The Ultimate Gift

At month 12, Hamilton realizes he’ll miss seeing Red on videotape when the year is done. The final tape is played; on it, Red says he hopes Jason chose, for his final day, ordinary activities that held meaning for him.

The final month is about love. All goodness flows from love, and all evil comes from a lack of it, the novel explains. Love is part of every other gift that Jason has encountered during the past year, Red says. Jason’s task is to learn how love affects each of the gifts.

On his return, Jason begins with, “I am simply not the same person I was a year ago” (104). He thanks Hamilton and Hastings for their participation in his journey. Everyone’s eyes moisten.

Jason says that during his month with Gus, he realized a hard job well done has its own feeling of love and that Gus’s training reflected the rancher’s loving dedication to Red. When giving away cash, Jason realized it’s the love of people, not money, that counts, and that money is a tool, not a goal. The gift of friends taught him that worrying about oneself is disappointing but thinking about others makes things go right.