One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
I always have this story mixed up with The Necklace in my memory. Poverty is a common element, and yet the attitude toward life lived by the two women are drastically different. The “Dillingham”, a young couple, had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when Jim was being paid $30 per week. Now his earning diminishes to $20 a week of which $8 goes to the rent.
Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him.
With just enough money to get by, and that expenses always exceed the budget, Jim and Della can barely afford their one-room apartment, let alone buy a Christmas gift. Each of them makes a sacrifice to purchase a gift, which leads to very ironic outcome.
Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim’s gold watch that had been his father’s and his grandfather’s. The other was Della’s hair.
For Christmas, each makes a sacrifice to purchase a gift for the other, which leads to ironic and unexpected outcome. Like The Necklace, this story reads like an allegory that proclaims a moral lesson or two. Material possessions, like exactly what Mathilda Loisel craves in Guy de Maupassant’s tale, however valuable they may be, are of little value in the grand scheme of things. What unselfish and unconditional love Jim and Della show one another transcends any material belongings.
I re-read in Kindle. I remember reading this story for the first time in 9th-grade World Literature class. It was included in a giant tome of a textbook called Adventures in Reading. Then I bought copy of O. Henry Stories from Scholastic Club. He has always held a special place in my heart: I turn to him when I have a reading block, knowing he always delivers a whip-crack, twisty ending. By the way, do you know O. Henry’s real name?
Filed under: Books, Literature | Tagged: Literature, O. Henry, Short Story, The Gift of the Magi |
A Guy's Moleskine Notebook 
HIs name was of course William Sidney Porter. If you enjoy de Maupassant and O. Henry I hope you are aware of the short stories by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro). Some of those are absolutely wonderful. Once in a while I have to wean myself from reading only novels and non-fiction and remember to read poetry and short stories. Sometimes late at night that’s just what I have time for, one or two short stories, and they do the trick.
You know everything, don’t you, Steven? I enjoy short stories but only in small dose. I can’t zip through a volume of short stories like I do a novel. Too many realities and situations to digest. One or two would make a perfect feat for a weekend. With O. Henry and Maupassant I’m very well-stocked. Saki I also enjoy, although I have misplaced my copy from high school.
I love O. Henry. Remember first time I saw a film made over one of his strories. It was black and white and really simple but so effective and emotional. Cried even though we saw it in school.
When I read The necklace and its ultimate whip-crack ending, O. Henry came to mind. That was the reason I dug out The Gift of the Magi. O. Henry is very clever. I remember enjoying every one of the stories I read by him in high school.
Wow, haven’t thought about this one for a while. I liked the story as a kid and I think, as a young couple, it has more meaning.
I’ve always enjoyed and remembered this one because the premise is so simple and yet the effect of the morality is reverberating. It goes back to the reason why we’re giving gifts. The material part of gifts isn’t even the grand scheme of things. It’s the heart of a giver that matters.
Good advice. I have several anthologies of short stories, and stories of O Henry are included a couple; I find him engaging and well worth reading. As you say, a short story is often just the thing to get me back into reading. And then, sometimes time is limited.
I read one or two short stories at a time, usually between parts of a novel. Sometimes I have to detach myself from a novel and let it sit. It’s the perfect time to take up a short story.