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Jim and Della are considered the Magi because they gave each other the ultimate gift. Della sold her most prized possession–her hair–to buy Jim a platinum chain for his watch. Jim sold his most prized possession–his watch–to buy Della precious combs for her beautiful, long hair. The main theme is sacrifice and how willing one could be to go through sacrifices in the name of love. The Magi were the three wisemen who traveled all the way to present the gifts of love to baby Jesus, according to the Bible. Likewise, this story is inspired by such "wise" gifts that the magi gave Baby Jesus only as it would happen in the reality of sadness of the two main characters, whom also sacrificed and gifted each other wise gifts.
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Generosity
The mood ranges from happy to sad and everything in between. In The Gift of the Magi, what does the chain represent? The watch chain, like the combs, is a sign of the wife’s devotion to her husband. Her hair has the same emotional value for her as his watch had for him.
In the 1978 Christmas special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, Ernie and Bert do an adaptation of "The Gift of the Magi". Ernie gives up his Rubber Duckie to buy Bert a cigar box to put his paperclip collection in, and Bert gives up his paperclip collection to get Ernie a soap dish to put his Rubber Duckie in. In the end, Mr. Hooper happily gives them back their items, realizing how much it hurt to sacrifice their possessions to please each other. In 1955, in The Honeymooners episode 13 of season 1, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" involves Ralph looking for the perfect present for Alice for Christmas.
Love
It is fitting, then, that both Jim and Della decide to sacrifice their prized belongings not in order to change their material circumstances but rather to buy a sentimentally motivated gift for their partner. Though the combs and the watch chain are given monetary value, it is the sentiment behind each gift that makes them truly meaningful. Della and Jim may remain materially impoverished, but their exchange of functionally useless Christmas gifts only serves to emphasize the wealth of love that exists between them. Henry contrasts the warmth that exists between Della and Jim with their bleak surroundings. The most prominent theme in “The Gift of the Magi” is love. Jim and Della are willing to part with their most prized possessions to make each other happy, demonstrating that a wealth of love makes up for material poverty.
ENotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Their relationship shows that they will make sacrifices to make the other happy . The central idea being that people will make sacrifices for the one's they love. The “examples of tone in the gift of the magi” is a short story written by O.
Bert and Ernie’s Gift of the Magi
As a reminder, you may only use Course Hero content for your own personal use and may not copy, distribute, or otherwise exploit it for any other purpose. The 2009 Christmas episode of Robot Chicken features a parody of "The Gift of the Magi", where Jim refuses to sell his watch for expensive brushes and buys Della lingerie instead, much to her displeasure. In the 1999 Disney Christmas Video Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse do an adaptation of The Gift of the Magi. Mickey trades his harmonica to buy Minnie a chain for her watch and Minnie trades her watch to get Mickey a case for his harmonica.
The beginning moments of the 2002 special It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie feature gags based on the story. For example, while Rizzo the Rat sells his collection of rare cheese to buy Gonzo a dish for his mold collection, Gonzo reveals he sold his mold collection to buy Rizzo a cheese slicer. In 1993, an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 had TV's Frank selling his hair and buying Dr. Forrester a watch fob. However, Dr. Forrester did not sell his watch to buy Frank a comb, merely thanking Frank for the watch fob for his still-owned watch.
The couple’s material destitution stands in stark contrast to their affection for one other. O. Henry was an American short story writer in the late 19th century. His birth name was William Sidney Porter, and his stories were known to often have surprise or twist endings. Henry was a fan of language and enjoyed puns immensely. “The Gift of the Magi” is a touching Christmas tale about how far a husband and wife will go for one another, despite their poverty.
Be sure to explain connotation and tone (the specific emotions of the author, speaker, characters, etc.). I love analyzing characters, whether the character is in a poem, book, play, television show, or even a movie. So let’s help our students examine characterization with ease. The combs are beautiful and expensive on the outside—but with Della’s hair gone, their external value is diminished. However, they still have the same sentimental value, coming from Jim.
To show their true love and devotion to one another, right before Christmas, Della and her husband Jim set out separately to purchase Christmas presents. The true gift in the story is the sacrifice that Jim and Della are each willing to make for one another in order to purchase a gift worthy and beautiful enough to be owned by the other. For there lay The Combs–the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window.
The concepts of wealth and poverty are important themes in the story as well. While financially poor, Della and Jim prove to be emotionally rich. The love they have for each other overshadows their poverty. But in the final analysis, none of this matters.
Students who utilize any model paper from eCheat.com or its affiliates are REQUIRED to cite all of the sources properly when writing their own paper. In the recent past, the literature has been emphasizing including gifted children in the regular classroom rather than placing the... The story, the couple acts on impulse as each strives to please their spouse. Esther Lombardi, M.A., is a journalist who has covered books and literature for over twenty years. Tone words are specialized terms that assist an author describe their feelings about a topic. Positive, negative, or neutral connotations are common in words.
For a young couple living in such economically strained circumstances, it is unlikely that their possessions truly rival those of biblical royalty. However, the items are considered valuable for more than just their material worth. Della’s hair represents her beauty and femininity, and for it to have reached such a length, she must have been growing it out for years. Jim’s watch is an heirloom that was passed down from his father.
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In terms of literature, a theme is the message of the story whereas the central idea is the main idea of the story. Just tell me what the text is about, so it covers the main point. It’s revealed that Jim made his own similar sacrifice in order to buy the combs for Della. Although their presents are useless, they’ve demonstrated, through sacrifice, their great love for one another. They have, in effect, given each other the greatest affirmation they could of each other’s love. Della and Jim's spiritual or emotional connection is portrayed as more important to them than any material or physical possession.
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