Sacrifice In The Necklace And The Gift Of The Magi

When one thinks about sacrifice their minds tend to think of it as noble deed that highlights what they value. They view it as the person has sacrificed something that is important for the greater good. However, this is not always the case and sometimes sacrifice can take people down some very dark paths and not only ruin their own life, but the lives of others around them. In The Poisonwood Bible, multiple characters made sacrifices that were sometimes good and sometimes bad. The bad instances caused a lot of problems in the book. Throughout the book Nathan Price sacrificed his family’s life in America which showed how far he was willing to go to display his values, which would turn out to be his hamartia.

the novel alone, which is that sometimes the sacrifices made for others can lead to your reward in

In "The Gift of Magi," Della and Jim sacrifice their prized possessions for each other and for love. Irony is represented in this story when Della and Jim both get each other gifts that mean a lot to each other. However, what they did not realize is that when Della cut her hair to to buy Jim a chain for his watch, she was unaware that Jim was going to sell his watch to buy her combs for her hair. The irony of their gift exchange is monumental as their unconditional love for one another took over for their own personal possession. Jim exclaims, “I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first." The magi which are described as wise men also signifies irony because Della and Jim's presents were more than wise. They represented that a gift does not need to be expensive to have value. A gift can be more meaningful just by the thought.

In "The Necklace," Mathilde is very selfish throughout the story. Mathilde shows her selfishness when she longs to be rich and live in a nice home, wear expensive clothing and wear flashy jewelry with her clothes. "These…show how materialistic Mathilde is and how selfish she is for caring only about gaining these things for herself," says one critic (Directessays). Mr. Loisel provides the basic necessities for her to live a good life, but she wants more than just the basic necessities.

Della from “The Gift of the Magi,” and Hester from “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are the best examples of the two different sides of humanity. Mrs. James Dillingham or known as Della from “The Gift of the Magi,” is a loving housewife. By many she can be classified as a traditional woman that is fully devoted to her husband Jim. Della is a poor, but selfless woman, who sells her beautiful lengthy hair in exchange for a Christmas gift for her husband Jim. Despite selling her price possession, Della was an altruistic wife that felt the merit of her hair is too little compared to her love for Jim. “’…Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,’ she went on with sudden serious sweetness, ‘but nobody could ever count my love for you…’” (Henry 6), that

In the field I am only thinking about the ball and making a goal. That is a discourse community I can identify myself being a part of. What is a discourse community you may ask? A discourse community is a familiar community you engage on the daily or feel connected because you are a member. Through my high school years, I was labeled a soccer player.

Thereafter, by learning a lesson from her doings there was a great transformation in Mathilde’s character from beginning to end of the story. After giving the diamond necklace to Forrestier she knew they have to live a “horrible” (5) life “of the needy.” (5) . Thus “with sudden heroism” (5) she decided to repay the debt taken for that necklace and “dismissed their servant, changed their lodgings and rented a garret under the roof.” (5) The woman who valued her youth and beauty the most lost it and became the woman of “impoverished household-strong and hard and rough.” (5) But sometimes she

In the short story “The Gift of the Magi” Della and Jim is a young married couple who love each other very much. Della makes a sacrifice of cutting her long and beautiful hair so that she could have the money to buy her husband a chain for his watch. This is contrasting to “A Doll’s House” because in the story Nora instead of telling her husband what she wants for Christmas she asks Torvald for money so she can buy herself a gift. Jim does the same thing as Della did he sold his watch that was passed down from his grandfather and his father so that he could buy a comb set for Della for her beautiful hair. The personal sacrifices that each made was similar to a sacrifice that Nora made she borrowed money illegally so that her husband and dying father could be spared the stress of having to deal with the borrowing and lending of money. (Porter).

The characters of the short story, “The Necklace” and “The Gift of the Magi” go through a personality change because of their thoughts on materialistic items. Even though others may believe that materialistic items bring you confidence and pride, pride is not found in materialistic items, but in company of others because pride can overtake your sense of reality and wealth is not found in items one can buy. Throughout the story, the authors of the two short stories illustrate how as humans, one prides him/herself with wealthy and expensive products. Author of “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant, illustrates the theme of wealth taking your pride through his characters and plot. “The Gift of the Magi,” written by O. Henry, uses characterization to illustrate the character’s pride in their precious items. Both authors speak through their characters to illustrate a common theme that affects one’s everyday life.

This story is a story that can touch any person that has had to gone through a heavy sacrifice or gave up something they so covet in order to enlighten someone else, especially during the holiday seasons. It is a short narrative that magnifies the intangible value of sentimentality and belittles the importance of physical offerings. Jim and Della equally appreciate the efforts each other made to make the other happy, despite

Both Guy de Maupassant and O.Henry are two very recognized short story writers and they wrote respectively The Necklace and The Gift Of The Magi which are going to be compared in this text. In the Necklace, Mathilde, the protagonist, is a jealous, poor, unhappy person and she does not give values to thing that she has. She is married with a young guy that is poor two but is not jealous. Her biggest fear was becoming poor and it turns reality at the final of the story when she realizes that the necklace was fake. The Gift Of The Magi is a story centered on a young couple living in a small apartment located in New York. They are poor so they have to sell something to buy each other a christmas gift. At the end of the story, the couple realize that they do not need gifts. Both stories deal with young and poor couples who face in a objective and are surprised with a unexpected, ironic turn. The objective of this report is to establish clear differences between the short stories and to provide

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

“The Gift of the Magi” is a short story by O. Henry that entails the story of Jim and Della, a husband and wife of a struggling middle class family. In said story, Della sells her long beautiful hair for money to buy a nice band for her husband’s watch. After Della presents Jim with his gift, Jim tells Della he no longer has his watch due to the fact he sold it so he would be able to buy a nice set of combs for Della’s long hair that is no more. This story of love and selflessness is complemented by the author’s style of writing. Specifically, O. Henry use of figurative language and imagery in “The Gift of the Magi” emphasizes ideas and enhances the reader’s understanding of the story.

Mathilde believes she does not belong in the social class she is in. Instead Mathilde’s desire is for a wealthier living environment, but she cannot contain it because of her husband’s more underclass job. “She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but that; she felt made for that. She would so have liked to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after” (68).

In The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry (1906), Della is one of two main characters, the other being her beloved husband, Jim. On Christmas Eve, Della has saved very little for a present for Jim when she decides to sell her most prized possession, her long beautiful hair, for more money. After doing this, and buying the perfect gift,