The Gift of the Magi: Difference between revisions
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On [[Christmas Eve]], with only $1.87 in hand, and desperate to find a gift for Jim, Della sells her hair for $20, and eventually finds a [[platinum]] fob chain for Jim's watch for $21. Happy to have found the perfect gift at last, she runs home and begins to prepare dinner. |
On [[Christmas Eve]], with only $1.87 in hand, and desperate to find a gift for Jim, Della sells her hair for $20, and eventually finds a [[platinum]] fob chain for Jim's watch for $21. Happy to have found the perfect gift at last, she runs home and begins to prepare dinner. |
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When Jim comes home, he looks at Della with an expression |
When Jim comes home, he looks at Della with an expression “that she could not read, and it terrified her.” Della then admits to Jim that she sold her hair to buy him his present. Jim gives Della her present — an array of expensive combs for her hair (referred to as “The Combs”). Della then shows Jim the chain she bought for him, to which Jim says he sold his watch to get the money to buy her combs. Although Jim and Della are now left with gifts that neither one can use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for each other. |
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The story ends with the narrator comparing the pair's mutually sacrificial gifts of love with those of the [[Biblical Magi]]:<ref>{{cite web |
The story ends with the narrator comparing the pair's mutually sacrificial gifts of love with those of the [[Biblical Magi]]:<ref>{{cite web |
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Revision as of 22:47, 12 January 2012
| "The Gift of the Magi" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by O. Henry | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | The Four Million |
| Publication type | Anthology |
| Publication date | April 10, 1906[1] |
"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry (a pen name for William Sydney Porter), about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been a popular one for adaptation, especially for presentation during the Christmas season. The plot and its "twist ending" are well-known, and the ending is generally considered an example of situational irony. It was allegedly written at Pete's Tavern[2][3] on Irving Place in New York City.
Plot
Mr. James Dillingham Young ("Jim") and his wife, Della, are a couple living in a modest flat. They each have one possession in which they take pride: Della's beautiful long, flowing hair and Jim's gold watch, which had belonged to his father and grandfather.
On Christmas Eve, with only $1.87 in hand, and desperate to find a gift for Jim, Della sells her hair for $20, and eventually finds a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch for $21. Happy to have found the perfect gift at last, she runs home and begins to prepare dinner.
When Jim comes home, he looks at Della with an expression “that she could not read, and it terrified her.” Della then admits to Jim that she sold her hair to buy him his present. Jim gives Della her present — an array of expensive combs for her hair (referred to as “The Combs”). Della then shows Jim the chain she bought for him, to which Jim says he sold his watch to get the money to buy her combs. Although Jim and Della are now left with gifts that neither one can use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for each other.
The story ends with the narrator comparing the pair's mutually sacrificial gifts of love with those of the Biblical Magi:[4]
The magi, as you know, were wise men – wonderfully wise men – who brought gifts to the new-born King of the Jews 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 donors they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the Magi.
Adaptations
Raincoat (2004), a hindi film directed by Rituparno Ghosh is an adaptation of the story.[5] It has also been adapted to films, The Sacrifice (1909), Love's Surprises Are Futile (1916), The Gift of the Magi (1917), Dary magów (Poland, 1972), part of O. Henry's Full House (1952), The Gift of Love (1978), The Gift of the Magi (1958), Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978), Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas gift (1999)[6], The Gift of the Magi (2004) and the short film for the Irish band The Script in 2010 called For the First Time.[7] Love, another french movie, based some of its scenes on this story.
An off-Broadway musical version[8] premiered at Lamb's Theater Club in New York City in 1984. Written by Mark St. Germain and Randy Courts, the play is regularly produced in schools and regional theaters.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers song Gift of the Magi from their 1998 album Christmas Caravan is a duet sung from the point of view of both Jim and Della.
Emmet Otter's Jug-band Christmas (1971), a children's storybook by Russell Hoban and later adapted into a television special by Jim Henson, also contains similar plot themes.
References
- ^ "The Gift of the Magi is published — This Day in History — 4/10/1906". history.com. 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
- ^ "Pete's Tavern". Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
- ^ "O'Henry and The Gift of the Magi". LiteraryTraveler.com.
- ^ "The Gift of the Magi".
- ^ Raincoat at IMDb
- ^ Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas at IMDb
- ^ O. Henry at IMDb
- ^ St. Germain, Mark; Courts, Randy (1984). "The Gifts of the Magi". New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-8222-1461-8
External links
- "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
- Audio book with text at Librivox of "The Gift of the Magi"
- "The Gift of the Magi" study guide, teacher resources, themes, quotes