ANALYZE THE SECOND SHORT STORY, USE THE FULL INTERPRETATION

FRAMEWORK.
Gift of the Magi is a short story written by the famous American writer O-Henry (September
11, 1862 - June 5, 1910) published in 1906. The author presents us, a touching story that focuses
on the notion of gifts between impoverished couples and the corresponding result of their
intention to offer something during the Christmas season. According to the visual description
of the building in which Jim and Della live, the story was located in a very poor neighborhood
in one of the US cities. It is probable to be New York, since it gives us as references
"Broadways" and "Coney Island". In addition, we have to assume that the story takes place
sometime after 1900, because there was a floor that, although it was old, had electric buttons
in the entrance area of the ground floor. And electricity was widely available in New York City
beginning in the 1890s.
On the other hand, the literary genre of this story is prose fiction, where its plot is an artistic
arrangement devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence. The story has an
objective and expository statement to set a narrative tone. Throughout the story, we managed
to identify that its main characters: Della and Jim are narrated from the third person. Della is
considered to be the main character since it is, she who appears from the beginning to the end
of the story. Della doesn't know how to get more money to buy a gift for Jim, her husband, as
she only had $ 1.87 until she finally sold her hair so she could buy a nice gift. Meanwhile, Jim
is another person who is in a relationship with Della, the first main character. Jim also makes
sacrifices for Della and they create a nice flow of the story. Also, there is a minor character.
She is Madame Sofronie, who was the woman who bought Della's hair for $ 20.
Regarding its culture, it could be said that it is traditional, religious and very familiar. The
"magi" is a reference to the biblical magi who brought gifts to Jesus when he was born. In the
biblical story, the wise men followed the star of Bethlehem to the manager of Jesus and gave
it gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts established the Christian tradition of giving gifts
on Christmas Day.
Overall, Henry's 'Gift of the Magi' is a wonderful story that goes beyond the Christmas
tradition as it invites readers to appreciate the true nature of gift-giving, through Love, Sacrifice
and Wisdom. He shows that it is not material things that define value and importance. Rather,
it is the inclination of one to show importance to another and try to offer the most valuable that
means to us. Della and Jim each gave up their most valuable personal possession to make the
other person happy for Christmas. Using Jim and Della's situation, the author led readers to
rethink what really matters to their loved ones.
Finally, this story could well be adapted into a classic play, or a movie. And going even
further, it could be a family with children, where parents and their unconditional love would
reflect great sacrifices. In this classic example of irony, O. Henry allow to reflect upon the true
meaning of discovery and joy through the people, events, and relationships.
REFERENCES:
O. Henry (1906) The Gift of the Magi.
Pope, R. (2012). Studying English Literature and Language: An Introduction and
Companion. Rutledge.
Shavira, S. (2021) «english.binus.ac.id» Retrieved November 25, 2021.
https://english.binus.ac.id/2014/11/07/a-critical-analysis-of-o-henrys-the-gift-of-the-magi/