Recently
in class, in the spirit of the upcoming holidays and time of giving, we read The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry. The
story tells of a poor, young couple who each secretly sell their greatest
treasure in exchange for a gift to give to the other for Christmas. Della sells
most of her lush hair to buy a chain for Jim’s watch, and Jim sells his watch
to buy combs for Della’s hair. Neither of them realise this until Jim comes
home and sees Della’s short hair. They both ended up with gifts that neither of
them could use, but they realised how far they were willing to go to show their
love for each other.
After
reading this story we were asked to write about what we thought was the wisest
gift to give to one we love. First, I thought it would be best to give a loved
one their favorite game, movie, book, or something of the sort. If you asked
them what they wanted first, and then got it for them, they would probably be
happy and enjoy the gift. But then I thought that was a little materialistic
and decided to think a little deeper.
In
The Gift of the Magi, Della and Jim
gave up what they most valued for each other, implying that their love for each
other was greater than any treasure. This led me to believe that the wisest
gift you can give the one you love is everything you are able to give; the
greatest thing you can give that the one you love will enjoy having. If the
greatest thing you can give is a book, then so be it. If the greatest thing you
can give if time, then give some time to that person. In my opinion the gift
differs depending on your values and giving capabilities, and also on depends
on the nature of the receiver of the gift.
For
example, let’s say one were to give a really old, valuable book to someone they
loved. But if the person doesn’t enjoy reading, and doesn’t appreciate the
value of old books, the gift is meaningless to them. The book could’ve been the
greatest thing the giver had, but unless the second person shared the value of
the book, it wouldn’t be the wisest gift the giver could’ve given. This proves
that both people have to value the gift for it to be a wise one.
To
conclude, I believe that the wisest gift that one can give to one they love is
the greatest thing the giver can offer and the receiver can enjoy; both must
value it for it to become a wise gift.
I
hope this blog post gave some insight on wise gifts to give this winter.
Happy
Holidays!
-Chaitanya
