The Gift of the Magi: Analysis of Setting
"The Gift of the Magi" is a poignant short story set in early 20th century New York City, focusing on a young couple, Jim and Della, who live in modest circumstances. Their cramped second-story flat, rented for eight dollars a month, is described in vivid detail, highlighting its worn and outdated furniture, such as a tattered couch and a nonfunctional doorbell, which reflects their financial struggles. The setting serves as a backdrop that underscores the couple's desire for beauty and meaning in their lives. Within this drab environment, the act of giving becomes profoundly significant, as both characters yearn to express their love through thoughtful Christmas gifts. However, their impoverished conditions lead them to sacrifice their most valued possessions, rendering the gifts they exchange ironically useless. This analysis of setting emphasizes how the couple’s love and selflessness shine brightly amid their bleak surroundings, making it a central theme of the narrative. Understanding this context allows readers to appreciate the depth of the characters' sacrifices and the story's emotional resonance.
The Gift of the Magi: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1905
Type of work: Short fiction
Type of plot: Moral
Time of work: Early twentieth century
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*New York City
*New York City. Crowded city in which the Youngs rent for eight dollars per month a second-story flat. It is furnished, but with obviously second-hand and outdated furniture. O. Henry skillfully evokes the shabbiness of the rented rooms and the building that contains them, calling attention to such details as the nonfunctional mailslot in the lobby and the broken doorbell. Within the flat itself, he points out the worn carpet and couch and the almost useless piece of mirror that Della has for making herself up.
It is essential that the narrator explain the poor circumstances in which the loving couple do live. The lack of any elegance or pride in their immediate surroundings must be emphasized so readers understand why it is so vital that each character present the other with a wonderful Christmas gift. Surroundings so dismal make both Jim and Della yearn for any possession of substantial beauty and worth as a gift. However, what each sacrifices to please the other makes the other’s gift useless.
Bibliography
Current-Garcia, Eugene. O. Henry (William Sydney Porter). New York: Twayne, 1965. Includes a biography of O. Henry and a critical analysis of his work’s structure and its technical characteristics. Analyzes his popularity and the subsequent decline of his reputation. Discusses his influence on the development of the American short story.
Langford, Gerald. Alias O. Henry: A Biography of William Sydney Porter. New York: Macmillan, 1957. Analyzes the work as well as the life of the writer. Asserts that O. Henry’s rightful place in American literature is that of a minor but classic writer.
Long, E. Hudson. O. Henry: The Man and His Work. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1949. This biography makes a case for O. Henry as a “humorist, craftsman, and social historian.” Long claims that O. Henry is properly understood and appreciated in the context of the times in which he lived and the audience for which he wrote.
O’Connor Richard. O. Henry: The Legendary Life of William Porter. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970. Traces the life of O. Henry from his boyhood in North Carolina through his Texas and Ohio prison years, and, finally, to New York. Vividly portrays the early twentieth century New York City evoked in his work.
Smith, C. Alphonso. O. Henry. Edgemont, Pa.: Chelsea House, 1980. Reprint. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Page, 1916. A biography and analysis of O. Henry’s work written by a professor who knew O. Henry. Most interesting because, having been written in 1916, during the height of his popularity, it reveals a great deal about late Victorian culture and literary tastes.