The Gift of the Magi: Synopsis
are quite poor and recently Jim has had his salary cut back to only $20 a week from the $30 a week he used to make. After
rent and groceries, the couple hardly have any money left.
Christmas is only a day away and, for a Christmas present, Della
wants to buy Jim a gold watch chain for his gold watch. They do not have much to be proud or happy
about, but Jim is very proud of that watch. And Della? Della is
most proud of her beautiful long hair. But she really wants to
buy that gold chain for Jim’s watch. Too bad she only has $1.87. So, she decides to sell her hair to a woman
who makes wigs and other hair articles. The woman pays Della $20 for her hair.
The chain costs $21, so she now has enough money. She buys the
chain to give to Jim. She goes home and prepares Jim’s dinner
and waits for him to come home, a little bit worried that Jim
will be shocked when he sees her with all her beautiful hair cut off.
When Jim comes home, he does look shocked when he sees Della with
short hair. He stares at her in a strange way and it scares her. She explains to Jim how she sold her hair
to buy him
a nice Christmas present. Jim tells her not to worry and that
nothing can change his love for her. The reason he is shocked
to see her without her long hair is that he also wanted to get
a nice Christmas present for Della. He gives her the present wrapped
in paper and Della unwraps it to see that Jim had bought her a
set of beautiful combs for her hair.
She had seen them in a shop before, but they were so expensive.
How was Jim able to afford them? Suddenly, she remembers Jim’s
present. She gives him the gold chain. The chain is beautiful,
but when Della asks Jim to put it on his watch, Jim surprises
her. He sold the watch to buy her those nice combs.
Were they both foolish to sell their favorite possessions? O.Henry tells us that, no, they were wise. They were wise because
they had each sacrificed their most valuable possessions for the person they loved. They were like the three
wise men the Magi who brought presents for Jesus Christ after
he was born. Keep in mind, that this is why Christians still give
presents on Christmas Day: to remember the gifts the Magi brought
Christ on that very first Christmas.
