Theme In The Gift Of The Magi

Theme in “The Gift of the Magi” “The Gift of the Magi” is a short story penned by O. Henry that is set between a young couple who want to give a very precious gift to each other for Christmas. The story ends up so that the gifts that they gave to each other had been fruitless as they both had given up the very thing the said gift was meant for. The theme for “The Gift of the Magi” is that people will give up their most valued material possessions for the ones they care deeply for. Della’s constant wanting to please her husband, Della’s willingness to give up her hair in return form money so she could buy a worthy present for Jim, and her anxiety about picking the best present for Jim even when she has an adequate amount of money to do so shows that some people will give up what they value most for who they value most.
Firstly, the theme of “The Gift of The Magi” is that people are willing to let go of their most prized possessions to please their loved ones. This is shown through Della who is constantly hankering for Jim’s indirect approval in terms of a valuable gift. On page

On page 262, it is noted that one of the prized possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs is Della’s hair. Yet still on page 263, she sells her hair for twenty dollars. This shows that she will give up even her most prized possession to provoke even a small sign of joy on Jim’s face. Also on page 265, Jim says he sold his watch to buy Della the gift she wanted, the turtle shell combs. This also reflects the idea that he will give up what he values most to please Della with what she desires most materially and that he is willing to go to that extent to do so. The value of these gestures portrays that people will give up anything in the world to profoundly move a loved