Symbolism In The Gift Of The Magi

Decent Essays
The symbolism of The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, is that sacrificing your most valued possessions for the one you love is the greatest kind of humbleness. In this case, Della thinks her lover will not like her anymore since she cut off her hair. Her husband Jim, specifically states, “I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like you any less” (Henry 102). Jim is clearly fine with the way she looks even after a haircut. This shows how much they love each other despite the sacrifices. Another example is that the author explains, “I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children who unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house” (Henry

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    For example, Henry states, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts” (Henry 101). This is a reference to Homer’s Odyssey. The siren that is spoken of is Circe, who turns men into pigs by bewitching them with her song. It serves to create vivid imagery in the minds of all those listening to Henry speak. King begins his speech with, “Five score years ago” (King 1).…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Henry’s biblical allusion is an appeal to ethos because the role of God was a large part of many colonials lives. It challenges their faith by comparing God’s truth to the need to fight for freedom. After capturing the attention of the audience through his biblical allusion, Henry transitions to his mythological allusion to eliminate the possibility of men being lured into the British trap of American subordination. For example Henry alludes, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.” This is an allusion Circe in Homer’s Odyssey, a nymph that would turn men into swine after charming them with her singing.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code is a world renowned novel known for its controversial depiction of the Catholic church and the use of secret societies to tell his fictitious tale of finding one of the world’s most famous artifacts. A devout Monk, Silas, of Opus Dei (a secret Catholic Society) is sent by an unknown Teacher to find the hidden location of the famous Holy Grail in Paris. After confirming the location with 3 members of the Priory of Sion (keepers of the Holy Grail), Silas shoots Jacques Sauniere, the master of the secret society. Unbeknownst to him, all the members, including Sauniere, had given him a false location.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As one analyzes both How to Read Literature Like a Professor and the character speech from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, a connection can be distinguished between Professor Foster’s guide in chapter 20 about seasons and the speech’s course. Throughout the speech, the seasons seem to guide our anonymous narrator -who seems to stand for Henry VIII - through a passage of time that leads him to a fall that he cannot return from- the death of his pride and reign. Throughout the speech, the seasons are able to characterize the atmosphere and tone of the time, making the speech seem more dramatic and impactful to Henry VIII’s lasting legacy. Towards the beginning of the character speech, the language Shakespeare uses guides the audience’s attention towards…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The author uses this quote in the novel "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" to prove the seriousness of Henry's father toward Henry. His father is very strict and does not want Henry to be anything but enemies with anyone of Japanese descent. This quote is an example of epiphany because Henry does not realize how serious his father is about the Japanese until he shows his true feelings.…

    • 71 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first task of writing my rhetorical analysis was reading the speeches from Henry…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    An example of this would be when James was going off to college and his mother gave all she had to James to further his education. As stated in the book “ As I stepped on the bus, she squeezed a bunch of bills and change into my hand. ‘It’s all I have,’ she said. I counted it. Fourteen dollars.”…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    How to Show Love How is love shown? How do you know how much one loves the other? Is it through words, money, or gifts? In the short stories “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry and “Bluffing” by Gail Helgason they show that love is not about what you say, it is about what you do. Words can be used without the user being responsible to its meanings, so it cannot be used to measure one’s love for another.…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What ended up mattering most was Catherine. The goal of this paper is to elucidate these changes within Henry and those with whom he had relationships with. Concerning the war, Henry’s casual, careless attitude deteriorated throughout. In Book I, it’s apparent that he doesn’t care much about the war.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    At some point in life, everybody has had dreams, hopes for the future, whether it be as a child, teenager, or adult. In the novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck and the short story “The Gift of the Magi” written by O’ Henry, hope is used as a theme and plot device driving the story forward. However different, in these stories the theme of hope/achieving goals can and is seen, George and Lennie's hope to have a better life vs. Della and Jim’s hope for a nice Christmas, how they go about to achieve their hopes and the result of their efforts. The difference in circumstances in these stories for the characters is as apparent as black and white, one pair is searching for gifts in hopes of getting each other thoughtful presents for the…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Symbolism In The Giver

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As I continue to read this book it gets more and more interesting. The amount of symbolism in this book is amazing and kind of eerily similar to our society in many ways. In the book they just had the ceremony of twelve which the event where they give every child their permanent job based on what the elders have observed about them. I believe that this is very similar to how getting a job in our society is, based on how well you do in school and what you major in you are limited to certain careers and are unable to pursue others regardless of anything you do. Jonas is very anxious about the event, he is worried that he will be stuck with a job he doesn’t have a passion for or one that is not prestigious.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Tennyson uses language to connect them; his title for Arthur “the Good King” (XI. 207) parallels the language used to describe the Prince Consort, whom Tennyson describes as “Albert the Good” (I. 42). Similarly, Tennyson claims that Albert seems “scarce other than my king’s ideal knight” (I. 7). However, once this connection is established, the list of characteristics which Tennyson attributes to both the fictional King Arthur and the Prince Consort actually serves to prove the deficiencies in the King. For example, despite the claims that Arthur “spake no slander, no, nor listen’d to it” (I. 9), at several points he is actually “vexed at a rumor issued from [Vivien]/ of some corruption among his knights” (VI. 151-152). When Arthur ignores the rumors around him, the gossip which permeates the kingdom concerning Guinevere’s infidelity leads to the slow degeneration of his realm.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry portrays the theme that 'relationships are more important than material belongings' through its use of situational irony. To start, when Della cut her hair, Jim said that there was not “a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less” (Henry 107). This shows that Jim does not love Della for her hair, even though it may be a very defining feature of her, Jim didn't like her any less. Also, even though Jim got her combs for Christmas, he didn't get mad at Della for cutting her hair, loving her all the same. Secondly, Della cut her hair to buy a present that “had surely been made for Jim and no one else” (Henry 106).…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Henry also expresses the love that James and Della have for each other. Della doesn’t just cry when she realizes that she doesn’t have the money for a great gift for James, she howls. She greatly hugs him when he returns home and gets to his flat. After cutting her hair and receiving the money to buy his gift she was so ecstatic that her sacrifice seemed to not bother her until she got home and looked at it, and even then she was only worried that James wouldn’t like her without hair. She pleaded with him to be good to her because in her own words “I couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present.” (Clugston, 2010) She is only briefly sad when she realizes that she has no hair to wear the beautiful combs that James has bought her.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Theme Of Irony In O Henry

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages

    O. Henry 's three stories, “A Retrieved Reformation,” “The Gift of the Magi,” and “The Last Leaf” demonstrates the talent of this writer. In all three of these stories, unique literary techniques are used to create plot twists and unexpected turns. A common literary technique used in O. Henry 's three stories is irony, which is used to create a humorous and surprising effect. In addition, O. Henry uses foreshadowing in all three stories in order to build suspense as the reader anticipates the surprise ending.…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays