Gift of the Magi Irony
Irony Throughout “The Gift of the Magi”
Irony is “a literary device in which a discrepancy of meaning is masked beneath the surface of the language. Irony is present when a writer says one thing but means something quite the opposite (Gioia & Kennedy, 173). In William Sydney Porter’s “The Gift of the Magi” there are many examples of irony throughout the stories plot. A couple, Della and Jim, had limited financial funds for each others Christmas presents.
Della decides that the only way she could afford Jim’s gift is if she sells her hair. O. Henry describes her cutting her hair, “So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown water” (165). She then took her hair to a store where a lady bought it for twenty dollars. With the twenty dollars she was able to buy Jim a chain for his watch. Likewise, Jim was having the same financial issues with affording a gift for Della. There was a set of combs that she had wanted for her hair, as Jim says “I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs” (168).
The irony in this story is that the two had their most prized possessions, Della had her hair while Jim had his gold watch, and when it came to making the other happy they both sacrificed what they loved most other than each other. The author describes the irony while concluding,
“Here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest” (168).
Irony is “a literary device in which a discrepancy of meaning is masked beneath the surface of the language. Irony is present when a writer says one thing but means something quite the opposite (Gioia & Kennedy, 173). In William Sydney Porter’s “The Gift of the Magi” there are many examples of irony throughout the stories plot. A couple, Della and Jim, had limited financial funds for each others Christmas presents.
Della decides that the only way she could afford Jim’s gift is if she sells her hair. O. Henry describes her cutting her hair, “So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown water” (165). She then took her hair to a store where a lady bought it for twenty dollars. With the twenty dollars she was able to buy Jim a chain for his watch. Likewise, Jim was having the same financial issues with affording a gift for Della. There was a set of combs that she had wanted for her hair, as Jim says “I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs” (168).
The irony in this story is that the two had their most prized possessions, Della had her hair while Jim had his gold watch, and when it came to making the other happy they both sacrificed what they loved most other than each other. The author describes the irony while concluding,
“Here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest” (168).