The Gift of Morals
O. Henry’s, “The Gift of the Magi”, is a parable, written in third person point of view, with
themes of romance, generosity, sacrifice, and more, using situation irony to tie the themes together.
Henry explains the importance of sacrifice by using several instances of irony that are revealed at the
end of the story. Some of the instances of irony in the story include the fact that Jim and Della both
sacrifice the possessions that they love in hopes of giving the other a gift that they can use, without
realizing the other has sacrificed their possession and will not be able to use the gift, both spend money
to buy tangible gifts, then at the end receive a more important intangible gift instead, and the fact that
both are focused on the materialistic possessions, and do not think about the gift of sacrificial love that
they are both giving.
In “The Gift of the Magi”, Henry tells the story of a woman who is on a mission to buy her
husband a Christmas gift. The family is struggling financially due to a decrease in income because the
