A Tale of O. Henry

In all, O. Henry authored some 600 stories, of which his most famous contain twists like the one at the end of "The Gift of the Magi." In O. Henry (Twayne Publishers), Eugene Current-Garcia says this about "The Gift of the Magi": "It is not surprising that 'The Gift of the Magi' still enjoys such widespread fame, for in this trite little tale of mutual self-sacrifice between husband and wife, O. Henry crystallized dramatically what the world in all its stored-up wisdom knows to be of fundamental value in ordinary family life" (116). He writes further, "O. Henry wrote few stories of ordinary family life that approach in tenderness and universal appeal the qualities found in 'The Gift of the Magi'" (116).

It's almost shocking when we learn that Jim has sold his watch to buy a present for Della, who in turn has sold her hair to buy a chain for him. They both sacrificed what was dearest to them to buy the thing they knew the other would enjoy. O. Henry leaves us with these lines: "The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication." Perhaps the gifts were "unwise" as he says, but, as he further writes, "let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

The Twist of Life

Perhaps the greatest twist of all in all of the stories that O. Henry created is the tale of how he came to write these lively and unforgettable tales. He was born William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina. He worked as a bank teller in Austin, Texas, then moved to Houston and became a newspaper columnist.

When he was charged in 1896 for embezzling money from the bank back in Austin, he fled to Honduras for 6 months before he returned to face the charges. He was tried and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

For him, his sentence was the greatest twist of all. In prison, he began writing short stories and took the pen name O. Henry. After his release from prison in 1901, he moved to New York -- the setting for many of his stories. In the next years, until his death in 1910, he created many wonderful stories, including this, his most famous work: "The Gift of the Magi."

Ah, the places we have been... The people we become.