Hardships In The Gift Of The Magi

People constantly determine that hardships prepare them for an anomalous triumph and that without adversity they will not have the strength to excel. However, in trying to achieve adversity people damage their psychological well-being, just like the Tuskegee Airmen who faced racial discrimination for serving their country. Although this may be true, the Roman poet Horace elucidates that “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant”. This is often exemplified in A Raisin in the Sun and through Cristian Mariano Deppeler. To initiate, if it wasn’t for the hardships that adversity exposes people to, then many would not see meaning in their life, and in some cases, end up putting and end to it.

Pain is a difficult feeling to deal with in life and sometimes it can be too much to bear. Hardships are also a difficult part of life that can bring challenges which may be indomitable at times and weaken a person. In Donna Woolfolk Cross’s Pope Joan the main character’s life is weighty with challenges and loss that seems to appear frequently. In the novel, Donna suggests that a person’s experience with loss and hardships can weaken them for their future. Joan seems to defy this and overcome her obstacles for a better future. She became stronger after each adversity she faced.

Della gave up her hair, but with that also comes the criticism and embarrassment from the surrounding community. In the area and time that Della was in short hair could be looked down upon. Della thought that “She looked wonderfully like a schoolboy”. Della already felt bad about how her hair looked and said “If Jim doesn’t kill me… before he looks at me a second time, he’ll say I look like a girl who sings and dances for money.” Della was already tearing herself down before her friends and family saw her.

First, Della tries her best to impress and show how much she cares through her actions. When the author writes, “She had put it aside, one cent and then another and then another, in her careful buying of meat and other food” (Henry, pg. 1). This shows how Della wanted to save all the money she could in order to portray her love to Jim. She spent all of her time compiling money in order to get a gift just right for Jim. After Della counts all of her money, she realizes she did not achieve her goal. The author then states, “There was nothing to do but fall on the bed and cry. So Della did it” (Henry, pg. 1). When

This leads to her idea of selling her most prized possession: her hair, to get Jim his present. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his most prized possession which was a pocket-watch that was passed down from his grandfather to his father and then to him. He sells that watch and buys Della a set of beautiful tortoise shell combs for her hair. Thus leading to the use of situational irony in which they both receive gifts for something they gave up in order to give the other a gift.

“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” (Henry). In the short story, “The Gift of the Magi”, the two main characters and couple, Della and Jim, live on a low income and want to purchase gifts for each other on Christmas. Although, their low income proves to be troublesome in doing such a thing. As a result, Della decides to sell her long hair to a wig maker in order to buy Jim a pocket watch chain. Likewise, Jim sells his pocket watch in order to buy Della hair combs to style her long locks.

A person’s character is shaped by many aspects of their life including the people they associate themselves with, their cultural and familial background, and experiences they have been through. Some of these experiences may have been positive and others might have not been so pleasant such as having to endure financial or political hardship. The Roman poet Horace once asserted that adversity brings out the good aspects of a person or talents while if they were doing great and were prosperous, those talents would not have come out. From this quotation, it is evident that experiencing hardship does good for a person and plays a role in shaping their character by motivating them and providing hope but may also put you down.

Strapped for cash and wanting to give her beloved husband the most luxurious gift for Christmas to express her deep passion for him, we are immediately introduced to the initial situation at hand. With only a dollar and some change to spend on Jim, Della is forced into a situation

Della is willing to cut her gorgeous and flowy hair so that she can afford a Christmas present for her husband Jim. Della’s hair is admired by everyone, but she would have felt guilty if she did not get Jim a present. When Jim is standing before Della and her shortened hair, she gives him a fob chain. Also, Della explains to him that she, “couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving [him] a present” (Henry 264). Della has an altruistic disposition whereas Madame Loisel has a selfish and greedy personality.

Love is a defining force for Della and Jim too, overshadowing the poor condition of their finances. Jim and Della do not have much. They would most certainly be considered to be in the lower class, living in a little $8 a week flat in the city and going from a sufficient income of $30 a week to a less than adequate $20 a week with Jim in need of a new overcoat and pair of gloves (Henry). Henry articulates how their love for each other transforms their drab house and surroundings and gray circumstances into a warm and inviting refuge called home. “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all Della had,” not nearly enough to get a gift worthy of her beloved Jim (Henry). She desires nothing but to please him and considers him worthy of something

When people go through something difficult it can change them. Making them who they are, it can change them for the bad or good. Therefore, hardships can greatly influence a person’s life by making them appreciate all the things that make life enjoyable.

The combs had to cost a fortune.” (Maupassant-108) Even though Jim had little to no money, he found a way to buy Della a nice gift for

The couple was poor, so they did not have enough money to buy the perfect Christmas gift for their spouse, deciding to sell their beloved possessions to afford the gifts. Della says, “I had my hair cut off and sold it because I couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present.” (Paragraph 28). Della chose to sell her precious hair to afford a gift for Jim, and that much love brings the reader a sense of joy. It is enjoyable to read about such characters because of their inspirational acts of sacrifice.

Similarly, Della and Mathilde both give up the things they need or want the most. In the story “Gift of The Magi” Della cuts her hair and sells it so she is able to buy her Husband a Christmas gift. In the story “Gift of The Magi” the text states “…I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn’t have lived through

Situational irony is another element that is present throughout the short story. Della and her husband both buy each other gifts for Christmas at the end of the story. Ironically, Della and her husband bought each other gifts for what they gave up: Della bought her husband a wrist watch strap and Jim sold his watch to buy Della the combs she wanted for her hair. In the short story, Jim is seen grieving about the fact that she had cut her hair off, “I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on,” (O. Henry 121). The ending is situational irony because the reader was expecting that Della would buy her