Importance of Dialogue in O. Henry’s Short Story ‘‘The Gift of the Magi’’   Anonymous 12th Grade

Whenever readers desire to perform a close analysis of a character depicted in a story that they have read, they must pay attention to numerous factors: how the characters are described, what they say, how they say it, and how they act. Out of all these things, however, dialogue is the most important part of a short story for getting to know the characters and revealing their personalities. In O. Henry’s short story ‘‘The Gift of the Magi’’, the dialogue gives a voice to the characters and allows us to make our own judgment about them, as they speak for themselves and are not consistently portrayed through the eyes of a possibly partial narrator.

In the story, Della is first introduced by the narrator when stated: ‘‘There was nothing to do but fall on the bed and cry. So Della did it.’’ The narrator presents Della as a person who is willing to give up without even trying to improve her situation, which is why she does not evoke sympathy. She is described as a passive character who accepts her faith and, again, mostly cries all the time: ‘‘Della finished her crying and cleaned the marks of it from her face.’’ Her crying is mentioned as if it is nothing special, it is an everyday occurrence. She seems to be the one who pities...