The Gift In The Gift Of The Magi | What Truly Matters

Ask a class what the gift in this classic short story is, and you usually hear two answers. Some students point straight to the combs and the watch chain. Others say the real gift is love. Both answers hold part of the truth, yet the title hints at something richer than either object on its own.

The phrase in the title invites you to look past the twist ending and see what O. Henry wants readers to notice about giving, sacrifice, and wisdom. When you unpack that phrase with care, the story turns from a sweet Christmas tale into a sharp little lesson about how value works in human relationships.

What Story O. Henry Actually Wrote

Before you unpack the title, it helps to keep the basic story in view. A young couple, Della and Jim, live in a small New York flat around the start of the twentieth century. They are short on money, but each wants to buy a special Christmas present for the other.

Della has long hair that reaches below her knees. Jim owns a gold pocket watch that once belonged to his father and grandfather. These are the two possessions they treasure most. With Christmas just one day away, Della counts her coins and realizes she has only one dollar and eighty seven cents, nowhere near enough for the gift she has in mind.

She decides to sell her hair to a wig maker to raise money. In return she receives twenty dollars, enough to buy a platinum chain that she believes will match Jim’s watch. When Jim comes home, though, Della learns that he has sold the watch to buy an ornate set of combs made for her long hair.

Their presents no longer match the objects they were meant for, yet the narrator calls them wise givers. A short entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica article on this story notes how often readers return to it for this mixture of sentiment, poverty, and irony, all wrapped inside a brief Christmas scene.

The tale is in the public domain, so you can easily read it in full on websites that host classic literature. One widely used American Literature edition keeps the original text together with a short introduction, which makes it handy for classroom use.

The Gift In The Gift Of The Magi: Question Readers Keep Returning To

When teachers set the question “What is the gift in this story?” they are not asking for a list of objects. They are checking whether students can move from plot details to theme. The title itself gives you a strong starting point for that move.

The story does not simply say “gifts,” which might point straight to the combs and the watch chain. It says “the gift,” as if there were one central gift hiding behind the others. That phrasing nudges readers to look for something shared, something both characters give and receive at the same time.

If you pay attention only to the items in the boxes, the ending feels almost tragic. Della cannot use the combs. Jim cannot use the chain. On the surface, each character has wasted money and lost a prize possession for nothing. Once you read “the gift” as something deeper, though, the irony turns gentle instead of cruel.

Each spouse chooses to give up the item that holds personal pride in order to bring joy to the other. They misjudge the practical outcome, yet they reach a clear point together: “I value you more than my own favourite treasure.” That shared message is the real gift that passes between them.

What The Physical Presents Really Mean

The objects in the story still matter. O. Henry builds his theme out of concrete details. Paying close attention to those details helps you see how the story teaches its lesson through action instead of through lecture.

Della’s Hair And Jim’s Watch As Their Pride

Della’s long hair draws attention from the start. The narration spends time on its length and beauty because the hair stands for youth, hope, and a sense of self. People in their world notice it, and Della knows that she has something rare, even if she owns very little else.

Jim’s watch carries a different kind of weight. It links him to his family history and gives him a touch of dignity in a city where he has little status. The watch may be one of the few fine things he owns. In a material sense, the watch and the hair hold roughly equal value for this couple.

Combs And Chain As Symbols Of Care

The gifts they choose match those prized possessions. Della wants Jim’s watch to hang from a chain that looks worthy of it. Jim wants Della’s hair to glow even more behind the combs he sees in a shop window. Neither character picks a practical item. Each one chooses something that says, “I see what you treasure, and I want to honour that.”

That is why the later twist feels so sharp. In trying to honour the other’s pride, they strip away the very thing that made the present useful. Yet that loss turns out to reveal something both of them had already chosen: a willingness to place the other person first.

Story Detail	Literal Object Or Event	What It Suggests
Della’s savings before Christmas	One dollar and eighty seven cents in coins	The couple’s poverty and the effort she has put in over time
Della’s hair	Long, thick hair nearly to her knees	Her beauty, youth, and pride in the one feature that stands out
Jim’s watch	Gold pocket watch inherited from his family	His link to family history and his sense of dignity
Della selling her hair	Visit to the wig maker and twenty dollars earned	Her decision to trade personal pride for a present that suits Jim
Jim selling his watch	Pawning the watch for money	His readiness to give up status and family memory for Della
The combs	Ornate set of hair combs Della had long admired	Jim’s wish to delight Della rather than meet a practical need
The watch chain	Platinum fob chain chosen with care	Della’s hope to match Jim’s watch with something fine and lasting
The Christmas Eve setting	Gift exchange in a modest flat on a winter night	A reminder that warmth at home can stand apart from wealth

The Hidden Gift Beneath The Plot Twist

Once the plot twist lands, the story could end in bitterness. O. Henry refuses that path. Instead he lets the narrator speak in a playful, slightly teasing voice that calls Della and Jim both foolish and wise.

They are foolish because they have each given away their most valued item for something they can no longer use. In a narrow, economic sense, their choices make no sense at all. The money is gone. The possessions are gone. The new presents sit on the table like decorations with no clear purpose.

They are wise because their actions show a better understanding of giving than many richer characters in fiction. Each one tried to match the other’s tastes, not their own. Each one took a personal cost onto their own shoulders instead of asking the other person to sacrifice.

The real gift, then, is the relationship that sits underneath those actions. Della and Jim now know, in a way they did not know before, that the other person is ready to lose personal comfort for their sake. That knowledge stays with them long after hair grows back and new watches can be bought.

Why The Title Mentions The Magi

The last paragraph of the story links Della and Jim to the Magi, the wise men in the Christian tradition who brought gifts to the infant Jesus. Those visitors brought costly items that did not make daily life easier for Mary and Joseph. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh carried spiritual and symbolic value.

By mentioning the Magi, the narrator places a humble New York couple in the same long line of givers. The gifts in both stories look odd from one angle. They do not solve every problem, and they do not match basic needs. What they do instead is signal honour, devotion, and respect.

Readers who know the biblical account will hear an extra echo. The wise men accepted long travel, expense, and danger in order to honour someone they believed deserved that effort. In a quieter way, Della and Jim choose painful losses in order to honour each other. The scale differs, yet the kind of love on display lines up.

This link to the Magi also answers a common student worry about the story: “Did they do the right thing?” The narrator’s answer is clear. They did something that shows real wisdom about love, even if their method looks clumsy when measured by short term utility.

How To Write About This Story In Essays And Exams

Many learners meet this story in English classes where they need to write short essays or exam answers. When a question asks about the gift in this story, examiners want more than retelling. They look for clear thinking about theme, symbol, and character.

A strong answer usually starts with a direct claim. State what you think the real gift is. You might say it is their shared love, or their readiness to sacrifice, or their deeper understanding of each other by the end. Pick one main idea and stick with it. Then link that idea to concrete details such as the hair, the watch, the prices, and the narrator’s comments.

You can also build a short thesis around contrast. On the surface the gifts look useless. At a deeper level they reveal something precious. On the surface the couple look foolish. At a deeper level they live out a kind of wisdom that money cannot buy. When you show both levels, you give your marker more to work with.

Essay Question Type	Angle You Might Take	Text Detail From The Story
“What is the real gift in this story?”	Argue that the real gift is their shared willingness to sacrifice for one another	Both characters give up their prized possessions for gifts they think will delight the other
“How does the author use irony?”	Show how the twist ending turns apparent failure into a picture of love	The combs cannot be used on short hair and the chain has no watch, yet the narrator praises the couple
“Why are Jim and Della compared to the Magi?”	Explain that their gifts, like those of the wise men, carry more spiritual value than practical value	The closing paragraph names them as wise givers even though their presents seem wasted
“What does the story say about poverty?”	Point out that love and imagination can still operate within tight limits	Detailed descriptions of their small flat and limited cash sit beside their grand gestures
“How do the presents show character?”	Argue that each present reflects deep knowledge of the other person	Della chooses an item that suits Jim’s watch; Jim chooses an item that suits Della’s hair
“Is the couple wise or foolish?”	Show that they are both, and explain why the narrator says they are wise in the end	Their financial choices look unwise, yet their love-driven choices match the closing praise

Bringing The Story Into Your Own Life

This story may come from another era, yet the questions it raises stay fresh. Many readers still wrestle with how to show love through gifts, especially when money feels tight. Della and Jim give one answer. They show that the cost you quietly bear for someone can speak louder than any item you wrap.

You do not need to sell hair or heirlooms to follow that pattern. You might give time, attention, or encouragement instead of something from a shop. You might notice what someone values and find a way to honour that value in a creative, low cost way. The heart behind the present often matters more than the price tag.

For students and teachers, the phrase in the title can become a handy reminder. When you face a question about theme or meaning, ask yourself, “What is the gift under the surface here?” In this story, the answer lies in a pair of crossed sacrifices that leave two young people with short term loss and long term gain.

When you finish reading this short tale, it can help to pause for a moment before closing the book. Think about a time someone gave up something for you without drawing attention to it. Think too about where you might give in that quiet way for someone else. Those reflections bring the story’s gift into present life, where it still has power to shape how people give and receive.