Della sells her long, beautiful hair to a hairdresser for $20 so that she can buy her husband Jim a watch chain for his most treasured possession - his grandfather's gold watch. However, Jim sells his watch to buy Della a set of combs after seeing them in a store window. Neither expected the other to sacrifice their most valuable possession. They realize that their gifts of love and sacrifice remind them of how much they care for each other.

1. The Gift of the Magi
- O. Henry
F.Y.B.COM SEM1- LTL NOTE

2. The Gift of the Magi is a well-
known short story by American short
story writer O. Henry, the pen name
of William Sydney Porter. Along
with writing short stories, he was
also a good singer and a musician.
The story tells of a young married
couple, James 22years of age, known
as Jim, and his loving wife Della
Dillingham.

3. The story is known worldwide and numerous
cartoons, movies were produced on it. The story
begins at the small and meager flat of James
(Jim) and Della Dillingham Young on the day
before Christmas. Della has just finished paying
the bills and finds that all she has left with is one
dollar and eighty seven cents ($1.87) which she
had saved by bullying the grocers, the butchers
and the vegetable man. . At first she laments on
her situation. But later on she struggles to find a
solution as she wants to get Jim a present that he
will treasure and rightly deserves for all of his
hard work.

4. There were two valuable possessions Jim
and Della took pride in. One was Jim’s gold
watch that had been his father’s and his
grandfather’s. The other was Della’s hair.
The most valuable thing she has is her long
brown hair like cascades past her knees.
Her hair is long and beautiful and she
compares it to the beauty of the Queen of
Sheba.
She gets an idea. She quickly puts on her
old brown coat and her old brown hat and
hurries off to a hairdresser named Madame
Sofronie. Sofronie cuts off Della’s hair and
gives her 20 dollars for it.

5. Della then begins to search for the perfect
present for Jim. After being disappointed by
the gifts she sees because they just aren’t
good enough, she remembers Jim’s most
treasured possession: his grandfather’s gold
watch. She also remembers that Jim had to
tie a leather strap to the watch after the
original chain broke, and that was precisely
the type of gift she wanted to buy for him.
She goes from shop to shop looking for just
the right watch chain until she at last finds a
very beautiful, platinum chain that is perfect
gift for Jim. It costs 21 dollars. Della buys it,
returning home with eighty seven cents left
over.

6. Upon reaching their flat, Della begins to worry
that Jim might not find her attractive without her
hair, so she spends the rest of the evening trying
to make it as presentable as possible. She then
begins preparing dinner. Jim comes home right
on schedule and, as soon as sees Della without
her long, beautiful hair, he stops in shock. Della
doesn’t know what to make of his reaction; he
isn’t angry, or sad, or disgusted – just sort of
surprised and confused.

7. When she questions him, he tells her that
there is nothing a shampoo or haircut could
do to Della that would alter his love for her.
Then he hands her a gift and tells her that it
is his Christmas present to her and that she
will understand his reaction once she sees
it. She opens it and sees that it contains a
set of combs that she had been yearning for
ever since she had seen them in a Broadway
window. He had bought her a gift to go with
her beautiful hair, and now she had no hair
to put them in.

8. Then Della remembers her gift for Jim and
gives it to him to cheer him up. But it
doesn’t. Jim tells her that in order to get
enough money to buy the combs, he had to
sell his watch. Then Jim smiles and says
that they should keep the gifts aside
because they are too good to use them at
present. He also says that the gifts will
remind themselves just how much they love
one another.

9. The story ends with the storyteller
comparing Jim and Della’s gifts to the gifts
of the Magi: the three wise men who are
said to have brought the first Christmas
gifts to the baby Jesus. The story of the Gift
of the Magi skillfully displays powerful
themes of love, sacrifice, and the concept
of true value and worth for relationship.

10. The Gift of the Magi is a classic example of irony
in literature. Irony is a literary technique in
which an expectation of what is supposed to
occur differs greatly from the actual outcome.
In this case, Jim and Della sacrifice their most
treasured possessions so that the other can fully
enjoy his or her gift. Jim sells his watch to buy
Della's combs, expecting her to be able to use
them. Della sells her hair to buy Jim a chain for
his watch. Neither expects the other to have
made that sacrifice.

11. The irony here works both on a practical and on
a deeper, more sentimental level. Both Della
and Jim buy each other a gift that ultimately
seems financially foolish. Being poor, they can't
afford to waste money on things they can't use.
However, what they get is something they don't
expect: a more intangible gift that reminds them
how much they love each other and are willing
to sacrifice to make each other happy.

12. Attempt answers to the following from the
content given above:
WRITE 2 PARAGRAPH
1. How did Della save one dollar and eighty
seven cents?
2. wWhat were the most prized possessions
owned by the young couple?
3. Why did Della decide to sell her hair?
4. What was the Gift Jim brought for Della?