The Gift of the Magi

About the Author & Lesson

O. Henry (1862–1910): The pen name of William Sydney Porter, an American writer famous for his witty short stories and his trademark "twist endings."

The Lesson: "The Gift of the Magi" tells the story of a young, poor couple—Della and Jim—who want to buy each other secret Christmas gifts. To find the money, they each sacrifice their most prized possession: Della sells her beautiful long hair, and Jim sells his inherited gold watch. In a beautiful irony, they buy gifts that are useful only for the possessions they have just given up. The story highlights that the true value of a gift lies in the love and sacrifice of the giver, rather than the object itself.

I. Comprehension Questions (Brief Answers)

Answer: Della saved the money by bargaining hard about prices with the grocer, the vegetable man, and the butcher.

Answer: It was a furnished flat costing $8 per week. In the vestibule below was a letterbox that no letter would fit into and an electric button that could not ring. It also had a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."

Answer: True.

Answer: Jim’s most precious possession was his gold watch that had belonged to his father and grandfather. Della’s most precious possession was her long, rippling, shining hair that fell like a cascade of brown waters.

Answer: The writer says that if the Queen of Sheba had lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts.

Answer: The writer says that if King Solomon had been the janitor, with all his treasures piled in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed just to see the King pluck at his beard with envy.

Answer: Della wanted to buy a worthy Christmas gift for Jim, but she only had $1.87, which was not enough. Therefore, she decided to sell her hair to get the money.

Answer: She got $20 for her hair.

Answer: Della bought a platinum fob chain for Jim’s watch to replace the old leather strap he used.

Answer: The platinum fob chain was simple and chaste in design, proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation.

Answer: Della felt they were alike because of their "quietness and value." This description applied to both the chain and Jim.

Answer: Della used curling irons to fix her chopped hair with curls to make it look as pleasant as possible.

Answer: Jim was dumb-struck. His eyes were fixed upon Della with an expression she could not read, leaving him in a state of shock.

Answer: Jim bought a set of beautiful, expensive combs (side and back) made of pure tortoise shell with jeweled rims, which Della had long worshipped in a Broadway window.

Answer: No, the gifts were not useful because Della had sold her hair (making the combs useless) and Jim had sold his watch (making the chain useless).

Answer: The Magi were the three wise men (Casper, Melchior, and Balthazar) who traveled from the East to Bethlehem to bring gifts to the newborn Jesus.

II. Close Study (Extracts)

a) What does 'generosity' refer to?
Answer: It refers to Della’s readiness to sacrifice her most precious possession—her hair—out of love for Jim.

b) What repairing work was carried out?
Answer: She was using curling irons to style her short, chopped hair into curls.

c) Why was she repairing the ravages?
Answer: She knew Jim would be shocked and disappointed to see her hair gone, so she tried to make herself look pleasant for him.

a) What is the question alluded to here?
Answer: The question is: "Eight dollars a week or a million a year—what is the difference?"

b) What is the 'right' answer?
Answer: The right answer is that the financial cost of the flat doesn't matter as long as the people living there love each other deeply.

c) What is the implied meaning?
Answer: Despite their poverty, Della and Jim were truly rich because of their mutual love and willingness to sacrifice for one another.

III. Paragraph Writing (Detailed Answers)

Answer: The Magi were the wise men who brought wonderful gifts to the newborn Jesus out of love and reverence. Della and Jim are compared to them because they also brought gifts out of pure love, sacrificing their own most precious possessions in the process. The writer suggests that of all who give and receive gifts, such as these two are the wisest. In fact, their gifts are even greater than those of the Magi because they represent a total sacrifice that cannot be exchanged or duplicated.

Answer: The title is highly appropriate. The Magi invented the art of giving Christmas gifts. While the Magi's gifts were valuable, the gifts of Della and Jim—the chain and the combs—represent a deeper wisdom. Even though their gifts became physically useless, the spirit of selfless love they showed makes them "the Magi" of modern times. Their sacrifice proves that love is the greatest gift of all, justifying the title's reference to the original wise givers.

Answer: I desperately wanted to give Jim a meaningful gift for Christmas, but I had only $1.87. Jim doesn't earn much, and I save every cent I can by bargaining hard, but it wasn't enough. I always knew my long hair was our pride, and even Jim was proud of it. When I looked in the mirror, I realized I could sell it. I had massive second thoughts—I didn't want to lose something so beautiful. But my love for Jim was greater than my vanity. I had to do it; there was no other way to get the money to show him how much I care.