The “Gift of the Magi” written by O. Henry is a short story that captures the true essence of love. The story is about a wife named Della, who finds herself in a dilemma when she had been saving up for months, but still did not have enough money to get her husband Jim a gift. Jim and Della own two items that are of substantial value, Jim's gold watch and Della's hair. To get Jim a present, Della decides to cut off her hair. After cutting her hair and selling it, Della takes the money and buys a gold watch chain which would go along with Jim’s watch. After she gives the gold chain to Jim, he looks shocked. He has sold his watch to purchase Della a comb. The author does this to show materialistic items are not needed in love. True lovers just
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Henry uses the symbolism of gold as a representation of Jim’s purity and family ties. When O. Henry describes Jim’s gold chain he says, “Because it was so plain and simple, you knew that it was very valuable. All good things are like this” (Henry). Since Jim owns the watch, the reader can assume that the watch and Jim’s value is shared so his values are also simplistic and pure. Jim’s gold chain also allows the reader to compare Jim with the unique qualities of gold, which is defined as an item free from other impurities. When Jim says, “Nothing like a haircut could make me love you any less,” Jim demonstrates purity because he loves his wife no matter how she looks (Henry). Jim’s purity helps the reader gain the feeling of love in the short story because he loves his wife no matter the circumstances. Jim’s purity can be seen in the same way since he is a man with pure intentions and does everything so that his spouse will be happy. In addition, when O. Henry describes the watch, he states that the watch was owned by his father and his grandfather. “Handed down from his grandfather to his father to Jim the watch is lauded as a treasure”, Jim’s watch signifies his family and his heritage, since his gold watch has been passed down for generations (Wilson). When Jim sells his watch, he is giving up his family ties to have his relationship with Della. Jim’s ability to sacrifice family ties which are represented by the sale of his watch and the ability to sacrifice time by working represents the sacrifices he made to be in love with
Henry uses the symbolism of gold as a representation of Jim’s purity and family ties. When O. Henry describes Jim’s gold chain he says, “Because it was so plain and simple, you knew that it was very valuable. All good things are like this” (Henry). Since Jim owns the watch, the reader can assume that the watch and Jim’s value is shared so his values are also simplistic and pure. Jim’s gold chain also allows the reader to compare Jim with the unique qualities of gold, which is defined as an item free from other impurities. When Jim says, “Nothing like a haircut could make me love you any less,” Jim demonstrates purity because he loves his wife no matter how she looks (Henry). Jim’s purity helps the reader gain the feeling of love in the short story because he loves his wife no matter the circumstances. Jim’s purity can be seen in the same way since he is a man with pure intentions and does everything so that his spouse will be happy. In addition, when O. Henry describes the watch, he states that the watch was owned by his father and his grandfather. “Handed down from his grandfather to his father to Jim the watch is lauded as a treasure”, Jim’s watch signifies his family and his heritage, since his gold watch has been passed down for generations (Wilson). When Jim sells his watch, he is giving up his family ties to have his relationship with Della. Jim’s ability to sacrifice family ties which are represented by the sale of his watch and the ability to sacrifice time by working represents the sacrifices he made to be in love with