Critical literary essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical literary - Essay Examplethe Magi O Henry principally deals with the passion of two opposite word sexes for each other, at the inner level of it, he leaves a contentedness that is more serious than it sounds on the surface level. It is the message that appeals to the readers to review their own relationship with their female counterpart of the society.For those readers who are not acquainted with some of his other stories like Hearts and Hands, the Romance of a Busy Broker and Girl may easily mistake his handling of love between Jim and Della for an anecdote that is devoid of any complex theme. In this watch Rena Korb says, The majority of critics then dubbed O. Henrys stories facile, anecdotal, superficial, and flippant (1). But these stories fairly play the role of a foil to the portray of the Magi. While reading the Gift of the Magi a reader may perceive the amorous bond between Jim and Della as it is. But when one reads the Romance of the Busy Broker, he is confronte d with the motion what love should be and immediately the answer lies in the reflection of the Gift of the Magi that love is as unconditional and spontaneous as Jim-Dellas is. Therefore the themes in these stories are complementary to each other that integrate into a more holistic view of Henry about the amorous relationship between opposite sexes.When critics comment that the Gift of the Magi is nothing more than a mere anecdote, it is the problem of their approach that fails to delve deep into the message of the author. As the formalist critics are exclusively occupied with the authors intention and style, they cannot interpret the message that the author leaves it in his story for his readers. Hence the reader-response approach to Henrys stories is more holistic than the formalist approach. In general, critics on the story, the Gift of the Magi are of the opinion that his approach to human passion like love is more of the fantasy than of