Gift of the Magi free essay sample

The story The gift of the Magi tells the story about a young married couple who are deeply in love and want to get each other a gift for Christmas. The problem they share is that they are incredibly poor and acquiring a gift that is worthy of their spouse is nearly impossible. Della had only saved one dollar and eighty-seven cents in order to buy her husband a gift, knowing that that amount wasn’t enough; she decided to sell her long luscious hair. Jim Della’s husband, decided to sell his gold watch, which was a family heirloom. Unbeknownst to each other, they make the ultimate sacrifice and each sells their most precious possession in exchange for an amount of money that would help them get a gift that would be meaningful to their loved one. Della got Jim a chain for his gold watch. Jim got Della a tortoise colored jeweled incrusted set of combs to adorn her hair. We will write a custom essay sample on Gift of the Magi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page At the end of the story they each realize that their gift turned out to be useless, but were left with the fulfillment that the other had sacrificed so much to show how much love, appreciation and compassion they have for each other. We are taught in a very direct way the morals of love, sacrifice, compassion and how little if not at all, money matters when one wants to make a gift to a person we love. What I appreciated from the story was that Della did not mind at all losing her hair because with the money she received in exchange for it, she was going to be able to buy her loving husband a gift that would make him happy. I think Della reacted selflessly and so did her husband Jim. Their reaction is one that deserves a lot of respect because many of us who live in a modern era, seem to think that everything is easily obtained and not far from our reach. We think we deserve everything and we are selfishly enough to not think twice to turn these material things in, in exchange to make another person happy. In doing so we pay less importance to this person. We need to have present that by being selfless, we cultivate a healthier quality of life with our loved ones when we are aware that by giving a gift selflessly, we are willing to do anything for them. This exemplified how far a person would go to sacrifice anything to show how much love they have for a loved one. Many of us can relate to Della, in that in present day we are living in the same economic demise they were living in many years ago. We feel helplessness, despair and sadness knowing that we can’t buy gifts that are worthy for our loved one. The despair we experience many times is because we think that the more money we spend on the gift, more important and significant it is. In reality, when we think this way we are losing the sympathy and compassion this beautiful celebration bring us. Della and Jim are living examples of how we should all think when it comes to giving a gift for Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas is that when you decide to give a gift to someone, that person can appreciate the love and thoughtfulness behind the gift that was given. The person needs to have present that they are important and much loved by the person who gives the gift and that the amount of money the object is worth is of no concern and importance. The story helped me once again awaken in me the real importance and reason you give a present to someone you love on Christmas or any other occasion, and that is to do it with them present in your heart and mind at all times.