O. Henry

The Gift of the Magi is a treasured short story written by O. Henry. A young and very much in love couple can barely afford their one-room apartment, let alone the extra expense of getting Christmas presents for one another. But each is determined to show their love for the other in this traditional time of giving; each sells a thing they hold most dear in order to afford a present, with poignant and touching results that capture their love for one another.

The Gift of the Magi

𝚕𝚒𝚕𝚢

rose.

Genre: Holiday, Romance, Drama
Theme: A woman wanted to buy his husband a christmas present but she had no money to buy one.

spoiler alert!

Summary
On Christmas' Eve, a woman named Della was extremely confused due to the fact that she wanted to buy her husband, Jim, a Christmas present but she only had 1.87 dollars from her savings and there was nothing she could buy with that amount of money. Thus, Della sold her hair, her most valuable possession, for more money so that she could buy his husband a present.

When the husband got home, he was shocked because Della had cut her hair. The reason was not that Della was not beautiful anymore, but because it turned out that he had sold his watch, his most valuable possession, to buy a comb that was admired by Della. Della was also shocked, because she sold her hair to buy her husband a chain for his watch as an addition.

But, they soon appreciated both presents that one gave to another. It is told that they were the magi that wisely chose a present for people that were important for them.


Reflection

"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.

This story touched me in every way possible and made me go "awe" in a way no 400 pages romance novel can do. This short story showed that we wanted to give so much for people that meant a lot for us. We want them to know that we love them. But the most important part of this story is when Della and Jim opened each others' present and still managed to be grateful even though the present was no longer giving any use for them. 

It felt heart warming to see the characters supported each other instead of throwing blame for the sacrifice they had done. We all want to be supported, and loved, and appreciated, but it is as important to lift each other up as well. The couple took the drama so greatly and sincerely and it was a lesson for us all.

 The writing makes the reader can feel what they were feeling. The guilt. The happiness. The touching moment. The shock. It is wrapped really greatly.


Difficult Vocabulary
1. Mendicancy: The practice of begging.
2. Clutter: Quickly talk until it is not understandable.

Dimitris Papastergiou

Nice little tale! 

Happy birthday O. Henry!

Trish

One of my favorite Christmas short stories.

Mary Horton

Reread December 2020

The honest truth? I needed something to read in 10 minutes in order to boost my reading challenge before the year ended lol.

Still, this story is always sweet and dear to me. The writing style makes me smile, and that's something I can always do with more of going into 2021. 

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Reread December 2017

ACK SO PRECIOUS. I love this little Christmas story so much. I'm going to make reading this an annual tradition. <3

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Oh my stars, this story. <3 So sweet and nostalgic! I remember loving this story when I read it years ago, and my feelings for it have not changed. If anything, I may love it even more than I did then. It's short (definitely not 32 pages, don't let Goodreads fool you XD), but a worthy read. Definitely a favorite Christmas story of mine! ^_^

A husband and wife sacrifice treasured possessions in order to buy each other Christmas presents.

The gift of the Magi

mags

The quintessential encapsulation of the spirit of Christmas.

Nedu

baelgia

And this is what unconditional love should read like.

Alice

I read this story for the first time as a child. I didn't even remember I had. But as soon as I read the first words today, everything came back and I realised how it has actually stuck with me all this time.

It's a sweet, adorable, funny tale of pure Christmas love.

The Gift of the Magi

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