Book Review of The Gift of The Magi
By O. Henry
Della and Jim are the main two characters of O. Henry’s ‘The Gift of the Magi.’ They are married and care for each other so much that they are willing to give up their most prized possessions in order to give the other a gift for Christmas.
One Christmas, Jim and Della don’t have enough money for Christmas gifts. So each of them sells their greatest possession to give the other a gift. This backfires because Della sells her beautiful hair to get Jim a watch chain, while Jim sells his heirloom watch to get Della expensive combs.
Henry uses a lot of figurative language throughout the entire story, including imagery, metaphors, and even personification. Examples of this figurative language are when he compares Della’s hair to water: “Shining like a falling stream of brown water” and “Down fell the brown waterfall.” He uses both comparison and imagery to allow the reader to better visualize what Della is giving away to get her husband a good present. Henry also uses personification to further show how much Della cares for Jim:
“Jim and the chain both had quietness and value.”
Henry also uses figurative language to show the theme of selflessness and love as the greatest gifts of all. Throughout the text, Della is constantly telling about how great Jim is and how he deserves the best gift that she can possibly give him, even if she has to sell her hair. In the end, we can also see how much Jim cares about Della because “Nothing like a haircut could make me love you any less.”
Unlike other books, there are no conflicting things throughout the story; Della and Jim always show their love for each other and show selflessness when it comes to the other person’s happiness. I love this story so much and read it every year with my family because it shows us that you should put your loved ones above yourself, and sometimes it is just the thought that you put into a gift or idea that really matters in the end. So, in conclusion, I would definitely rate this story a ten out of ten, and hope that everyone reads it as a reminder to think more about other people.
