Critical Reading

Exposition: We are introduced to Della and Jim Dillingham Young.
They are a poor couple living in

New York City. We are told that even though they are poor they each have one possession in which
they are very proud of. Della has very long and elegant hair; Jim has a gold pocket watch that was
given to him by his grandfather. They only have a combined income of 20 dollars a week and 8 of it is
paying for their rent; the rest of it is spread very thin. It is days before Christmas and neither of them
have the money to pay for a gift.
Rising Action: Della has only saved up 1 dollar and 87 cents but wants to buy a gift for Jim that he
will be proud of owning. She decides to sell her most prized possession in order to get her husband a
nice gift. She goes to Madame Sofronie (a wigmaker who buys hair) and gets twenty dollars in return
for her hair. She then spends most of the day searching around the city until she finds a chain that
she thinks Jim can hang his watch on. When Della returns to her apartment she begins to make
Christmas Eve dinner. She starts fixing her hair (she is scared that Jim will no longer think she is
pretty anymore because she cut her hair). When Jim comes home from work, he does not have a
normal expression on his face (he is in a sort of trance), and Della does not know how to interpret it.
Climax: Jim gives Della a gift first and it turns out to be the tortoise shell combs that she had wanted
very much but could no longer use because she cut her hair. When she gave Jim his gift he fell to the
couch and a dumb smile spread across his face. It turned out that Jim had sold his pocket watch so
that he could buy the combs.
Falling Action: Della and Jim realized that both of their gifts were now useless because they foolishly
sacrificed their most prized possessions. Jim could not use his new chain because he sold his watch
and Della could not use her new combs because she sold her hair.
Denouement: Even though Della and Jim just realized their heartbreaking errors they remained in
love. These two are now all the wiser from this experience and will have learned a very important
but devastating lesson. The lesson that they learned was that love should not be measured by the
quality of gift you can buy for one another. They are now as wise as the Magi in the art of gift giving.
Setting: The Gift of the Magi takes place in New York City in the year 1905. Most of O. Henry's
stories take place in the time period in which it was written. This is because he based most of the
books off of his observations of normal New Yorkers. Most of the story takes place inside of Della
and Jim's appartement but sometimes in the city itself. The Gift of the Magi is a simple setting, there
is nothing special about New York that would change the story if it took place in a different city.
-Image of old New York City
Point of View
The point of view is third person limited and third person omniscient at times. What makes
the story limited is that many times he tells the story only from Della’s point of view. The readers do
not really know much about Jim’s feelings other than what Della interprets them to be. However,
sometimes the author seems to be omniscient because he incorporates outside knowledge such as
information on the Magi and a summary of life in general (“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and
smiles, with sniffles predominating.”).
Mood
The mood of the story is a loving one, but also one of suspense. Jim and Della give up their
most prized possessions to buy each other Christmas gifts. Even after they tell each other that they
cannot use their gifts at the moment, they still are grateful for the gesture and keep a positive spirit
(ex: Della says that her hair will grow back). The reaction of Jim seeing Della’s hair makes the reader
unsure of what might happen next, making the story have elements of suspense, too.
Main Characters
There are not that many characters in the story. Actually, there are only three, one of which
is flat. The two round characters are:
 Della- is introduced in the beginning of the story as a poor woman with long beautiful hair. She is
also described throughout the plot as generous. She donated her most prized possession, her hair, in
order to buy her husband a Christmas gift (a chain for his pocket watch).
 Jim- is Della’s husband. He, too, is portrayed as loving, but he also described as hard working. All of
his work still cannot help pay rent, though. He cannot afford to buy Della a gift, either. To get her a
gift (the hair combs she had been worshiping), he sells his most prized possession, his pocket watch.
Symbolism
Symbols in “The Gift of the Magi” exist throughout the story. One example is O. Henry’s
referring to the magi. They represent being wise when it comes to gift giving. Thinking about the
magi also makes Della and Jim realize their foolish sacrificing, and taught them to be more careful
next time when giving gifts.
Characterization
James (Jim) Dillingham Young is both a round and dynamic character. You can describe Jim as a reliable,
generous, understanding person. He doesn’t mind that the present he received from Della had no use
anymore because he knew it was the thought that counted in giving a present that meant a lot to him. He
grows wiser from his experience of giving and receiving a gifts that could not be used.
Della is also a round and dynamic character. Della is happily married to Jim, and she shows this throughout the
story that she would so anything she could to please him or make him content. She is a thoughtful, loving, and
sacrificing wife that would do anything to make Jim happy. She grows wiser in that she knows now how to give
wise gifts (after giving and receiving gifts that could not be used).
Madame Sofronie is the hairdresser that cuts off Della’s long beautiful hair. She is not a main character
throughout the story and only carries a short role. Madame is a flat and static character. You can only describe
Madame as a hair dresser; you don’t initially know anything about her, so therefore she does not change
throughout the story so she is static.
Theme
The Gift of the Magi has different themes. The themes in this short story are poverty, love and
generosity. Poverty has a role in this story because Jim and Della did not have enough money for
each other so they sold the things that meant the most to them and were the most valuable in order
to get money. They wanted to use this money to buy a Christmas present for one another. This
showed how much they truly loved each other, and that they would give up what meant the most
for them in order to make the other happy. That also showed love, that they wanted to use the
money they got from their most valuable possessions to make their loved one happy and give them
the perfect Christmas. Generosity also has a big role in the story. This role comes in when Della and
Jim give up what they loved most, their most favorite possession to buy the perfect present.
Vocabulary Words
Chaste: adj. meaning pure or clean in style; not ornate
Synonyms: neat, classic, elegant
Antonyms: immoral, debased, ornate
The Christian girl promised her parents to remain chaste as they gave her a promise ring.
Meretricious: adj. meaning attractive in a cheap, flashy way
Synonyms: showy, gaudy, sham
Antonyms: genuine, real, undecorated
A cubic zircon is a meretricious way of impressing others.
( A cubic zircon is a fake jewel used to make jewelry that looks real. )
Discreet: adj. meaning tactful or respectful
Synonyms: detached, different, disconnected
Antonyms: tactless
The discreet man told everyone his personal thoughts and views on school lunches, but in a
respectful way.
“The Gift of the Magi” Critique

“The Gift of the Magi” is a heartwarming Christmas story that earned O. Henry respect as an
author. There are many elements that he includes that enhance the work. O. Henry makes the
readers feel like part of the action. They can easily imagine, if not relate, to Jim and Della’s
experiences of sacrificing what they love to afford a gift for each other. Our plummeting economy
has affected many of us, just like the recession of 1905 affected Jim and Della. O. Henry’s work is
easy to love, and only had a few minor drawbacks. However, these drawbacks did not take much
away from the story. For these reasons, “The Gift of the Magi” deserves a rating of 2 ½ stars.
O. Henry incorporates many different examples of figurative language such as similes,
metaphors and alliterations, thus making the story much more interesting to read. An example of his
use of figurative language is “So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a
cascade of brown waters.” O. Henry also includes vivid descriptions of the settings and of various
objects. The use of imagery allows readers to develop images of the action in their minds. One such
example is “She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking by a gray fence in a
gray backyard.” This imagery describes the monotony of Jim and Della’s town as well as alerts
readers that a problem is arising (gray usually indicates depression).
Another way O. Henry helps readers connect to the passage is by addressing them
personally in certain excerpts. The readers in this way feel like a part of the plot, and therefore find
the story more enjoyable. However, O. Henry does not continually write in the same point of view
throughout the story, which can be somewhat confusing. Many times, he writes in third person
limited. The reader only knows as much about Jim’s feelings as Della interprets them. Other times,
he writes in third person omniscient; he brings in information, such as the magi, that Della and Jim
do not know.
The characters Jim and Della seem like real people, and are described enough so that the
readers can sympathize with their situation. There are only three characters in this story, only two of
which (Jim and Della) are round. Even though they are round, they are not complex. If O. Henry
would have described Jim and Della a little more in-depth, the readers would have been able to
relate to them better.
Lastly, O. Henry’s use of foreshadowing allows readers to make plausible predictions of the
course of actions. Although the ending was unexpected, his use of clues and vivid descriptions made
the ending appropriate for the characters/circumstances. On the flip side, the abundant amount of
clues made the ending almost too predictable, and less exciting.
Overall, “The Gift of the Magi” is an excellent anecdote. Although it possesses some minor
flaws, the positive aspects of the story outweigh the negative. It is therefore fitting that this passage
earns a rating of 2 ½ stars.

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Exposition: We are introduced to Della and Jim Dillingham Young.

They are a poor couple living in

“The Gift of the Magi” Critique

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