An Analysis of 'The Gift of the Magi'

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George Takla Mrs. Buscher English 1B July 08, 2014 Crazy for Love? There is so many different ways to define love and not everyone knows how it feels. In the short story “Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry, he demonstrates how a couple struggles to buy gifts for each other for christmas. However, the unexpected happens and the couple demonstrate the perfect form of irony. I will illustrate the events that took place in the short story and point out the irony that is taking place. The irony the characters present teaches the reader about sacrifice and love in marriage. Della decides to buy a chain for Jim, but Jim cannot wear the chain without the watch because Jim decides to buy combs for Della, which can’t be used as well because Della sells her hair to afford the watch for Jim. The “Gift of the Magi” includes a tone of irony throughout the short story because of the unexpected situations that happen. In a desperate tone, one dollar and eighty seven cents presents the couples situation because Della doesn’t have much time nor money to buy Jim a nice gift, nor does Jim for Della and the irony begins when the couple begins their hunt for the perfect gift. The author writes, “To-morrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months” (Henry 184). Della had been saving for months and she still can’t afford much. Being that the couple is very poor. Della could not save any more than a dollar and eighty seven cents. However, Della ends up finding a store that is willing to purchase her hair and so she cuts and sells her hair for twenty dollars. When one is willing to give up something significant to his or herself, in my opinion, is love. Della now has enough money to buy a watch for Jim. Della states that right when she saw the watch, she knew it was the one for him by saying “It was

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