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Explore the themes of value, love, sacrifice and beauty in O. Henry's classic short story The Gift of the Magi. Learn how the characters' choices and actions reveal their values and how they contrast with the irony of the twist ending.
- Love
Della’s main concern is that the money she’s saved by...
- Value
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Gift...
- Sacrifice
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Gift...
- Beauty
“Gift of the Magi” constantly contrasts the idea of inner...
- Summary & Analysis
The story begins on Christmas Eve, with Della lamenting the...
- Love
- The Interconnectedness of Poverty and Shame
- The Importance of Generosity and Love
- The Juxtaposition of Foolishness and Wisdom
The interconnectedness of poverty and shame is apparent from the opening paragraph as Della fretfully counts her savings. She shamefully notes that sixty cents of the one dollar and eighty-seven cents she’s saved are in pennies because pennies are the lowest denomination of currency. She describes the embarrassment she feels as she haggles over the...
Della and Jim’s love for each other is clear through small and large acts of generosity throughout the story. Della pinches pennies to save up for a present even when the act of haggling embarrasses her. Although her hair is extremely important to her, Della sacrifices it to buy Jim a gift she views as worthy of him. Similarly, Jim goes without glo...
Henry’s presentation of Della’s actions can be viewed both as foolishness and wisdom. On a surface level, Della’s quick decision to cut off her hair represents her impulsiveness. The words used to describe her departure from the house imply a rush of action as she throws on her coat and her skirts whirl as she flutters out the door. The scene at th...
Learn about the themes of O. Henry's classic Christmas story, such as poverty, love, sacrifice, and gender. The story explores how Jim and Della, a poor couple who love each other, buy each other gifts that are useless, but prove their love and generosity.
The main themes in "The Gift of the Magi" are generosity, love, and wealth. Generosity: Generosity drives both Jim and Della, who, despite living in poverty, want to give each other...
The Gift of the Magi is a story by O. Henry, a prolific American author known for his wit, wordplay, and twist endings. Read the text at CommonLit.
"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money.
Themes. Characters. Symbols. Quotes. Value vs. Materialism. "The Gift of the Magi" focuses on two young lovers who have very little in terms of material possessions. The story's opening emphasizes their impoverished circumstances—the worn-out couch, the absence of a mirror, the cheap apartment, and the non-functioning doorbell.
