Sacrifice In The Gift Of The Magi

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness,” states Napoleon Hill, an American author. This quote reveals that if something will become great, it requires great sacrifice. Correspondingly, this incident happens in the short story, “The Gift of the Magi,” by O. Henry, when a couple with the names Della and Jim sacrifice in order to make each other happy, despite hard times. I claim that the theme of the story, “The Gift of the Magi,” is great treasure comes with sacrifice and tough challenges. One dramatic challenge that Della and Jim have to withstand is living on a low budget. For instance, the author, O. Henry, clearly pointed out that they have “Furnished rooms at a cost of $8 a week,” and “Everything had cost more than expected.” Even though some may highlight that paying only $8 a week for rooms

The first example of this is in the section where Della hurries of the house. “...she stopped, the sign said: ‘Mrs. Sofronie. Hair Articles of all Kinds.’ She ran to the second floor, then asked, ‘will you buy my hair?’ After that, Della sold her hair for $20 to buy a gift for Jim,” is what the author reveals in this portion of the passage. This example supports my thesis because Della had to sacrifice her hair for Jim. Identically, at the end of the tale, Jim walked to the house and looked at Della with a strange glare. Once he saw that Della sold her hair to purchase her gift for him, a golden chain for his watch, hesitantly, he gave his present to Della and confessed that he had sold his watch to buy combs for Della. This interaction adds on to my thesis, showing that they had to sacrifice what was the utmost precious belongings they held, in order to buy each other gifts. Although they could mourn over a loss of their favored items, their love still propels them, acknowledging that they did it for each