In O. Henry’s short story, “The Gift of the Magi,” there are two constant themes that O. Henry focuses on. The two main themes that O. Henry focuses on are love and sacrifice. In the story, O. Henry manages to make the themes of love and sacrifice coordinate with each other. He shows how the two themes go together by showing how love persuades people to sacrifice anything just to make their loved ones happy and helps the loved ones realize how much they are loved and appreciated. The theme of love is expressed throughout the story by both the character Della, and the character Jim. O. Henry indirectly shows how much Della loves and adores Jim when the narrator states, “Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had
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Henry is able to connect the two main themes of love and sacrifice. Throughout the story, O. Henry successfully shows how love and sacrifice ultimately go hand in hand. He indirectly shows that if someone loves their significant other enough, then they are capable of sacrificing everything for their loved ones. The author demonstrates this when the couple of the story ends up sacrificing their most valued and loved items in order to buy their loved ones a perfect gift for Christmas. O. Henry shows this when the narrator states, “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” (179). In the previous quote, O. Henry shows that the couple did, in fact, sacrifice their greatest treasures just to please their loved one with a special gift that they knew they could get much use of. The author is able to connect sacrifice and love when Della states, “I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present” (Henry 178). The previous quote shows that Della had in fact sacrificed her most prized possession out of her love for Jim and how she wanted to show Jim just how much she loves him by doing so. Della further explains her sacrifice for her love when she tells Jim that he should be good to her since she sacrificed her hair for him and that nobody could ever count her love for Jim (Henry 178). O. Henry also proves just how precious the items that they sacrifice are to them when he compares Della’s hair to the Queen of Sheba’s jewels and gifts and Jim’s watch to King Solomon’s treasures (176-177); by making this comparison, O. Henry shows that the couple must love each other tremendously if they are willing to sacrifice items that they think this highly
Henry is able to connect the two main themes of love and sacrifice. Throughout the story, O. Henry successfully shows how love and sacrifice ultimately go hand in hand. He indirectly shows that if someone loves their significant other enough, then they are capable of sacrificing everything for their loved ones. The author demonstrates this when the couple of the story ends up sacrificing their most valued and loved items in order to buy their loved ones a perfect gift for Christmas. O. Henry shows this when the narrator states, “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” (179). In the previous quote, O. Henry shows that the couple did, in fact, sacrifice their greatest treasures just to please their loved one with a special gift that they knew they could get much use of. The author is able to connect sacrifice and love when Della states, “I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present” (Henry 178). The previous quote shows that Della had in fact sacrificed her most prized possession out of her love for Jim and how she wanted to show Jim just how much she loves him by doing so. Della further explains her sacrifice for her love when she tells Jim that he should be good to her since she sacrificed her hair for him and that nobody could ever count her love for Jim (Henry 178). O. Henry also proves just how precious the items that they sacrifice are to them when he compares Della’s hair to the Queen of Sheba’s jewels and gifts and Jim’s watch to King Solomon’s treasures (176-177); by making this comparison, O. Henry shows that the couple must love each other tremendously if they are willing to sacrifice items that they think this highly