Life’s gift In O. Henry’s “The Gift of The Magi” his warm, comforting tone and descriptive style keeps the audience captivated until the end without losing the essence of the story, which revolves around love and sacrifice. This story is about the struggles of a poor, young couple on Christmas Eve and how they overcome it with love. The author’s description of the couple’s life gives a clear picture of their status and financial struggle. When the author mentions the eight-dollar rent for the apartment, the old battered couch, and the electric bell that does not work, he indicates that the couple is poor. The mistress of the household is trying to decide what to buy for her husband, Jim, with the money she has. Even though she is distraught, she does not give up hope. “Many a happy hour she had been planning for something nice for him” (O. Henry). Della has been saving up for days to buy something that is worthy of her husband and does not want to settle for anything less. This proves her love for her …show more content…
Jim has a gold watch which is his family heirloom and Della has beautiful long, brown hair which they both consider as their most valuable possessions. They are so proud of it that the author says Della may just let her hair out the window to make Queen of Sheba’s treasures less valuable and the watch would make King Solomon envious. Della decides to sell her hair in order to buy Jim a gift. She sells her hair at “Sofronie” for twenty dollars and buys a platinum chain for Jim’s watch which she believes will make him proud and happy. After getting Jim’s gift Della hurries home and fixes her hair. She gets nervous about if Jim will like her new look, “Please God, make him think I am still pretty (O. Henry). Even though Della just parted with her best asset she is more concerned about Jim liking her than cutting her hair which shows how much she cares for him and values his