Question

Write two or three sentences exploring how the gifts affect Della and Jim's relationship. Support your answer with textual evidence.

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

Jim and Della are characters in the short story "The Gift of the Magi," by O. Henry. In the story, Della sells her long hair to buy Jim a golden chain for his precious watch. She does not know Jim has sold his watch to buy beautiful combs to adorn her long hair.

The gifts do not affect Della and Jim's relationship negatively. Quite the contrary, they only serve as proof of their great love for each other. Each one sold their most precious possession to be able to give the other something that represents their feelings. Even though the gifts are now useless, they still mean a lot, and the couple's love is not diminished at all. Their reactions when they receive the gifts are evidence of that:

But she held them to her heart, and at last was able to look up and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"

. . .

Jim sat down and smiled.

"Della," he said, "let's put our Christmas gifts away and keep them a while. They're too nice to use now. I sold the watch to get the money to buy the combs. And now I think we should have our dinner."