A story of selflessness with an ironic ending, “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry has a distinct style. O. Henry’s style techniques including, diction and syntax, of this story are noticeable from the first sentence to the last. Narrated as though the story is being told aloud, this story is strung together with short incomplete sentences. O. Henry throws grammar rules out the window, using a lot of sentences that depend on other sentences to make sense. He writes this story similar to the way we speak, starting some sentences with “And” or “Which”. For instance, “And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas!” Trying to create the feeling of someone telling the story, O. Henry addresses the reader multiple times. In the very last section