The Message of The Gift of the Magi

“The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry is a very simple short story that contains a very important message. The message is perfect for the story that O. Henry is trying to tell, a story about an incredibly poor couple who sells their most important possessions in order to buy a perfect gift. The message in this story could not have been delivered in a better way; the message is also the entire theme of the story, and it is interwoven into the plot of the story and the actions of the characters. The mentions of the Magi are not even part of the most important message that the author is trying to get across; they are just there to make the real point of the story stronger. The real point and theme of this story are that it is not the value of a gift that matters, but rather the thought behind it that really makes it special.

The way this message is introduced into the story is when the main characters, Jim and Della, realize that the incredibly valuable and special gifts they have bought for each other-- so valuable that they had to sell off both of their most prized possessions in order to obtain them-- will no longer have any use to the person they are buying it for. Della, in order to obtain a new watch chain for her presumed husband’s watch, sells her hair, as she wanted “something almost worth the honor of belonging to Jim,” and Jim, trying to buy incredibly attractive combs that his wife had been eyeing for quite a while, sells his watch. The whole point behind this part of the story is that they truly thought about what gifts they wanted to get for each other, but in the wrong way; they cared about what the other person wanted and the cost of the product rather than just the sentimental reason and thought behind purchasing the gift. The theme of the story is brought to light here, where, even though they purchased gifts that they really thought about, they also purchased gifts that were incredibly expensive for them. Instead of looking for other, possibly less expensive options, they chose the gifts that required them to sell off the things they loved the most-- besides each other-- in order to obtain them.

While the message/theme of the story does not support the large cost of the products each of the characters have bought, it does support the characters actually taking the time to think about the most incredible gift for their significant other. Even though the gifts came at such a large cost that the characters themselves cannot use them, both of them openly appreciate and love the gift they were given by the other Della, especially, really wanted the gift that she got, as she had “loved [the combs that Jim bought her] for a long time [but] has known they cost too much for her to buy them." This shows that Jim really took the time to think about the gift that Della most wanted and the gift would mean the most to her on a personal level. It also shows how meaningful gifts can be to someone if you take the time to learn their interests and think about getting them something that they will want to use in their everyday life or something that will mean a lot to them personally, which is the biggest piece of the overall message.

The theme of the story is supported even more by the fact that this is a perfect example of an “it’s the thought, not the price, that counts” couple. Neither of them has much money, but both understand each other enough to get perfect gifts for the other that don’t even have to be worth that much. It is mentioned in the story that Jim only makes $20 a week, Della had “only $1.87 to buy a gift for Jim,” and that they have a furnished room that costs $8 a week. This is an incredibly poor couple, but they love and understand each other enough to be able to find a gift that, even if it doesn’t cost much, is still something that the other one will appreciate. Even then, though, because of the fact that they are so poor, they want to get a gift that is not only something that the other person would actually want but a gift that is quite expensive and one that they normally would not be able to obtain, which is what the story wants to get across as not a good thing to do-- at least, if it brings negative consequences overall on both involved.

The theme of “it’s the thought that counts” is a great message to try and tackle in a story, especially a short story, and an important one for readers to learn from. The story gets the message across that gifts don’t just have to be valuable in actual money, they just have to be valuable in the mind of whoever receives the gift. If someone only cares about how valuable the gift is and not the possible sentimental value involved in the gift, then those gifts may not be as special as gifts where you can tell someone actually took the time to think of something they felt was a perfect fit for that person. As shown expertly in “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry, the most valuable gifts can come at a price even you won’t be willing to pay, and the most sentimental gifts, even if they are incredibly small ones, can truly mean something special.