Critical Analysis of the Gift of the Magi
An Analysis of Elements in Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi”
In Henry’s short story “The Gift of the Magi”, the reader is introduced to Della, whose financial instabilities overwhelm her as well as her husband Jim. However, Della maintains being a loving, devoted, and selfless wife with only one thing to live for, Jim. Jim is the sole breadwinner; he works long hours for very little pay. Things become more arduous when his pay was cut from thirty dollars a week to twenty dollars a week. He and his wife struggle to cover basic household and living expenses. In spite of living in poverty, his love for Della is what keeps him putting one foot in front of the other. A close analysis of the setting, Biblical symbolism, and themes reveal the best gifts are those of love and sacrifice which exemplifies unselfish love.
Almost immediately, in the opening of the story, Henry brings to the attention of the reader the two most important details of the story’s setting: it takes place on Christmas Eve and Della and her husband, Jim, live an unpretentious flat. The story is dependent upon the fact that Christmas is less than twenty-four hours away and Della, temporarily with insufficient funds, needs to buy her husband’s gift.
Henry sketches their home and living conditions with just enough detail: cheap, barely furnished, and a broken mailbox and doorbell, to vividly convey their poverty. Also, the lackluster setting in which Della and her husband, Jim, live creates a contrast with the warmth and richness of their unconditional love for one another.
Again Henry makes a sharp contrast between the richness and the obvious poverty in which Della and Jim lives by making a reference to the Magi, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon; all are royal and rich in the Bible. This contrast is intended to show that Della’s and Jim’s love for one another exemplifies what it truly means to be rich.
In “The Gift of the Magi”, Henry ties up the loose ends by ending the story
In Henry’s short story “The Gift of the Magi”, the reader is introduced to Della, whose financial instabilities overwhelm her as well as her husband Jim. However, Della maintains being a loving, devoted, and selfless wife with only one thing to live for, Jim. Jim is the sole breadwinner; he works long hours for very little pay. Things become more arduous when his pay was cut from thirty dollars a week to twenty dollars a week. He and his wife struggle to cover basic household and living expenses. In spite of living in poverty, his love for Della is what keeps him putting one foot in front of the other. A close analysis of the setting, Biblical symbolism, and themes reveal the best gifts are those of love and sacrifice which exemplifies unselfish love.
Almost immediately, in the opening of the story, Henry brings to the attention of the reader the two most important details of the story’s setting: it takes place on Christmas Eve and Della and her husband, Jim, live an unpretentious flat. The story is dependent upon the fact that Christmas is less than twenty-four hours away and Della, temporarily with insufficient funds, needs to buy her husband’s gift.
Henry sketches their home and living conditions with just enough detail: cheap, barely furnished, and a broken mailbox and doorbell, to vividly convey their poverty. Also, the lackluster setting in which Della and her husband, Jim, live creates a contrast with the warmth and richness of their unconditional love for one another.
Again Henry makes a sharp contrast between the richness and the obvious poverty in which Della and Jim lives by making a reference to the Magi, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon; all are royal and rich in the Bible. This contrast is intended to show that Della’s and Jim’s love for one another exemplifies what it truly means to be rich.
In “The Gift of the Magi”, Henry ties up the loose ends by ending the story