Resumo de The Gift

In this classic tale, O Henry tells the story of a young couple- Della and James Dillingham Young, who in spite of being seethed in poverty are highly anxious to buy each other a present for Christmas. In a few short pages, O Henry successfully takes us through the love that the Dillingham Youngs have for each other and the sacrifices they make so the other could have a Christmas to cherish.
The story opens with a heavyhearted Della, who discovers that in spite of all her efforts to save money to buy a present for her husband, she had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. A doleful Della broods over their state of penury, while reminiscing over their most cherished possessions ? Della?s knee length hair, that when let down could make up a garment for her, and Jim?s gold watch, a family heirloom that was passed from father to son. Finally, she decides to cut her cascading hair and sell it to the wig maker. For the money she gets for her rippling tresses, she sets off to buy the perfect gift for her Jim. She finds it after ardently searching the stores ? a gold chain that would be perfect for the ancestral gold watch that Jim adored and prized most, along with Della?s hair. Della hurries home; happy with the present she got and sets about preparing for the arrival of her husband.
Jim arrives home and is shocked to see his wife. Della tries to pacify him that her hair would grow back, but she couldn?t go through Christmas without getting Jim a present. Jim realizes the sacrifice that Della made for him is invaluable, yet slumps into the sofa asking Della to open the gift he bought for her. Della opens the gift enthusiastically and on seeing her gift, she gives of a scream of ecstasy, short lived as soon as she realizes that the gift is of no use to Della without her flowing hair. For Jim, her husband, brought for her a set of beautiful and expensive combs that she was fascinated by and always wanted and knew she couldn?t have. Della tries to cheer up Jim and gets him to open her present. But as Della asks Jim to put on the chain to his watch, Jim tumbles down on the couch. He had sold his watch to get her the combs.
The story tells us about the foolish, yet heart-warming sacrifices made by the two people in love so that they could get each other presents of Christmas- a tradition set by the three magi when they went to visit the baby in a manger. The story concludes saying that in spite of their foolishness, Della and Jim may as well be the wisest - the magi. For it is far greater to give than to receive.

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