The Analysis of the How I Met My Husband and The Gift of the Magi - Research Paper Example

Running head: comparing literary works themes 31st October Introduction Marriage is a socially recognized union between spouses where interpersonal relationships which can be sexual in nature are allowed in various cultures. Depending with ones culture, marriage is influenced by various factors. These include prescriptive marriage rules, individual desire, socially determined rules of incest, and parental choice among others. Being a socially activity, many authors have written about marriage and other aspect that revolves around the theme of gender roles and marriage. This paper aims at comparing and contrasting two literary works that discusses the theme of marriage. These articles are How I Met My Husband and The Gift of the Magi by Alice Munro and Henry O respectively. How I Met My Husband is a short story that was written by Alice Munro. Having being published in, the story covers the theme of marriage. As one of the most valued aspects of life, marriage has been extensively covered by many authors who are focused at providing the manner in which a strong family is formed based on the right choice during marriage. How I Met My Husband is a story that involves Edie, a young girl who was employed as a house help for Dr Peebles and his family. The story indicates how Edie meets a pilot known as Chris Watters. Immediately, the two falls in love. As a young girl who is looking for love, Edie first encounter with romance is when she comes close to an airplane view. One of the key aspects that the story is based on is the innocent nature about romance that Edie exhibits. Additionally, the story indicate how despite her younger age, she is significantly proud and is aware of her blossoming womanhood that she aim to use together with Mrs. Peebles’s make ups to attract the attention of Chris Watters. One of the afternoons while Mrs. Peebles is away, Edie plans on how to dress herself and become a sophisticated beauty that Chris could not avoid. Chris on his part notices the beautiful Edie while he was looking for cool water to drink. On the other hand The Gift of the Magi is a romance story which is written by O. Henry. The story is concerned about marriage between Mr. James Dillingham (Jim) and Della who is Jim’s wife. Marriage needs commitments and love and thus it is termed as tricky. Love is tricky and thus the young couples want to buy each other gifts but have little money since it is on Christmas Eve. Gift to make each other happy and strengthen their love and thus each and every individual has to play his or her role to make sure that the lover will appreciate the gift. One of the most notable aspects the story covers is why one should care about the other when in marriage as couples. This story seeks to discuss love for each other though Jim and Della are in difficult moment since it is on Christmas Eve but they do not have money to merry around and buy gifts to each other. How I Met My Husband indicates that even though at first Edie is embarrassed when she is approached by Chris, she is not able to resist the power of love that emanates once she is told by Chris that she looks beautiful (McNair, 2002). This in turn become a key point that Munro depicts as the origin of love between Edie and Chris. Munro indicates that it is during the same day that the two met that makes Edie to cross the road. On his part, Chris whom the story depicts as a social person who valued other was sharing a smoke with one of the visitors. One of the key occurrences that Edie feared was Mrs. Peebles knowing her doings in the afternoons while she is away. This made her to convince Watters not to comment on her dress-up codes. In this way, the aspects of secrecy and trust that are expected to be experienced during a marriage are evident. Another notable aspect that is common during marriage is the special way that individuals in love treat each other. For example, Munro indicates that the short visits that Edie makes during the evenings indicated that she was special to the pilot who indicated the level of friendship that is expected in a marriage. The Gift of the Magi shows that Jim arrives home late which is unusual, Della is seating near the door waiting for his lover so that she can give him his gift. When Jim walks in, he stops immediately when he spots Della without her beautiful long hair. Before selling her hair Della prayed so that she could be pretty even without her hair and thus Della thought that Jim would treat her in a special way. Della thinks that Jim will treat her special due to the fact that she bought a gift for her. This shows that the couples are ready to treat each other in a special way and thus why they buy gifts in absence of the other. On the other hand, Jim gives Della the present he had bought which is hair accessories (Henry, 1906). Since Della hair is short she calls the comb useless during this time Della has not given out his present to Jim. After a short while, Della gives Jim the chain which she had bought after selling her hair to Sofronie. In addition, The Gift of the Magi indicates that the couples lived in an apartment during that period of prosperity. During this period, a Dillingham was being paid for $30 on a weekly basis but later it shrunk to $20. This caused a lot of discomfort between the couples and thus despite the challenges the couples loved each other. This is a sign of friendship since both do care about each other and that is why they buy each other gifts despite having little money. Jim has only a gold watch at this time of Christmas Eve which belonged to his father and his father got it from the grandfather which still illustrates friendship between the two. On the other hand Della’s only has his long hair which is beautiful and flow to the knees. The casual relationship between Edie and Chris Watters takes on due to the fact that Chris would possibly use the tactic of regularly stopping to take drinks of water in order to meet with Edie. How I Met My Husband introduces Alice Kelling who Edie immediately notices. Munro indicates that Edie does not feel threatened by the appearance of Alice since Edie viewed her as neither pretty nor young; she also has a worried face, and low and bumpy bust. At one time occasions, How I Met My Husband indicates that at the same night that Alice appeared, Edie noticed the two coming to home. Even though she observed them getting from the car and walking into different direction, she is not unhappy. This is a notable aspect that is common in marriages. Young individuals especially ladies who are beautiful and receive such comments that Edie receives from Chris are not threatened by the appearances of old ladies who do not look beautiful like the young ladies. Edie on her part is portrayed by How I Met My Husband as a young lady who was utilizing every opportunity to maintain strong close contact with Chris and to own him. For example, when Alice joined the Peebles family on a picnic the following day, she bakes Chris a cake. Apart from noting how the party was used by Edie to experience physical intimacy with a man she loved, the story indicates that it was a tender farewell party. However, the friendly pilot does not allow his feelings to control them. Before leaving, Chris is keen on maintaining Edie motivation and trust and that is the reason he promises the girl that he will write to her. Henry O story, The Gift of the Magi indicates that during this period of Christmas Eve, Della has only $1.87 which she is holding in her hand and thus due to the love she has for Della, she thinks that it is wise to sell her beautiful long hair to Madame Sofroine. The long hair which flows on her legs is sold for only $20 to the hairdresser as sign of love and friendship. This makes Della to have $21 and thus Della feels happy since she will satisfy Jim with a present and thus Della buys a platinum pocket watch chain at $21. This makes Della to be satisfied and thus begins to prepare for the dinner waiting for Jim to arrive so that they can enjoy the Christmas Eve together. Since Jim wanted to treat her lover in a special way, in the story The Gift of the Magi, he tells Della that he sold his golden watch which was a gift from his father to show his love towards her. The couples secretly does all those activities without involving the other partner which shows a sign of secrecy between the two and thus becomes a surprise when Jim finds Della without the beautiful and long hair while he bought a comb. This makes the two couples to be left with the gifts they bought and thus non can be used. This is due to the fact that Della has no hair to use the expensive comb that was bought and on the other hand Jim had sold his gold watch and thus the chain will be of no use since the chain was meant for the watch. This showed a sign of secrecy since if both had deliberated about the Christmas Eve gifts, they would be aware of what each individual would get from the other partner. This tells both couples how their love is and thus they are determined to show it to each other and thus they value each other very much. Their love is priceless and this is the reason both Jim and Della sells what they treasure most so that trust between each one of them is enhanced. Another aspect that emerges in the evening in the story How I Met My Husband was that of deceit. For a marriage to be sustainable and make the family strong, the vise of cheating should be avoided. However, the young girl was not cheating on Chris but her aim was to hide the hide the fact that she was in love with Chris. This is the reason that Munro indicated that Edie lied to Alice about the where about of Chris Watters. It is during this time that Alice becomes suspicious of Edie. On her part, Mrs. Peebles took an initiative to identify the truth from Edie. Once she was questioned by her employer, Edie admitted her intimacy with Chris. At this point, the issue of pain that emanates once a partner is noted to be cheating arises. How I Met My Husband story indicates that when Alice learned about Edie and Chris relationship, she explodes in rage and sobs (Alice, 1974). Loretta was also disappointed by Edie actions an indicated that all men are the same, a statement that is common among women who have been annoyed by their male counterparts or during women discussion on matters relating to their husbands. On her part, Mrs. Peebles discovered how unexposed Edie was; she noted that the young girl who only thought individual portrays intimacy by kissing. Cheating during marriage is not encouraged and this is the reason why Jim and Della in the story The Gift of the Magi sell their properties to increase the level of trust between themselves. This shows why an individual should care for the other and thus it is important to give a perfect gift like in the case of Della and Jim. This means that money and time are not considered but the gift itself shows how Della and Jim loved each other. Love is the main aspect that is covered in the story since both the couples sell what they treasure best in the name of love and friendship (Coontz, 2005). This is the reason why both couples treat each other special to make sure that cheating will not take place in their love. This kind of the love is compared with Biblical Magi who are known as wise men who came to see the new born king with a lot of gift. The king of the Jews was born in the manger and thus the wise men had to come up with gifts for the king on the Christmas Eve and thus the gifts were wise and were valued important to the king (Germain, 1984). Della and Jim selling what they mostly treasured and the fact that they did not have anything else in the Christmas Eve indicate that the two couples were wisest. Both give and receive gifts from the other partner and thus they are wise and termed as Magi. How I Met My Husband portrays Edie as a girl who has the vice of perseverance. For instance, during the entire summer, the young girl waited for the promised letter from Chris Watters but it never arrived. Additionally, Edie could check the mailbox for six days a week without losing hope. These are examples of how people who are in marriage should behave. Based on the challenges that are experienced especially among the young couple, possibly due to divergence of opinions and ideas, one should learn to persevere and face off the issues without blaming others (McQuiston and Morris, 2009). Once Edie’s faith in the promised letter fails, she stops looking for the mail. Her opinion was that she is not like other women who wait for things that never come to them. However, once her faith crumbled, she started receiving calls from the mailman who insisted that he missed her. The title of this story by Munro is not candidly indicated by the way Edie and the mailman started going out, became engaged after 2 years, married, raised children and found happiness in their marriage. Henry O story, The Gift of the Magi, on the other hand indicates that the couples do not loose hope despite having difficult moment. This is due to the fact that both they do not have enough money to buy present to each other. Despite the challenges, they continue to love each other and this is the reason why they buy gifts on the Christmas Eve to make sure that their love is strengthened and thus bear with each other in this entire period. Perseverance is another notable aspect that is shown in the Gift of the Magi since after the salary is shrunk by $10, Della bears with Jim low income and this show there was a sense of perseverance between the two and they loved each other. This indicates that love should not end due to hard economic matters like low income earning but rather should be strengthened. Like in the case of Della and Jim they are able to persevere, love each other, trust, treat each other in a special manner and finally show they value their friendship. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that in marriage, love, friendship, trust, perseverance among other issues cannot be overlooked. While How I Met My Husband portrays the deep love that the young girl had for Chris, they did not end in marriage. She was married by someone she did not expect. This is a true scenario even in the contemporary society, individuals are getting married to people they do not expect. On the other hand, The Gift of the Magi emphasizes on the need for persevering and sacrificing both in terms of financial resources and time, in order to love and marriage life happy, strong and enjoyable. References Alice, M. (1974). How I Met My Husband. Toronto, Macmillan. Coontz, S. (2005). Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Viking Press. Germain, M. (1984). The Gifts of the Magi and Christmas Eve. New York: Dramatists Play Service Henry, O. (1906). The Gifts of the Magi. New York City: New York press. McNair, B. 2002. Striptease culture: Sex, media and the democratization of desire. London: Routledge, McQuiston, D and Morris, A. (2009). Gender differences in communication: Implications for salespeople. Journal of Selling & Major Account Management, 9(4), 54-64. Read More