In "The Gift of the Magi" do you think that the sacrifies Jim & Della made were sensible? Give your reasons for your answer.

If you look at the sacrifices that they made in separate lights, without realizing what the other person has sacrificed, they appear to be pretty sensible.  After all, what does Della really need long hair for?  It's just hair, and she tells Jim later on, "It'll grow back."  Hair is just hair, and if she can get some money for it, in order to try to show her husband, who has been working so hard, how much she loves him, then that doesn't sound too kooky or illogical to me.  It's rather sweet.

Then, take Jim's sacrifice.  He gives up his watch.  It's just a watch--granted, he loved it, but, things are just things, and if giving it up can show Della how much he loves her, that makes sense to me.  He can get a cheaper watch, or use clocks in the room to tell time--it's not like he will die without a watch, just like Della won't die without her hair.

It's only when you combine the two presents that these two people get that the combination becomes insensible; Jim gets Della combs for hair that she no longer has, and Della gets Jim a chain for a watch that he no longer has.  It is an unfortunate comination of sacrifices and presents, and it is that combination that makes their original sacrifice look insensible.  But, in reality, taking them separately, they were nice gifts to give.

One other thing to consider is the difficulty of using the word "sensible" to describe love.  How "sensible" is love, really?  How "sensible" are gifts that we give to our loved ones?  The point of giving gifts to show our love is not to be "sensible," but to show them that we care, that we notice what makes them happy.  Giving "sensible" gifts is boring, and not very romantic.  So trying to describe their sacrifice as sensible is really missing the point entirely.

I hope that those thoughts help get you started; good luck!