The Sacrifices for Love
I. Introduction.
Introduce thesis: “The Gift of the Magi”, a short story written by O. Henry in which love is more important than any material item and the value of a gift lies in the sacrifice behind it, rather than its material value.
Thesis: Love prevails over material value since the main characters show the love for each other by giving up their most valued material possessions to buy Christmas presents for each other.
II. Plot.
A. Della and Jim are a married young couple living in an $8 a week apartment.
1. Della only has $1.87 saved to buy the perfect Christmas present for Jim.
2. Jim also wants to buy his wife a Christmas present.
B. Both sell their sentimental possessions to have money to buy a Christmas …show more content…
Della and Jim have no regrets about giving up their personal possession. Thus, Della and Jim give up their most loved sentimental possessions and do not worry that the gifts they buy for each other no longer have any use. Today, people are often money oriented, selfish and greedy, while gift giving, but what should matter most according to this short story is the love expressed through the sacrifice of sentimental possessions rather than the gift giving of materialistic presents. As illustrated, at the end of the story when Jim smiles as he discovers each other sacrifices and says, “Let’s put our Christmas gifts away and keep ’em a while . . . I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs,” (“The Gift of the Magi – a Short Story”). The narrator suggests that Jim is not concerned with the presents that each one of them buy, but what matters to Jim and Della is that they now know that each would sacrifice their most prized possessions to please the other. They realize that having each other is worth much more than having the material possessions. They value their love and feelings over the material value. More importantly, the plot and its unexpected climax are essential to supporting the theme of this story since people go as far as to sell their most loved sentimental possessions in order to buy presents for each other prizing the value of love over material
I. Introduction.
Introduce thesis: “The Gift of the Magi”, a short story written by O. Henry in which love is more important than any material item and the value of a gift lies in the sacrifice behind it, rather than its material value.
Thesis: Love prevails over material value since the main characters show the love for each other by giving up their most valued material possessions to buy Christmas presents for each other.
II. Plot.
A. Della and Jim are a married young couple living in an $8 a week apartment.
1. Della only has $1.87 saved to buy the perfect Christmas present for Jim.
2. Jim also wants to buy his wife a Christmas present.
B. Both sell their sentimental possessions to have money to buy a Christmas …show more content…
Della and Jim have no regrets about giving up their personal possession. Thus, Della and Jim give up their most loved sentimental possessions and do not worry that the gifts they buy for each other no longer have any use. Today, people are often money oriented, selfish and greedy, while gift giving, but what should matter most according to this short story is the love expressed through the sacrifice of sentimental possessions rather than the gift giving of materialistic presents. As illustrated, at the end of the story when Jim smiles as he discovers each other sacrifices and says, “Let’s put our Christmas gifts away and keep ’em a while . . . I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs,” (“The Gift of the Magi – a Short Story”). The narrator suggests that Jim is not concerned with the presents that each one of them buy, but what matters to Jim and Della is that they now know that each would sacrifice their most prized possessions to please the other. They realize that having each other is worth much more than having the material possessions. They value their love and feelings over the material value. More importantly, the plot and its unexpected climax are essential to supporting the theme of this story since people go as far as to sell their most loved sentimental possessions in order to buy presents for each other prizing the value of love over material