Imagery in The Gift of the Magi

This line exemplifies O. Henry’s writing style. He asks the reader to “take a look at the home,” but only offers minimal description of what is inside (“the shabby little couch”), leaving the rest of the image of the apartment to be decided by the imagination of the reader.

Here is another instance where O. Henry uses repetition to construct drab imagery and tone within the story. This technique demonstrates how authors show tone and emotions in the story through descriptions of objects and imagery, rather than frankly stating them.