POST: Short Story: "The Gift of the Magi" (151)

For many of you, this might be your first O'Henry short story, a writer always fascinated by great endings.

Share a comment on or reaction to this amazing story.

I was extremely shocked by the ending to this story even though, in retrospect, it was predicatable. The wife and husband both give away their most prized possessions to buy a gift for the other person. This shows their dedication, love, and selflessness, but it makes both the gifts useless. Now that the wife does not have any hair, the combs are useless, and the watch chain is useless because the husband does not have a watch. However, the gifts are both special because they demonstrate both the husband and the wife's selflessness and devotion towards one another.

There have been a lot of stories similar to this one, even Spongebob episodes, with similar ideas, 2 people give something up to buy something for the other and then their new presents don't work out. I did not like this story too much because a lot of the grammar confused me, especially at the beginning of the story. There were a lot of new words I didn't know.

Also, can someone help me with the last few sentences of the story? I don't understand what magi means, or why the story is titled Gifts of the Magi.

My mom has told me this story before, but I never understood why the title was "The Gift of the Magi". Now I understand, and I think that the ending was amazing. Hearing it was great, but reading it was even better!!! The vocabulary and sentence structure was a bit confusing at the beginning, but other than that, it was an awesome story!!

I have heard this story many times but forgot what the ending was. When i was reading it i kept trying to remember what the ending was- I came up with some really weird scenarios. By the time I got to the end I remembered it. I have seen lots of stories with this ending scenario. Have people been writing about things like this forever or was The Gift of the Magi the first to give this scenario?

Many people show the same scenerio in cartoons, movies, books, etc. because it is so famous. Selling your most prized possesion to buy something for your loved one shows that they mean everything to you and you are willing to give up anything to make them happy. I think thats what they were thinking at the time. Anyway I was starting to figure out the ending when she sold her most prized possesion, her hair. Then as they are exchanging gifts they realize they love each other more than anything, even their most prized possesion. It is an awesome story.

I thought this story was easy to understand and it is one of my favorites. I thought it was really cool how they gave away their most prized posessions to tell the other they they loved them. They were poor and had no money, but that didn't stop them from doing anything it took to get eachother gifts on Christmas.

We read this every year uggg...
It seems like a happy go lucky story. But it shows that the poor are just as materialistic as us. If only there was less want and more love in this world...

I thought it was very predictable, but it was a great story. I like the author's way of writing a lot.

I have heard this story many times but i don't know where i heard it. I thought the ending was amazing. I also liked the author's writing style. I was surprised that these people sold their favorite possesions to buy the other person a christmas gift.

“The Gift of the Magi” is short story in which a couple who are in love with each other each make a sacrifice of selling their most prized possessions to purchase a Christmas gift for the other, with ironic results. The theme of the story is that physical possessions, however valuable they may be, are of little value in the life. The mutual unselfish love that the characters, Jim and Della, share is greater than their material possessions. O Henry Concludes his story with:

“The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. Perhaps the gifts were unwise" as he says, but, as he further writes, "let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.”

To me, this quote means more literally that although a gift may be unwise to give, the people who give the gifts are wise because they value the love or freindship for the person to whom the gift is being given more than their most prized material possession. More generally applicable this quote means material things are of little value in life when compared to things such as love, knowledge, or friendship.

It all seemed so similar to this Rugrats episode that I remember, that it was a disappointment when I already knew the ending

The ending to The Gift of the Magi was predictable, in an ironic way. Although the girfts seem usless without a watch or long hair, I think the husband and wife will cherish their gifts and their individual beauty. Instead of focussing on what the gifts could have been they will appreciate them for what they are.

I read this story so many times. They even have a Mickey Mouse version of this. Well anyways, I believe that this story gives a very good lesson about gift giving. I always thought that it's the thought that counts not the value of the gift. It's really special when someone gives something up, thats very important, to buy a gift for someone else.

Oh the irony! I don't understand why the title of the story is Magi either. I thought it was nice how each person gave up what they cherished most for the other, only to recieve an accesory for the object they lost. They probably enjoyed their gifts all the same because it showed how dedicated they were to each other.

I loved this story because it was so touching. At first I found it very familiar... until I realized I watched some variation of this on Disney Channel. The dedication between Della and Jim showed that they loved each other very much. Instead of thinking of themselves, they selflessly gave up the most important thing to them to make each other happy. Even though the gifts were useless, it was the thought that counted.

dangit, read it in english during 6th grade I believe

I love the irony.

This totally ruined the story fo me so I really don't have anything to say about my reaction

After reading "The Gift of the Magi", I was very surprised by the ending. I'm sure everyone who read this felt surprised or even shocked. I think the story was very sweet and moving. Because Della loved Jim so much, she gave away her most valuable possession to make him happy. And Jim gave away his precious watch to show Della he loved her so much. I'm sure Della and Jim will find the gifts to be priceless, because the gifts are just a reminder of the unconditional love they share for eachother. I thought this story was great.

A nice change of pace from The Necklace. Della actually cares about her husband.

As soon as I read the word "Combs", the ending hit me in a flash. I thought, "Jim sold the watch!" and was right. Luckily Della's hair will grow back, but it will probably take 8 to 10 years to grow it to its original length. Jim lost something irreplacable: a watch that used to belong to his father and his grandfather before that.

I read this story before, but i still like the ending of it. Even though the couple don't have to sell their most valuable things, but they did it anyways just to make the other happy. I think that it's sweet.

Wow, this story was really heart felt. I never have read something as romantic as this was. I like the irony at the end when the gifts that they get for each other are actually for the objects that they sold to get that gift. Also, I like how Della was extremely concerned about how Jim would view her with her new hair style, but Jim was in love with her, so it really didn't matter to him. Great story.

I had heard this story many times before but I was never old enough to understand its meaning. The title confused me. I did not understand what Magi had to do with the story. After reading the story on my own, I realized why the story relates to the Magi. The previous times I had heard the story, I was told the entire thing as it is in the textbook. In the textbook, the last paragraph of the short story explains how the biblical wise men compare to Della and Jim Dillingham Young. The Magi started the tradition of giving gifts to one another at Christmas time. :santa:O.Henry states in the last paragraph of the story that Della and Jim were wise like the Magi in that they thoughtfully chose their gifts for eachother and recieved them gratefully. This is an excellent short story.

Wow, no year goes by without reading this short story.
I guess teachers want all the kids to be thankful of what they have. Still, i wonder why this christmas was so important that these people would sell their most valuble possesions?

I really liked the story and the ending was pretty ironic, but why would someone want to buy hair?