O. Henry: Biographical Criticism with Regards to "the Gift of the Magi"

O. Henry: Biographical Criticism with Regards to "The Gift of the Magi"

William Sydney Porter, also known as O. Henry in his works, was an accomplished American short story writer. His writing style included poor, working-class characters, humor, realistic details, and surprise endings, as reflected in one of his masterpieces, "The Gift of the Magi." The story expresses the typical writing style of Porter of ordinary life and twist of plot, which derive from his own adventures of life. Porter explored the lives of ordinary people, the tensions of class and wealth, symbolized these aspects of the twentieth century in his writing, expressing the need for love and the uselessness of materialistic abundance.

Porter underwent a relatively rough youth. He dropped out of school at the age of fifteen, and until he established a career in journalism, he worked in a drug store, a Texas ranch, and many other places (Jalic Inc, 2009). During his numerous travels, especially in Texas, Porter was able to observe and communicate with the lower-class townsfolk, such as immigrant workers, from whom he could boast his linguistic ability by quickly learning Spanish and German. Porter's investigation of the commonality enabled him to write about what he saw, which amalgamated to his masterpiece, "The Gift of the Magi," which describes a penniless couple's efforts to buy each other Christmas gifts.

In the midst of his interactions with the common people, Porter also discovered the tensions of class and wealth among them (Liukkonen, 2008). In the short story, the main character James Young, was said to make only 20 dollars per week, which is realistic considering the economy of the time being. The lower-class in the story is also shown to have little control over funds, as shown by the instance in which Mne. Sofronie, the owner of the hair shop, offers only 20 dollars for Della's hair. Della had no ability to bargain for a better deal, and had to accept whatever was offered to her by the owner. Another interesting aspect about the apparent price of Della's