An Amateur Analysis of O’Henry’s Short Story Gift Of Magi by Dwi Budidarma

Symbols

“$8 flat”

An unbelievably low price of flat that some people might say it is an impossible price for a flat to be so cheap and this will give us a shock to even imagine how the look of the flat. This $8 flat also clearly represents their social class.

“Jim’s gold watch”

As being told in the story that this is not just any other watch but this was his grandfather’s and his father’s so it should be given to Jim’s son one day but this is the only property he has in the house that he could sell in order to buy the Christmas present for his wife

“Della’s beautiful hair”

Hair for every woman is the represent of beauty and the crown and the most valuable treasure but in Della’s case the hair is really her one and only treasure considered her low economic level that she even trying so hard to get the money to buy the Christmas present for his husband and finally she does not care about her own hair as the only treasure left and as strong mark as a woman.

“Sparkle eyes”

Della’s sparkle eyes represents the spirit of life that is still burning so bright in her even in her so hard life that if happened to anybody else they might be already surrender in no time.

“A watch chain”

A chain may represents the key to keep the watch to make sure nothing goes wrong with the watch and also the chain as represents the care and the love of della’s to her husband.

“A set of combs”

Comb meant to keep the beauty of hair as Jim knows exactly about Della’s hair and he wanted to keep it good even at the end Della cut them off so she cannot try the comb Jim gave to her as the goes to Jim who sells his watch so he cannot try the chain Della get for him

“There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”

This line represent the sadness that Della feels about and this is the truth that when everything goes wrong and we don’t know what to do then just sit and cry and stand again

Point of view

The story is being narrate in Third person point of view or Omniscient narrator as the reader knows everything that the character is feeling about and how the environment of the story taking place in but there is an exceptional at the end of the story with the emerge of the second point of view in the last paragraph

“Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.”

“There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”

“Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present.

“So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.”

“Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.”

"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.”

"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."

Last paragraph with second point of view

“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. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days 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.”