“The Reward of the Magi” ( 1906 ) stays one of the crucial recognizable and sometimes anthologized narratives in American literature. In its clip the narrative was extremely in style. each commercially and critically. and O. Henry was referred to as the “Yankee Maupaussant. ” At this time the narrative is taken into account juvenilia and has non garnered a lot critical crucial attending. “The Reward of the Magi” ab initio appeared in one in all O. Henry’s best-known aggregation of narratives. The 4 Million. which was printed in 1906.
Plot and Main Fictional characters
On Christmas Eve. a immature married grownup feminine named Della has reduce and offered her lengthy. stunning hair to realize the rest of the cash she wants for her husband’s Christmas these days: a Pt concatenation for his cherished ticker. When her hubby. Jim. returns to their flat. he’s shocked to see her hair gone ; he has offered his ticker to buy her a brace of tortoise-shell combs for her lengthy hair.
Touched by his contemplation. Della assures him that her hair will flip again and he or she offers him the ticker concatenation. When he sees the present. he fondly tells her that he has offered his treasured ticker to buy her the combs for her hair. The narrative concludes with an all-knowing storyteller praising the forfeit and love of the immature twosome.
Main Topics
Critics have famous the sarcasm of the immature twosome giving their most treasured possessions—Della’s hair and Jim’s watch—so as to buy one another presents associated to those self same ownerships. Poverty is moreover a excellent topic. as Della saved her cash for months to buy the Pt ticker concatenation. however she nonetheless needed to reduce and promote her stunning hair. The descriptions of the environments and the couple’s vesture moreover underscore the necessity of the characters within the narrative. As O. Henry was categorized as a realist. “The Reward of the Magi” has been perceived as an dependable. anecdotal expression at low-class American life close to the bend of the century. The narrative is moreover thought to characterize the writer’s involvement within the components of shock and trick terminations. because the influence of the widespread forfeit is non revealed till the choice of the narrative.
