Sacrifice In O. Henry's 'The Gift Of The Magi'

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness,” states Napoleon Hill. This quote reveals that if something will become great, it requires great sacrifice. This incident happens in the short story, “The Gift of the Magi,” by O. Henry, when a couple with the names Della and Jim James Dillingham Young sacrifice in order to make each other happy, despite hard times. I claim that the theme of the story, “The Gift of the Magi,” is great treasure comes with sacrifice and tough challenges. One dramatic challenge that Della and Jim have to withstand is living on a low budget. For instance, the author, O. Henry, clearly pointed out that that have “Furnished rooms at a cost of $8 a week,” and …show more content…
To clarify, the author describes that “The James Dillingham Youngs were very proud of two things which they owned. One thing was Jim’s gold watch. It had belonged to his father. And long ago, it had belonged to his father’s father. The other things was Della’s hair.” This phrase magnificent the fact that the couple were dramatically proud of the possessions, but they were courageous enough to give up their possessions for the purpose of bringing joy. Supporting the previous example, the narrator goes on to talk about how much more confident Della and Jim are whenever they have thoughts of their belongings. If Della was in a room with a queen, “Della would have washed and dried her hair where the queen would see it,” and if Jim would be in a room with a king, “Jim would have looked at his watch every time they met.” Some people may think that Della and Jim are braggarts and love to show off Della’s hair and Jim’s watch. Although this may be true, they would also, without a doubt, be grateful to have something to be proud of, since they are looked down on. Generally speaking, the Dillingham not only gave away their prizes, but also their pride, too, which were sacrifices made for each