Gift of the Magi - Theme Based EssaySailor Anderson
Sometimes gifts seem like the most important things in the world. But are they more important than the people you love? In the short story, "The Gift of the Magi," by O. Henry, the protagonist, Della, also learns the same lesson- that being happy can come in different ways and not just gifts. At the start of the story, "The Gift of the Magi," we see just how materialized Della's world is . She thinks that you need something bought with money to be happy. For example, she is worried because "Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a gift." (O. Henry pg. 2) This shows that Della is putting a lot of pressure on herself to have the best Christmas ever. That is normal. I do that. But she believes that you can only have a memorable holiday if you have money to get a big gift. Della is also kind of greedy at the beginning. She says, "Twenty dollars a week isn't much." (O. Henry pg. 2) Well, she isn't really looking at the bright side of her life. She has a wonderful husband, gorgeous hair, a roof over her head. What more could you really ask for? Della doesn't realize what gifts she already has- gifts that can't be bought with money. These examples show that Della has a materialized way of life and a bit of greediness in her. O. Henry also shows that Della's materialized way of living comes from the fact that she worries about what people will say if she doesn't have one thing or another. Having loads of money to buy gifts seems at first like the only way to be happy in Della's eyes. I once heard a song, "For I don't care too much for money, for money can't buy me love." - The Beatles As the story continues, we see how much Della cares for Jim. She loves him and would do anything for him. But, she still thinks that material things are needed to be happy, but she learns that her love for Jim is deeper than the material things. For example, "Della knew her hair was more beautiful than any queen's jewels and gifts." (O. Henry pg. 2) But, she was willing to part with her hair to make Jim happy. Although she wanted to make her husband happy, "a tear or two ran down her face." (O. Henry pg. 3) This shows that Della still placed great importance on how other people thought about the way she looked. This makes me think that appearances were more important to Della than anything else. She might think that, but it isn't the right mindset to have. To second this, right before Jim walks into the house, Della cries, "Please God, make him think I'm still pretty." (O. Henry pg. 4) All of these examples go to show that Della cares for Jim, but she hasn't yet realized that love will last forever and things will just disappear. A quote I like to live by is, "To be content with little is difficult. To be content with much ; impossible." - Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach At the end of the story, Della has changed. She is a different person. As Jim walks in and sees Della, she says, "I'm the same without my hair." (O. Henry pg. 5) This goes to show that Della has realized that she doesn't need material things to be happy. She has loosened the ties between her and her hair. That is a big step for Della. Della says to Jim, "Maybe the hairs on my head could be counted, but no one could ever count my love for you." (O. Henry pg. 5) These words make me think that Della isn't even Della anymore. It goes to show that Della truly loves Jim. No object is more important to her than Jim. Then, when Della receives her gift, she remembers what she had done. But she wasn't upset that she cut her hair because she had done it for a good reason. She did it for Jim. But when Della gives Jim his gift, he feels the same way. He says, "I sold the watch to get the money to buy the combs." (O. Henry pg. 6) These examples go to show that Della has changed and she has realized that gifts aren't the most important thing in the world. Della thought that she wanted gifts, but all along, she just wanted Jim's love- and she has it. In "The Gift of the Magi," we watch as Della learns that people you love are more important than material things. We can all learn from this lesson. I learned that you don't need fancy combs or shiny gold watches to be happy- you just need love. Della learned the hard way that sometimes the test comes before the teaching. Della's actions taught me that I shouldn't love things- I should love people. But we can all learn to be wise. We can all learn that people are more important than material things. "You aren't wealthy until you have something that money just can't buy."
