Symbols In The Gift Of Magi
Themes and Narration
ENG 125
September 2, 2013
Theme is the idea behind a story. Literary symbols and point of view help us to understand what the theme of a story actually is. The theme of “The gift of Magi” is selflessness. Symbolism and Plot are two literary elements in this story that contribute to the theme. The theme in a story is associated with an idea that lies behind the story (R.W. Clugston, 2010) To understand what the theme of the story is we have to figure out what the literary symbols are and what they stand for.
“The Gift of Magi” tells a story of what lengths Della and Jim would go to make each other happy. They had two prized possessions which were; Della’s hair and Jim’s gold watch. Della sells her hair to buy Jim a gift for Christmas and Jim sells his gold watch to do the same for Della. All the while Della sold her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch and Jim is selling his watch to buy Della combs for her hair. In the end the possessions mean nothing and it’s the feeling of making each other happy that …show more content…
Clugston, 2010). Symbols can be colors, flowers, trees, seasons etc. In “The Gift of Magi” a lot of colors such as; gold, gray, and brown are used to symbolize different things. The color gold is a symbol of perfection and I think that this story is about striving for perfection when it has already been achieved. For a couple to trade their most prized possessions to make each other happy seems like perfection to me. Ironically they were both doing the same things and bought gifts that were useless after the fact. When Della is looking at the gray cat on the gray fence in the gray yard, I believe this is symbolizing her mood and how she is feeling about not having a gift for Jim and had no choice but to sell her
ENG 125
September 2, 2013
Theme is the idea behind a story. Literary symbols and point of view help us to understand what the theme of a story actually is. The theme of “The gift of Magi” is selflessness. Symbolism and Plot are two literary elements in this story that contribute to the theme. The theme in a story is associated with an idea that lies behind the story (R.W. Clugston, 2010) To understand what the theme of the story is we have to figure out what the literary symbols are and what they stand for.
“The Gift of Magi” tells a story of what lengths Della and Jim would go to make each other happy. They had two prized possessions which were; Della’s hair and Jim’s gold watch. Della sells her hair to buy Jim a gift for Christmas and Jim sells his gold watch to do the same for Della. All the while Della sold her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch and Jim is selling his watch to buy Della combs for her hair. In the end the possessions mean nothing and it’s the feeling of making each other happy that …show more content…
Clugston, 2010). Symbols can be colors, flowers, trees, seasons etc. In “The Gift of Magi” a lot of colors such as; gold, gray, and brown are used to symbolize different things. The color gold is a symbol of perfection and I think that this story is about striving for perfection when it has already been achieved. For a couple to trade their most prized possessions to make each other happy seems like perfection to me. Ironically they were both doing the same things and bought gifts that were useless after the fact. When Della is looking at the gray cat on the gray fence in the gray yard, I believe this is symbolizing her mood and how she is feeling about not having a gift for Jim and had no choice but to sell her