“ The Gift of Magi” is a short story that was written by O. Henry and was first published in the year 1905. The story is about a young husband and how they deal with the challenge of purchasing a secret gift with no money. The story tells about the moral lesson of gift-giving. “The Last Leaf” is also a short story by O. Henry, which was published in 1907, and tells the story of an old artist. The artist saves the life of a young and sick neighboring artist but later dies of pneumonia. The two stories became highly popular because they are filled with several valuable lessons. The main lesson in “The Gift of Magi” and “The Last Leaf” is the love and friendship’s sacrifice are the most valuable forms of generosity.
The two main characters in the “Gift of Magi” are a young couple who go through love’s sacrifice as they give up their precious possessions so as to have a Christmas gift for each other. Della and Jim can hardly afford any kind of gift. Della has only one dollar and eighty-seven cents and this cannot buy a worthwhile gift. Jim had previously desired to purchase a comb for Della but it was expensive and he could not afford it. Such poverty shows that the two could did not have enough money to buy g ifts for each other. However, their love for each other appears as the most important thing in their lives. The kind of poverty that they have does not hold them back and their love propels them to find a gift even when it means sacrificing something.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Della and Jim sacrifice their most precious possessions so as to have a gift. Jim sells his watch, which had been described as “more precious than King Solomon’s treasure” (Henry, 2017). He does this so that he could purchase an expensive set of comb for Della. She had desired the set of comb for a long time. On the other hand, Della sold her hair in order to buy a valuable and beautiful platinum chain for Jim’s Gold watch. Della’s hair had been described as being “more beautiful than Queen Sheba’ s ornament” (Henry, 2017). When she learned that she can sell her hair, she chooses to do so without any hesitation. Even though she is worried that the loss of her hair could affect her looks, she goes on ahead and chooses to sell it. Their love propels them to sacrifice their highly valuable possessions as the two cannot fully celebrate their Christmas ceremony without providing and receiving gifts from each other.
The love of the two appears not to be limited by anything. After Della cuts off her hair, she is worried that Jim would look at her differently. However, Jim replies that “Nothing like a haircut could make me love you any less.” (Henry, 2017). On the other hand, Della observes that she lost her hair just for Jim and that may be the hair in her head could be counted. She further observes that “no one could ever count my love for you.” (Henry, 2017). Della and Jim’s love for each other appears as passionate and genuine. Their love goes beyond the restrictions of money and economy. Even after experiencing losses just because they wanted to offer gifts to each other, they do not see it as a loss. Instead, their love grows even deeper showing that love’s sacrifice as the ultimate form of generosity.
“The Last Leaf” supports the argument that love and friendship’s sacrifice are a true from of generosity. The story describes how love and friendship between friends make them sacrifice their time and even their lives. The first instance of sacrifice is when Sue shows support to Johnsy when she becomes ill. Sue offers a significant amount of support and tries to bring Johnsy to optimism and think about the bright side. When Johnsy gives up all hope, Sue observes that “think of me, if you won’t think of yourself. What would I do?” (Henry, 2005). Sue draws besides Johnsy and asks her not to out of the window until she is done working.
Della and Jim’s love for each other and their sacrifice can be compared to the love and sacrifice that Sue and Johnsy have for each other. The difference between the two is that Della and Jim are described as romantic couples but Sue and John are merely described as friends. The nature of sacrifice that Della and Jim show towards each other is more significant and meaningful. While Johnsy offers a significant amount of help to Sue, she does not go to great lengths like Della and Jim. Della and Jim sacrifice their most precious possessions for each and this makes their love become purer and stronger than that of Sue and Johnsy.
Mr. Behrman sacrifice makes his last masterpiece indicating a true form of generosity. He deeply cared for the girls and this can be seen through his painting just for the girls. He risks his health when painting the single leaf and it works as the leaf is so realistic that Sue and Johnsy both believe that it is actually the last leaf. However, Behrman pays for the sacrifice with his life as he catches pneumonia and later dies (Henry, 2005). The story further suggests that the masterpiece that Behrman had previously indicated was not an actual painting but a personal achievement of giving up his own life for the sake of Johnsy. He is able to find inspiration by making use of artistic gifts, giving up his life for the ultimate benefit of another person. The actions of Behrman show that the bonds of love and friendship and the associated sacrifice can be described as the greatest masterpiece.
Della and Jim’s sacrifice can be compared to that of Mr. Behrman. The sacrifice that Della and Jim have for each appears reasonable and logical because they are couples that are in love. It is normal for couples to give up their precious things in order to make the other individual happy. However, the gifts that they purchased appears to be somewhat useless at that time. The gifts were used to show the nature of love that the two have for each other. On the other side, for Mr. Behrman, he makes his sacrifice without any strong relations with Johnsy. He chose to undertake his sacrifice just to show Johnsy that there is still one more leaf and that there is hope to life. Even though he did not know that his actions would make him catch pneumonia leading to his death, he still shows a significant degree of bravery to make his final masterpiece. While Della and Jim give up their most precious possessions for love, Mr. Behrman sacrifices his life just to give hope for life.
In conclusion, the two short stories The Gift of Magi ” and “The Last Leaf” show that the genuineness of love and friendship are experienced through sacrifice. Della and Jim sacrifice their valuable possessions and this makes their love for each other grow. It also shows that the value of the gift does not lie in its material value, but the sacrifice behind it. Johnsy and Sue also show how friendship and sacrifice are a reflection of true generosity. Mr. Behrman’s actions become the ultimate form of sacrifice as he chooses to give up his life so that Johnsy can find hope in life. Sacrificing something for love, friendship, and hope is thus one of the best forms of showing generosity.
References
Henry, O. (2005). The last leaf . Macmillan.
Henry, O. (2017). The gift of the magi . Pioneer Drama Service, Inc.
