The Gift of the Magi
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| "The Gift of the Magi" | |
| Author | O. Henry |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | short story |
| Publication date | 1906 |
This article is about O. Henry's short story. For the Magi that visited baby Jesus, see Biblical Magi.
"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry (a pen name for William Sydney Porter), allegedly at Pete's Tavern[1][2] on Irving Place in New York City.
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[edit] Plot
James Dillingham Young and his wife Della are a young couple who are very much in love with each other, but can barely afford their one-room apartment due to their very bad economic situation. For Christmas, Della decides to buy Jim a chain which costs twenty-one dollars for his prized pocket watch given to him by his father. To raise the funds, she has her long hair cut off and sold to make a wig. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his watch to buy Della a beautiful set of combs made out of tortoise shell for her lovely, knee-length brown hair. Although each is disappointed to find the gift they chose rendered useless, each is pleased with the gift they received, because it represents their love for one another.
The story ends with the author/narrator comparing the pair's mutually sacrificial gifts of love with those of the Biblical Magi:
The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
[edit] Adaptations
Along with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, this is one of the most common plots adapted for sitcoms and cartoons around the holiday season. The Gift of the Magi is widely referenced in popular culture ranging from the final segment of the motion picture O. Henry's Full House, which featured an adaptation of the short story, to numerous references in popular television shows such as The Simpsons[3], and by Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV's Frank in both Christmas specials of Mystery Science Theater 3000[4][5]. Even in music, the story has been adapted by the musical group, Squirrel Nut Zippers in a song by the same name. A musical production of the story, starring Gordon MacRae and Sally Ann Howes as the young couple, was presented on the Hallmark Hall of Fame on December 9, 1958 by NBC. An opera was written by David Conte in one act using the story as is.
Adventures from the Book of Virtues presented the story fairly faithfully as a short animated segment.
In the Futurama episode "X-Mas Story", there is a gift-giving scene wherein Amy sells her hair to get combs for Hermes, who sold his hair to get combs for Dr. Zoidberg, which makes no sense since Dr. Zoidberg has no hair—until it is revealed that he is now wearing wigs made of both Amy's and Hermes' hair.
In a 1977 Saturday Night Live episode, The Gift of the Magi story is reimagined with John Belushi selling his watch to pay for the kidney transplant surgery of his wife, played by Gilda Radner. While Radner's character is depicted as having beautiful hair, rather than selling it to make a wig, she sells her hairbrush to get a knockoff gold chain for Belushi's watch. Infuriated at giving up his watch and kidney for little in return, Belushi beats and strangles Radner. Jane Curtain, narrating the story, reminds the audience "it's the gift, not the thought that counts. They don't call it 'The Thought of the Magi.'"
The 1978 Sesame Street special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street also adapts the story, with Ernie trading his Rubber Duckie for a cigar box for Bert's paper clip collection, and Bert trading his paper clips for a soap dish for Ernie's Rubber Duckie. This sketch ends more happily than its source material: after Bert and Ernie exchange gifts, Mr. Hooper comes to the apartment and gives back both the Duckie and the paper clips. Bert laments that they hadn't thought to get a present for Mr. Hooper, but Mr. Hooper tells Bert he is mistaken: "I got to see that everyone got exactly what they wanted for Christmas."
The 2004 Hindi film Raincoat starring Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai and directed by Rituparno Ghosh is an adaptation of this story.
The first Christmas-themed episode of the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, originally broadcast December 19, 1987, was a tongue-in-cheek adaptation of the story called "Gifts for Madge and Guy," with Jim and Della's names changed to Guy and Madge respectively. The names Madge and Guy are a play on the word "Magi."
There was also another made-for-tv movie, a 1978 adaptation titled The Gift of Love, starring Marie Osmond as Della's character renamed Beth Atherton.
The Venezuelan sketch show Bienvenidos did a straight, serious adaptation of the story for a Christmas special.
There was also an episode of Catdog in which the story was changed to birthday gifts and a bit different (being that Cat sold his Loompha for a wrestling suit for Dog, and Dog sold his wrestling mud pit for a Loompha carrier, then trade the Loompha carrier in for a wrestling suit, much to Cat's disappointment)
There is also an episode of the Rugrats in which Phil and Lil both traded their Christmas gifts to get presents that appeased each other.
The 1977 Jim Henson Company holiday special Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas is partially based on this story.
One of the short-short stories in Steve Martin's Cruel Shoes, "The Gift of the Magi Indian Giver," involved the husband selling his shinbones to buy his wife "cuticle frames," while she sold her cuticles to buy him "shinbone polish." The ending implied that the couple enjoyed a bit of light BDSM.
Issue #5 of Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children involved the husband losing his fingers in an industrial accident while earning money to buy his wife colored contact lenses for her abnormally yellow eyes, while she sold her eyes to scientists to get money to buy a set of brass knuckles for her bullied husband.
The 1996 Radio Tales production "The Gift of the Magi" is a faithful adaptation of the short story for National Public Radio.
In the 1999 Disney production Mickey's Once upon a Christmas Micky sells his harmonica to buy Minny a gold chain for her watch, but Minnie sells her watch to buy Micky a case for his harmonica.
The xkcd webcomic "Theft of the Magi"[6] features two people who sell each other's possessions online to buy something for themselves, only to find that each had purchased an accessory for the item the other had stolen.
"The Gift of the Magi." adapted into Special English by Voice of America[7]
Hincal Uluc, one of Turkey's most famous and renowed columnist spare his column to The Gift of the Magi every year on 1st of January.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.frommers.com/destinations/newyorkcity/N24455.html
- ^ O'Henry and The Gift of the Magi LiteraryTraveler.com
- ^ "Grift of the Magi". The Simpsons. Season 11.
- ^ "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians". Mystery Science Theater 3000.
- ^ "Santa Claus". Mystery Science Theater 3000.
- ^ xkcd - Theft of the Magi
- ^ "A Special Christmas Story: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry". Voice Of America. 2008-12-19. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-08/2005-08-06-voa8.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-12-23.
[edit] External links
- The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
- Reading of "The Gift of the Magi" with text and notes (Streaming or downloadable mp3)
- Audio book recording with accompanying text of The Gift of the Magi
- Audio book with text at Librivox of The Gift of the Magi
- "The Gift of the Magi" study guide, teacher resources, themes, quotes
