Messy plots, undefinable characterization, puzzling settings, and unrelatable themes can lead to dreadful pieces of literature.  O. Henry, also known as William Sydney Porter, published The Gift of the Magi in the year 1905.  The short story has become well known, and is read in umpteen high school English classes across the country. The story is about a young couple that wants to purchase lavish Christmas presents for each other.  Unfortunately, they both lack the money needed to do so.  The tale continues to display their many struggles that take place throughout the entirety of the story. Although some may claim that the conflict of The Gift of the Magi is rather insignificant in comparison to issues prevalent in today’s society, the story is really well written due to it’s solid plot structure, informative time setting, and its lessons of love and wisdom that are vital to learn.
  The plot structure of a story can have a great impact upon its overall success.  Improper story lines can lead readers into a pit of confusion.  The Gift of the Magi begins with a series of rising actions.  First, Della is fretting about her blatant lack of money.  Next, she chops off the vast majority of her “beautiful hair” (O.Henry, 5), and sells it to Madame Sofronie.  After, she hastily purchases Jim’s present and returns home to him.  Each of these rising actions are built upon each other.  For instance, because Della loves her husband so much, she is stressed about buying him a nice enough present.  As a result of the rising pressure, she is led to chop off her hair.  After she has cut off her hair, she then had the necessary resources to purchase the chain for her husband.  Rising actions are important because they reveal motives and aid in the development of the main conflict.  It is these actions that lead up to the height of the story, or otherwise known as the climax.  The climax of The Gift of the Magi is when Della and Jim exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.  “Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail.  His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her.  It was not anger, nor surprise, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for.  He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face” (6,7).  There is a great amount of suspense during this part of the story while Jim stares at Della in surprise.  The tension begins to build as the characters weight each other’s reactions to the gifts. Following the climax is the falling action.  The falling action is where Della and Jim discuss their presents.  Finally, the resolution of the story is when the young lovers decide to put away their presents, and just spend time together.  “Let’s put our Christmas presents away and keep’em a while” (9) This is considered a resolution because the main conflict was resolved by the characters deciding to set the gifts aside and simply enjoy each other’s company.  Overall, The Gift of the Magi has a very organized plot, which has largely contributed to its literary success.
  Sometimes, it’s hard to fully understand a situation until you have been in it yourself.  The Gift of the Magi provides a great deal of insight as to what it was like to be living in the early 1900s.  First, the story subtly depicts how women were looked down upon by society.  The narrator describes Della’s hair by saying “Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate her Majesty's jewels and gifts” (4).  The story discusses Della’s hair many times, which implies that it is of some importance.  In a way, Della’s hair is needed to create the main conflict and the plot, but when Della whispers to herself, “Please God, make him think I am still pretty”(6), it makes it seem as if being pretty was essential for her to keep her husband.  Additionally, Della didn’t have a job and was responsible for doing all the cooking and cleaning.  When the story was written, there really weren’t a lot of jobs available for women.  They were expected to cook and clean for their husbands.  The roles of women have drastically changed since then.  Next, the narrator mentions “Jim’s gold watch” (4) throughout the entirety of the story.  Back in the early 1900s, most people carried around pocket watches to tell time with.  Due to recent advances in technology, pocket watches have become a thing of the past.  Nowadays, most people simply carry around cell phones.  Why carry around a heavy chunk of metal when you could carry around device that tells time, allows communication with others, and play games?  Lastly, Della used “beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jeweled rims” (8) combs to pin her hair up.  A century ago, it was very common for women to ‘pin’ their hair up and use combs.  It used to be considered proper.  However, things are quite different now.  While there are still some who pin up their hair, the majority of women don’t.  This is in part due to the lengthy time process that it involves.  Due to it’s setting, the story takes the reader back in time, and shows them what it was like during the early 1900s.
  As time moves along, it seems as if our society has begun to forget the importance of love and wisdom.    Luckily, The Gift of the Magi can teach us these important lessons.   In the story, Della sells her “precious locks” so that she can buy Jim a chain for his watch.  This action represents how greatly Della loves her husband since she is immensely proud of her hair.  After she sells her hair and returns to Jim, she tells him, “Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered, but nobody could ever count my love for you” (7).  When Della tells her husband this, she essentially is saying that she loves Jim more than her precious hair.  Jim also demonstrates his love by pawning off his watch so that he can buy Della combs.  Jim’s watch is as dear to him as Della’s hair is to her.   By giving up his pocket watch in exchange for Della’s gift, he also shows that love is more important to him than material. At the end of the story, the narrator relates, "And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest” (9). The beginning of the quote,  "And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house” (9) is referring to Jim pawning off his prized watch and Della chopping off her long hair for money.  Each person greatly cherished their item.  In this part of the quote, the narrator is saying that the couple is foolish to sell their valuable items.  Why would someone give up an object that they really treasure?  The last part of the statement, "But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest” (9), the narrator calls the couple wise.  This is because the characters sold their possessions out of love for each other. While they may admire their items, they love each other more.  In the end, neither of them are able to use their gifts, but they are both very satisfied.  This is because it’s the thought behind an action that really counts. Della and Jim acknowledge the extreme lengths that the other person had to go to.  The Gift of the Magi teaches numerous lessons of wisdom and love.
O. Henry successfully constructed the short story, The Gift of the Magi.  This is due to the story’s organized plot structure, insight on our past society, and lessons of love and wisdom.  It is these factors that make it an accomplished short story. When considering if a piece of literature is adequately written, consider its plot, the information it reveals in its setting, and its theme.  The Gift of the Magi has been read by many people, and continues to touch the lives of others.