The Gift of the Magi
The Theme of “The Gift of the Magi”
William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry as it is widely known, is one of the most famous names in American literature. He was a master short-story writer of nearly 300 short stories. With a very inventive mind, he made plots for his stories from the commonplace things. The settings of his stories were drawn from his experience and, likewise, his characters were based on actual people he had known. In rapid-moving prose, he developed his stories imaginatively and skillfully, keeping readers wondering about the outcome, which was always a surprise. Among his short stories, The Gift of the Magi is possibly the most well-known. Its enduring appeal can be traced to the universal themes of wealth, poverty, and generosity wrapped together by the selfless love of the two main characters Jim and Della. In other words, the theme of “The Gift of the Magi” is the “Irony of life”. To understand clearly the irony of life in “The Gift of the Magi”, we need to know the meaning of a word “irony”. So what is irony? Irony is a situation, an event, or a thing that is desirable in itself but so unexpected or ill-timed that it appears to be deliberately unacceptable or unreasonable. In “The Gift of the Magi”, “the irony of life” is presented through a story of love and sacrifice between a young couple, Jim and Della, who are poor materially but not poor spiritually: in fact, they are generous lovers and the love and care and sacrifice they show to each other is beyond doubt and beyond limit. Firstly, the “irony of life” in “The Gift of the Magi” lies in the coincidence of Della and Jim’s thoughts and actions. “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.” Della counted it three times. On Christmas, people often give a present to their lover, their relatives, their friends… and Della wanted to do the same. Unexpectedly, her possession is only
one dollar and eighty-seven cents, she felt unhappy and confused. “She stood
William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry as it is widely known, is one of the most famous names in American literature. He was a master short-story writer of nearly 300 short stories. With a very inventive mind, he made plots for his stories from the commonplace things. The settings of his stories were drawn from his experience and, likewise, his characters were based on actual people he had known. In rapid-moving prose, he developed his stories imaginatively and skillfully, keeping readers wondering about the outcome, which was always a surprise. Among his short stories, The Gift of the Magi is possibly the most well-known. Its enduring appeal can be traced to the universal themes of wealth, poverty, and generosity wrapped together by the selfless love of the two main characters Jim and Della. In other words, the theme of “The Gift of the Magi” is the “Irony of life”. To understand clearly the irony of life in “The Gift of the Magi”, we need to know the meaning of a word “irony”. So what is irony? Irony is a situation, an event, or a thing that is desirable in itself but so unexpected or ill-timed that it appears to be deliberately unacceptable or unreasonable. In “The Gift of the Magi”, “the irony of life” is presented through a story of love and sacrifice between a young couple, Jim and Della, who are poor materially but not poor spiritually: in fact, they are generous lovers and the love and care and sacrifice they show to each other is beyond doubt and beyond limit. Firstly, the “irony of life” in “The Gift of the Magi” lies in the coincidence of Della and Jim’s thoughts and actions. “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.” Della counted it three times. On Christmas, people often give a present to their lover, their relatives, their friends… and Della wanted to do the same. Unexpectedly, her possession is only
one dollar and eighty-seven cents, she felt unhappy and confused. “She stood