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An Implied Paradox In The Gift Of The Magi

Satisfactory Essays

An implied paradox in the story “The Gift of the Magi” by William Porter is that the main characters, Della and Jim Young are both poor and rich. They are poor in material things,but they are rich in love. The author uses irony in the story to show this. The beginning of the story introduces Della and explains that the couple does not have much money; her husband, Jim’s wages have been cut and it is almost Christmas time. She sees a perfect gift for Jim, a chain for his watch which was a family heirloom passed down from his father. She does not have the money to buy it, so she sells her beautiful hair for twenty dollars and buys the chain. She is excited to give the beautiful gift. When Jim walks in the door after work, he freezes and says,

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