The Gift of the Magi

“The Gift of the Magi” is a classic Christmas story of love and sacrifice. Written by O. Henry (the pen name of prolific short story writer Willian Sydney Porter), the story was first published in the New York Sunday World in December 1905.

James (Jim) Dillingham Young and his wife Della live in poverty. Jim’s salary has recently been reduced to $20 a week. O. Henry highlights their financial struggles with descriptions of the apartment: “In the hall below was a letter-box too small to hold a letter. There was an electric bell, but it could not make a sound” (1). He continues: “There was a looking-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen the kind of looking-glass that is placed in $8 furnished rooms. It was very narrow” (2). In addition to living in a dilapidated apartment, Jim and Della don’t have adequate clothing for the winter. O. Henry writes of Jim: “He looked very thin and he was not smiling. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two—and with a family to take care of! He needed a new coat and he had nothing to cover his cold hands” (4). Despite their poverty, Della and Jim have two treasured possessions: Jim’s gold watch and Della’s long, luxurious hair.