Short Story-The Gift of Magi: Short Summary and Character Analysis

SHORT STORY- THE GIFT OF MAGI
Short Summary
and
Character Analysis
Summary- The Gift Of Magi
• The short story, the Gift of Magi, written by O-Henry in 1905, takes place on
the Christmas Eve. The story is centered around the lives of Jim and Della
Dillingham, a poor young couple who do not have money to buy Christmas
gifts for each other.
• Jim had a precious gold pocket watch which belonged to his ancestors and on
the other hand, Della had long beautiful brown hair. These were their most
prized possessions which they parted with to buy Christmas gifts for each
other.
Summary- The Gift Of Magi
• Values such as love sacrifice and wisdom have been

highlighted in the story.
• The theme of the story highlights the fact that the wisest
people know that love means more than material things.
Character Analysis Of Della Young
• Della is described as a young, affectionate, selfless and somewhat
emotional person. She immensely cares for her beloved husband Jim. The
story revolves around her difficult situation of buying a worthy Christmas
present for him.
• The author also mentions that the couple are going through a rough patch
in their life and are living in poverty as Jim’s salary had been cut down
from $30 to $20 a week. This left little after living expenses were paid by
the couple.
• The author conveys that her love for her husband is enough to sustain her
even in the difficult circumstances, however when she was not able to not
to honour her husband with a worthy Christmas gift, she found it simply
too much to bear. She was only able to save $1.87 that year and couldn’t
think of a present nearly nice enough to buy for her husband with the small
amount of money. She feels helplessness, as tears run down her face, but
they pass as inspiration moves her to a creative solution to her dilemma.
• Della’s one and only prized possession, her long, lustrous
brown hair, which fall below her knee, become the means to
buy a present that she can wholeheartedly give her beloved. The
author describes her hair, by stating that her hair was the kind
which could even the Queen of Sheba’s jewels look worthless.
Her willingness to sacrifice her only prized possession for him
reflects the depth of her love for him .
• Her selflessness nature comes into light when she gets her prized
possession, her hair, chopped off at Madam Sofronie’s salon for
merely $20. However, Della’s hair was far more valuable. Della
took this decision in a hurry and that decisions taken in hurry are
never wise ones. At last, she has enough money to buy a gift for
her beloved husband, she buys a platinum watch chain for Jim.
• After happily finding a present for Jim, Della does not feel remorse
for getting her beautiful hair cut however, she starts to worry of
what Jim would think when he came back home from work. Della
was a very selfless lady, who loved her husband immensely and did
not care for herself. Perhaps she seems a somewhat silly and
emotional due to her actions, but the reader quickly grows to like
her as the story unravels and her love and selfless nature is revealed
by the author.
• Della falls under the category of dynamic character in the
story, The Gift of Magi, as her character evolves over the
course of the story. In the beginning of the story, her long
beautiful brown hair seem like a possession for her. But as
the story proceeds, she cuts her hair in order to be able to
get some money, thus parting herself from her most prized
possession.
Character Analysis of James Young
• Jim or James Dillingham Young is Della’s husband. He is only twenty-two and
heavily burdened by the need to support the household on a low salary. Despite this
burden, the author describes him as a serious, young, content, quiet, and good-
natured man. He is known for his punctuality, likely the result of his glancing
constantly at his prized watch. He loves Della and sells his prized possession, his
family watch, passed down from his grandfather, so that he could afford to buy
fancy combs for Della’s beautiful hair. As the author mainly focuses on Della’s
perception, he does not mention much about Jim, and can be seen briefly in short
story The Gift of the Magi.
• But from Della's perspective, we learn that he is a wonderful man. They

had visions of a big trip, when he was earning $30 per week, but have
started to doubt that idea when Jim's income has dropped. However, a drop
in their income has not changed the love they had for each other. When
Della finds a watch chain for Jim's watch, she describes it as possessing
'quietness and value.' She decides this is fitting since Jim also possesses
'quietness and value.' So, he can be pictured as a quiet man, with fine
qualities.
• Jim is a dynamic character in the story, The Gift of

Magi, as his character evolves over the course of the
story. He sells his watch, so that he could afford to buy
the fancy combs for his beloved wife, which longed but
knew she could never afford it, due to the difficult
circumstances.
THANK YOU!

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SHORT STORY- THE GIFT OF MAGI

• Values such as love sacrifice and wisdom have been

• But from Della's perspective, we learn that he is a wonderful man. They

• Jim is a dynamic character in the story, The Gift of

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