Essay on Della and Jim from "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry

There are many aspects of a story that separates a bad story from a good one; two of which is the use of tone and settings to entertain and hold readers’ interest. William Sydney Porter also known as O. Henry was an American short story writer. His story “The Gift of the Magi” is a perfect example of how he utilize the two elements to further develop the reader’s curiosity for the story.

“The Gift of the Magi” is a story about a couple during Christmas Eve. Both of them wanted to give their partner a gift for Christmas but it turns out that they do not have enough money, so they each sold their own prized possessions to make each other happy. The male protagonist Jim sells a golden watch that his father gave him in order to afford a gift for his wife Della. On the other hand, Della offered her luxurious hair in order to give Jim a gift. This shows us that the subject of the story is that love could overcome poverty. The two protagonists would give up their most prized belonging in order to bring joy for their partner.

O. Henry also demonstrates how tones can be used to keep the readers’ interest for the story in “The Gift of the Magi”. O. Henry start off the story with a desperate tone to show how the couple is living in poverty. “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.” By showing how Della continually count her savings as Christmas gets closer and closer allow readers to get a sense of how desperate she is which further engross the reader into the story. As we get further into the story, the tone suddenly changes into a suspenseful tone. “‘If Jim doesn't kill me,’ she said to herself, ‘before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?’” This shows how Della felt after she had sold her hair in order to afford a present for Jim. O. Henry uses suspensfulness to hook the reader into wanting to find out what happens next. When the time comes, we get to find out Jim’s reaction to Dellas action. “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.” This further encourages the readers’ curiosity for the situation that Della is in and it shows a great way of using tone as a tool of writing.

Another tool that O. Henry used to peak the reader’s interest was the use of settings. “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.” Right after Della counted her money, she then sat down on her “shabby little couch” and sobed. This tells the reader that the setting of the story is in the protagonist’s house and that she is very desperate. Now that O. Henry has established the initial setting of the story, readers would want to know how the setting changes as the story continues. As the story continues, the setting of the story changes from a very desperate household to the night of Christmas Eve. “‘Jim, darling,’ she cried, ‘don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you.’” As the story changes, the setting of the story also change to further entertain the reader. During Christmas Eve, the two protagonists exchange gifts for each other and the setting is no longer a house in poverty but a house with love and compassion for each other on the night of Christmas. This change in setting is what the keeps readers interested in the story and O. Henry did just that in the “The Gift of the Magi”.

To read a great story like “The Gift of the Magi” exercises our imagination and teaches us a lession about life. A story that focuses on love instead of weath and material possessions. By reading this story, we get to imagine being the protagonists and living through the hardship that they had which better shape us as a person and allow us to appreciate what we have compared to the story. This is what literature is all about; using tones and settings to engage the reader into the story to us a lesson about life, and I think that the “The Gift of the Magi” did a great job using the two elements to emerse us into the story.