"Gifts of the Magi. Reflections on True Values in O'Henry's "Gifts of the Magi"

Encyclopedia of Plants 01.10.2019

Encyclopedia of Plants

"Gifts of the Magi" - a Christmas story by O. Henry, an American writer of the 19th century - a master of miniature laconic narration. Some literary critics define the genre of the work as a short story.

History of creation

The story was written in a New York tavern in 1905 and published a year later in the collection Four Million. Like many other miniatures by O. Henry, also distinguished by lightness of style, wit and conciseness, this story won the hearts of many readers, regardless of their age and social status.

Analysis of the work

Description of the work

On the eve of the Christmas holidays, a young married couple becomes frustrated with a lack of Money for gifts to each other. Della Dillingham sells her luxurious curls to buy a platinum chain for his pocket watch as a gift to her beloved husband. But the plans of the loving Della did not come true - her precious husband sold the watch, for which the gift of his beloved wife was intended. The denouement of the story is as unexpected as it is beautiful - Jim sold his most expensive thing in order to please his beloved wife with a long-desired gift - a set of combs for her beautiful brown hair.

main characters

The images of the main characters - Jimma and Della are striking in the combination of their youth, the author even compares them with children and maturity, expressed in the ability to rise above material values.

The whole world of the heroine is enclosed around her beloved husband. The most beautiful moments of her life are dreams of choosing a gift that can bring joy to her dear person. Delle is characterized by childish emotionality - tears are replaced by joy, and sadness is illuminated by a smile. She sincerely believes that having lost her beautiful hair, her husband may not like it.

Sentimentality is also characteristic of Jim, behind the external coldness lies a sensitive loving heart. He, without hesitation, parted with the only family jewel - a gold watch - in order to bring Christmas joy to his beloved. The novel has a happy ending - the main characters receive the most expensive gift in the world - love and sacrifice in the name of each other.

O. Henry's story is characterized by brevity of volume, brevity of presentation, which, however, does not make the narrative dry - an abundance of diminutive suffixes gives the narrative a special charm. The emotional component is also enhanced through the use of lexical repetitions. Nevertheless, the author cannot be reproached for excessive sentimentalism; the merit of the story is the absence of pathos and artificiality.

The novella is a kind of interpretation of the gospel story about the Magi who brought gifts to the newborn God-child, where the treasures of the biblical kings (Solomon and the Queen of Sheba) echo the only family treasures of the Dillingham couple. Despite the poverty and wretchedness of the life of the main characters, sacrificial love in its most beautiful manifestation overshadows the difficult conditions of existence and there is no trace of a feeling of dullness and hopelessness. Thus, the whole story is built on antithesis - the opposition of the material and spiritual world main characters.

Final conclusion

"The Gift of the Magi" is a beautiful story about sacrifice in the name of love. The essence of the narrative expresses the essence of the entire Christian teaching, based on the primacy of this great feeling. The reminiscence to the story of the Magi emphasizes the Christmas spirit that pervades the entire story of O. Henry.

It was one of those cozy winter evenings when the perfect weather outside the window inspired me to read a book, but not a long one, I wanted something special on this winter evening. I looked at my mini-library, where collections of poems by Yesenin and Brodsky flaunted in the foreground, not letting the eye of an inquisitive reader know what was hiding behind them. The choice was not easy. O. Henry or E. Hemingway?! Well, it was Christmas Eve in the yard, and I remembered that O. Henry has a very touching story about true love, in which I decided to plunge into reading.

Life of O. Henry

O. Henry (Wiyalm Sidney Porter)

The author was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862. After leaving school, O. Henry (William Sidney Porter) studied pharmacy and worked in his specialty. After working in medicine, William began to build a career in a bank as a cashier and accountant. The future writer worked there for some time, after which he was accused of embezzlement and put in jail.

While imprisoned from 1898 to 1901, Porter wrote several literary works. Then he took a pseudonym - O. Henry (sometimes signed as Olivier Henry).

The first story in the biography of the writer O. Henry was published in 1899 ("Dick the Whistler's Christmas Gift"). The first book "Kings and Cabbage" was published in 1904. Among other famous works of the writer: "Four million" (1906), "Heart of the West" (1907), "Noble crook" (1908), "Ways of fate" (1909), "Exact cases" (1910) and others. O. Henry devoted almost his entire life to writing short stories with unexpected plot twists. Only at the end of his life did O. Henry take up novels.

He died June 5, 1910. A few years after the death of the writer, the O. Henry Prize was founded.

6 curious facts about O. Henry

The last family photograph of O. Henry (1898) with his wife, who soon died, and their daughter.

Did you know that O. Henry began his writing career under very piquant circumstances - in prison.
O. Henry is the pseudonym of the writer. His real name was William Sidney Porter.
The story "The Gift of the Magi" is autobiographical. In Mexico, while on the run, Porter received a telegram about the hopeless condition of his beloved wife, Estes Atoll. In the absence of her husband, starving and not receiving any treatment, on Christmas Eve she managed to sell a lace cape for $ 25 and send a gift to Bill in Mexico City - gold chain for hours. Alas, just at that moment Porter sold his watch to buy a train ticket to the border. He managed to see and say goodbye to his wife. She died a few days later.
O. Henry earned his fame as a master of a short story, especially popular in American literature under the name "short story".
Until now, there are disagreements about the guilt of O. Henry in embezzlement, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison. Most researchers are still inclined to believe that the writer was innocent and was simply made a "scapegoat".
The funeral of the writer resulted in a real "Henry" plot. During the memorial service, a cheerful wedding company burst into the church and did not immediately realize that they would have to wait on the porch.

The main characters of the story "Gifts of the Magi"

The main characters of the story are Della and Jim

The life of the heroes was not sweet, judging by the description of their apartment “In the setting, it’s not so much blatant poverty, but rather eloquently silent poverty.”

The heroes lived in poverty, starving. In the story, the material is opposed to the spiritual on the basis of such an artistic device as antithesis. Della and Jim had treasures that many of us can only dream of. Despite poverty, they were able to maintain and increase their love for each other.

What is the description of Della worth, which will not leave indifferent any man.

Beauty Della

"Delle, who was of a frail build..."

“She suddenly jumped away from the window and rushed to the mirror. Her eyes sparkled, but the color drained from her face in twenty seconds. With a quick movement, she pulled out the hairpins and loosened her hair. I must tell you that the James Dillingham Jungs had two treasures that were their pride. One is Jim's gold watch that belonged to his father and grandfather, the other is Della's hair."

“And now Della's beautiful hair fell apart, shining and shimmering, like the jets of a chestnut waterfall. They descended below the knees and wrapped almost her entire figure in a cloak.

"The chestnut waterfall flowed again."

Features stories "Gifts of the Magi"

Illustration for the story "Gifts of the Magi"

The work is not long, it can be read in 10 minutes without stopping. It will appeal to all readers, both lovers of long novels and people who do not bother reading. O. Henry knew a lot about stories and counted on a wide audience, especially, thanks to an unusual ending, his works are remembered for a lifetime and you want to re-read them again and again, despite the fact that you may already know them almost by heart. The most enchanting piece associated with Christmas and New Year from a very young age. I recommend it as a must-read, especially during the Christmas holidays. You will be able to appreciate the merits of the work in a different way, reading it in a cozy homely atmosphere, slowly and reading every sentence.

The story is also interesting because it is autobiographical. Most of the stories William Porter wrote based on events that occurred in his life.

Quotes by O. Henry

O. Henry walks with a child

I selected the 10 most, in my opinion, the most juicy O. Henry quotes

Money is just trash compared to true love.
It's not about the road we choose; what is inside us makes us choose the path.
For the fullness of his life, a person must experience poverty, love and war. But not at once.
Such is the nature of the female sex - to cry with grief, cry for joy and shed tears in the absence of both.
A person can fall into a bad company in two cases of life - when he is penniless and when he is rich.
Of all those who offer and receive gifts, only those like them are truly wise. Anywhere and everywhere. They are the wolves.
Everyone has their own idea of happiness - just like you or me. In your opinion, there is nothing better than rushing around the world on a yacht or car and throwing ducats at various foreign curiosities. And I like to sit in the twilight with a pipe and watch how the prairies fall asleep and all evil spirits go to rest little by little.
No language is difficult for a person if he needs it.
A hungry heart should have a grain of happiness at least once a year.
There are only two topics that you can talk about, giving free rein to your imagination and not being afraid of refutation. You can talk about what you saw in a dream and pass on what you heard from a parrot.

The deep meaning of the story "Gifts of the Magi" by O. Henry

Christmas Eve)

This story is about what really matters. About what every man and every woman dreams of in the depths of her heart. Even cynics who preach "free" relationships dream about it. Reading a short story, you forget about loneliness, sadness, melancholy and despondency. These feelings are lost and fade into the background, because O. Henry showed a life full of simple miracles, true friendship and sincere love.

The world of two people who have love between themselves is as filled with happiness and harmony as possible. Seeing the feelings of these lovers, their sacrifice and dedication, one involuntarily thinks about the eternal values that should reign in every family.

The author borrowed the name of the story from the biblical story, which is based on the story of the wise men from the East who followed Star of Bethlehem to bow to the baby, born to become the Savior! A wonderful star visible from all over the globe, shone that night, symbolizing Hope, Faith and Love. She led them on their way and was the pointer to the birthplace of the Messiah. We become like these sages by reading this touching novella, written for this purpose, so that faith in the most extraordinary gift in the world, Love, is born in our hearts.

Inspiration to you in reading the story. You can read it by following this link

The text was prepared by Maria Lukashevich

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1) Features of the genre of the work. The work of the American writer O. Henry "The Gift of the Magi" belongs to the genre of the story.

2) Themes and problems of the story. All the work of O. Henry is imbued with attention to the inconspicuous "little" people, whose troubles and joys he so vividly and vividly depicted in his works. He wants to pay attention to those genuine human values who can always serve as support and consolation in the most difficult life situations. And then something amazing happens: the most seemingly deplorable endings of his short stories begin to be perceived as happy or, in any case, optimistic.

3) The ideological intent of the author. In The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, a husband sells a watch to buy his young wife a set of hair combs. However, she will not be able to use the gift because she sold her hair in order to buy her husband a watch chain in turn. But the gift, alas, will not be useful to him either, since he no longer has a watch. Sad and ridiculous story. And yet, when O. Henry says in the finale that “of all the donors, these two were the wisest”, we cannot but agree with him, for the true wisdom of the heroes, according to the author, is not in the “gifts of the Magi”, but in their love and selfless devotion to each other. The joy and warmth of human communication in the full range of its manifestations - love and participation, self-denial, true, disinterested friendship - these are the life guidelines that, according to O. Henry, can brighten up human existence and make it meaningful and happy.

How do you understand the meaning of the finale of the story: “But let it be said for the edification of the wise men of our day, that of all the donors these two were the wisest. Of all those who offer and receive gifts, only those like them are truly wise. Anywhere and everywhere. They are the Magi"? (explaining the meaning of the title of the story)

4) Features of the plot of the work. O. Henry gives the character of a literary riddle to his touching story about the life of the poor, and the reader does not know what the outcome of events will be.

How are Della and Jim doing? (poor)

What two treasures does this young American family have? (Della's lovely hair and Jim's gold watch)

5) Characteristics of the heroes of the story.

The embodiment of the lyrical feeling in the story is female image Dells. The male image - Jim Jung - is the bearer of a certain author's thought: nobility and depth of feelings, fidelity, sincerity. It was the intonation of Della's speech (“But she immediately, nervous and in a hurry, began to pick them up again. Then, again hesitating, she stood motionless for a minute, and two or three tears fell on the shabby red carpet”), Jim - a description of the internal state of the character: identifies and fixes the most important features of his personality, helps to understand and present him as a person.

How did Della and Jim manage their most valuable possessions? How does this fact characterize the characters? (Della and Jim donated their most prized possessions to give a gift to their loved one)

6) Artistic Features works. The humor in the story reveals the inferiority of life, emphasizing, exaggerating, hyperbolizing it, making it tangible, concrete in the works. In O. Henry, humor is often associated with comic situations that underlie many plots. They help the writer to debunk certain negative phenomena of reality. Resorting to parody and paradox, O. Henry reveals the unnatural essence of such phenomena and their incompatibility with the normal practice of human behavior. The humor of O. Henry is unusually rich in shades, impetuous, whimsical, he keeps the author's speech as if under current and does not allow the narrative to go along a predicted channel. It is impossible to separate irony and humor from the narrative of O. Henry - this is his “element, natural environment his talent. O. Henry has an unsurpassed ability to see the comedy in life situations. It is this organic property that gives rise to such comparisons, surprising in their accuracy: “Jim stood motionless at the door, like a setter smelling a quail”, “gifts of the Magi”. One more distinctive feature story is the superiority of the lyrical beginning over the epic. The lyrical feeling is expressed simply, gracefully: "... I have here told you an unremarkable story below about two stupid children from an eight-dollar apartment who, in the most unfortunate way, sacrificed their greatest treasures for each other."

"Gifts of the Magi" because it is important for analysis. By and large, we can say that "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story, although some literary critics attribute it to a short story, which is confirmed by an unexpected ending. Now we will brief analysis story "Gifts of the Magi". On our site you can also read the summary of the story.

Already from the name, the connection between the writer's intention and the biblical story is visible, when the Magi came to bow to the newly born Jesus Christ, bringing him gifts. There is another parallel with the Bible. About the chestnut hair of Della, the heroine of the story, and the gold watch of Jim, the main character, it is easy to conclude that they correspond to the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, namely, the queen's jewelry and the king's wealth are implied.

Story Features

The nature of the narrative lies in the story of the author himself, moreover, from time to time he addresses the readers with the phrases "my friends", etc. To make the analysis of the story "Gifts of the Magi" more complete, consider some features:

It is interesting how the author during the moment when Della cries from the inability to give Jim good gift, suddenly tears the reader away from this scene and begins to consider the "house itself" - we are immersed in the artistic setting of the space.

There is a second such moment when the young spouses tenderly embrace at the end. O. Henry calls to be more modest, offering to concentrate on considering the "foreign object" that represents the main idea of the story.

main characters

In the story, the two main characters are the spouses Mr. and Mrs. James Jung. Starting to read the work, the reader cannot understand how old they are. However, according to some description, it can be decided that Della is a girl or a young woman. For example, she is emotional: she may suddenly cry, turn pale. She has a delicate physique, and she loves to admire her gorgeous brown hair, knee-length. Of course, O. Henry does not state her age, but most likely she is younger than Jim's husband, of whom we know that he is twenty-two years old.

From the conclusion of the author, one can understand that he considers the young couple almost children, but in the analysis of the story "Gifts of the Magi" we note that this is very wise people, according to the author himself, because he compares them with those who are ready to sacrifice for loved one their greatest treasures.

The fact that the heroes of the story are financially poor, well sets off their excellent qualities of the soul - love and generosity. Della is afraid that after she loses her main treasure, her husband will stop loving her. In any case, she will become less attractive in his eyes. Della tries to make a gift, putting her soul into it, so that it turns out to be worthy, special, rare and precious. We have no doubt that Jim does the same, having similar motives - he dreams of giving his beloved wife something unique after selling a gold watch.

Conclusions in the analysis "Gifts of the Magi"

It is very important that the story "The Gift of the Magi" is short in length, but at the same time it encourages deep reflection. O. Henry built the narrative using short, clear phrases that accurately describe events and characters. We won't find detailed descriptions- long and tight. Instead, the author operates with adjectives and adverbs, lexical repetitions and diminutive suffixes.

To heighten the emotional content, lexical repetition is especially well suited here: "a gray cat walking along a gray fence along a gray house." Take this feature into account when analyzing the story "Gifts of the Magi". In conclusion, we can say that the chain, on which one can see a simple and strict pattern, and which Della bought, attracts not because it sparkles. All good things, according to the author, should have just such an attraction.

1) Features of the genre of the work. The work of the American writer O. Henry "The Gift of the Magi" belongs to the genre of the story.

2) Themes and problems of the story. All the work of O. Henry is imbued with attention to the inconspicuous "little" people, whose troubles and joys he so vividly and vividly depicted in his works. He wants to draw attention to those genuine human values that can always serve as support and comfort in the most difficult life situations. And then something amazing happens: the most seemingly deplorable endings of his short stories begin to be perceived as happy or, in any case, optimistic.

How are Della and Jim doing? (poor)

What two treasures does this young American family have? (Della's lovely hair and Jim's gold watch)

5) Characteristics of the heroes of the story.

The embodiment of the lyrical feeling in the story is the female image of Della. The male image - Jim Jung - is the bearer of a certain author's thought: nobility and depth of feelings, fidelity, sincerity. It was the intonation of Della's speech (“But she immediately, nervous and in a hurry, began to pick them up again. Then, again hesitating, she stood motionless for a minute, and two or three tears fell on the shabby red carpet”), Jim - a description of the internal state of the character: identifies and fixes the most important features of his personality, helps to understand and present him as a person.

How did Della and Jim manage their most valuable possessions? How does this fact characterize the characters? (Della and Jim donated their most prized possessions to give a gift to their loved one)

6) Artistic features of the work. The humor in the story reveals the inferiority of life, emphasizing, exaggerating, hyperbolizing it, making it tangible, concrete in the works. In O. Henry, humor is often associated with comic situations that underlie many plots. They help the writer to debunk certain negative phenomena of reality. Resorting to parody and paradox, O. Henry reveals the unnatural essence of such phenomena and their incompatibility with the normal practice of human behavior. The humor of O. Henry is unusually rich in shades, impetuous, whimsical, he keeps the author's speech as if under current and does not allow the narrative to go along a predicted channel. It is impossible to separate irony and humor from O. Henry's narration - this is his “element, the natural environment of his talent. O. Henry has an unsurpassed ability to see the comedy in life situations. It is this organic property that gives rise to such comparisons, surprising in their accuracy: “Jim stood motionless at the door, like a setter smelling a quail”, “gifts of the Magi”. Another distinctive feature of the story is the superiority of the lyrical beginning over the epic. The lyrical feeling is expressed simply, gracefully: "... I have here told you an unremarkable story below about two stupid children from an eight-dollar apartment who, in the most unfortunate way, sacrificed their greatest treasures for each other."