In the first source, “The Gift of the Magi Historical Context” the writing sheds some light on the details of the story. In the Gift of the Magi, the reader assumes that the city they live in is New York and the assumption is probably correct based on clothes and descriptions. It also supports that they were poor and Delia couldn’t afford wigs but instead had to use gas to heat the curlers for her hair. The reading just reemphasized what Henry wrote about and how the act of giving was something they wanted to do for each other. The second source from Online Literature was just biographical information about O. Henry who was really named William Sydney Porter. Mr. Porter was born to a mother who had a talent for writing poetry and the ability to paint, but unfortunately she died when he was three years old. This may have led to him moving with his father to his relative’s farm. He eventually left the farm and married and had a child. He developed a magazine but he also spent time in prison for embezzlement. He eventually moved to New York City, which is the background for the Gift of the Magi. As a result of Porters problems with the law and drinking habits, I think that might be were the story line came from. He grew up poor and struggled and giving to others was probably not really something he could do. The third source from the author from the Columbia encyclopedia helps to understand what he may have been thinking about when he wrote the story. There is some irony in the couple sacrificing their possessions to buy gifts that were related to the possessions they were in fact each selling off. Poverty is the prominent theme and this work really looked at the lower class life during the time of the writing. Henry had a knack for trick endings in his works and I think this one is part of that structure. I don’t think that any references contradict the true meaning of the story which is to give to someone even if you can’t afford it. You make sacrifices to make someone happy.