Unlike Matildhe, Della was caring and considerate. She had less money, but didn't selfishly complain. She was content with the way she lived. All Della wanted was enough money to buy her husband a nice watch chain for Christmas. In order to collect the money needed for the chain, she selflessly sold her long, beautiful hair.
O’Henry does not give us the details surrounding Jim’s conundrum, but we can conclude he also lacks in monetary means to purchase the gift he wants to give Della. As the story progresses, we see Della and Jim resort to selling their most prized possessions, “Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair.” (O’Hare 1906, para. 9), in order to obtain enough money to buy the prospective gifts (hair combs for Della and a watch chain for Jim).
The main character Ed Kennedy learns to adopt better qualities of humanity. In one of his missions, he gives a family a warm welcoming Christmas, who is new to the neighborhood because no one has ever come to meet them or help them. Ed decides to “brighten up the Tatupu house this year”(Pg.221) by buying them Christmas lights exactly the same as the old ones and realizes that “It’s not a big thing, but I guess it’s true—big things are often just small things that are noticed”(Pg.221). Ed knows that buying the same lights is not huge and expensive, but he understands that small things are big. Money is not only thing that can make someone happy; it’s the littlest things that can bright up someone’s life, which is what the author shows in I am the Messenger.
Also Eliza resisted the sexual double-standard which I found really amazing. “Marriage is the tomb of friendship. It appears to me a very selfish state. Why do people, in general, as soon as they are married, centre all their cares, their concerns, and pleasures ion their own families? Former acquaintances are neglected or forgotten.
Collins feels like he’s doing the Bennet’s a favor by proposing to Lizzie. He figures that if they do marry that at least one of them gets to remain in the household. Mr. Headstone’s proposal is more sentimental and heartfelt than Mr. Collins. Both Lizzie’s say no when they are asked their hand in marriage. Neither of them loves the men that are proposing to them nor do they want to be with them.
In the story a gift of the magi, one whole paragraph is dedicated to the main character- Della’s- worry about if her husband will still find her attractive, even though she cut off and sold her hair to buy him a Christmas gift. She curls it and takes the time to “reflect in the mirror, long, carefully.” After she cries and explains everything to Jim when he comes home from a rough day at work, he reply’s in a calm” I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.” Men really don’t care much about little things like that. It’s a gender role created by social norm for girls to be pretty and impress the opposite sex. Also in the story it shows another great example of a stereotype commonly pushed on young women. When Jim gets home she always has dinner cooking.
In either case, no-one would have died. Also the Friar’s plan, to save Juliet from a second marriage, was flawed. He didn’t think about it properly and it backfired which directly influenced the death of Romeo and Juliet. The nurse also encouraged the couple to get married. She was Juliet’s confidant and was more of a mother to her than her actual mother.
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Finally, Coontz brought forth if someone is not marrying for love but just for the status then what is the point of getting married. I do agree with her about this and also, the point about the media blowing the idea of happily ever after out of proportion by just believing that only true love will hold a marriage together that is false. True love can bring people together but would not keep them together, this is something that marriages cannot solely rely on it takes hard work and dedication to keep a marriage
Her new way of thinking is greater than her and even though she knows that as a good wife she’s not suppose to feel that way, she just can’t help it. At the moment when she screams the words "free, free, free!" she is illustrated as having "abandoned herself." However after few minutes she calms down and begins to think more rationally. As she envisions life without her husband, she starts to think about the future.