O'henry used irony in "the gift of the magi". this was important to making the story's theme by showing that the couple bought gifts for each other that they could not really use at the time. the author did this to show that people in the society should appreciate the little things they have received from others, because you may never know if they sacrificed their most valueable possession to get the gift for the other person. the story is about a couple buying gifts for each other even though they didnt afford it to show the you dont know what they had to do to give you or another a gift. the story makes use of irony to show that the efforts of the characters and the only result to invalidating their gifts. they sold their precious items which were the basis for each other's gifts. by getting rid of those items, the gifts become useless because it is as if tghey are exanging one thing for another but its not about thge vlue its about the thought and expression they made to get the gift. never the less, the gifts are still meaningful and proof of each other's love. this is what i put hope this