate. This relates to theme because it shows that Della does not want to regret what she is doing, but it is a sacrifice for Jim. Another case in point is when the narrator tells the reader that Della, “knew it must be Jim’s.” Since this is so, the reader can tell that Della is determined to get something that is worthy of Jim because she loves him. This applies to theme because it shows how well the main characters know each other because of love. Lastly, when Jim expresses, “I don’t think there’s anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less,” the reader is shown the true love between Jim and Della. Overall, characterization can affect theme by making characters sacrifice for one another because they love each other so
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