Compare the ironic endings of "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Gift of the Magi."
The ironic ending of both stories indicates that the relevant characters have attained a certain wisdom, albeit of radically different kinds. Through murdering her husband and outsmarting the police by serving them the murder weapon for dinner, Mary has finally realized the power that was there inside her all along. For years, she'd lived the life of a timid housewife, utterly devoted to fulfilling her husband's every need. Yet after she suddenly lashes out at her husband with a leg of lamb, she's transformed into a completely different person. Now she realizes that she wasn't some sort of helpless creature after all, but a grown woman with strength and purpose.
In "The Gift of the Magi" Della and Jim also develop a deeper wisdom on account of their experiences. They've realized that their love transcends the giving of gifts, which, though important, is not of ultimate importance. Their love is...
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strong and will continue to develop, irrespective of how little they have in terms of money or material possessions. In realizing the folly of materialism they have re-asserted themselves and their power, the power of love that burns deep within.
You are right in indicating that both of these excellent short stories have ironic endings. I would like to deepen this by pointing out that both of these short stories use situational irony in the endings that they describe. Let us remind ourselves that situational irony is defined as when something happens that is the opposite of what we would normally expect to happen.
Clearly, the ending of "Lamb to the Slaughter," where we see Mary Maloney's transformation from a pathetically loving and dedicated wife to a cold-blooded, callous murderer who delights in the way that she tricks the policemen into consuming the murder weapon is a prime example of this. We would never expect, from the way that Mary Maloney is described at the beginning of the story as she awaits her husband's return from work, that she could ever giggle as she does at the end of the story as the policemen enjoy the meal she prepared for them and talk about the murder weapon:
One of them belched.
"Personally, I think it's right here on the premises."
"Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?"
And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.
Of course, note how this ending also combines dramatic irony with the situational irony, as the policemen are unaware that the murder weapon is right under their "very noses," as they eat it.
In the same way, the ending of "The Gift of the Magi" involves biting situational irony as we realise that, in selling her hair to buy Jim a fob for his watch, she is unable to enjoy the combs that he has sold his watch to buy, just as he is unable to use the watch fob that she has sacrificed so much for. In both stories, then, the opposite of what we expect happens, thus demonstrating the power of situational irony.
Compare and contrast the endings of "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Gift of Magi". Which is more believable?
I think both stories have equally effective endings. Each story ends with a strong sense of closure, and both stories have believable endings. Of course the endings are completely different between the two stories. "The Gift of the Magi" leaves readers feeling happy with "warm fuzzies" inside. The two protagonists love each other deeply and are very sweet to each other. "Lamb to the Slaughter" has an ending that readers almost have to laugh about and say, "No way that just happened." We feel that justice has been served, but readers are also likely horrified that they were rooting for Mary to get away with murder. As for which story is more believable, that is up to individual readers. Personally, I feel that "The Gift of the Magi" is more believable and contains a more believable ending. My main reason for that is anecdotal. I've been in a married Christmas situation where money was tight. Using textual evidence, I still feel that "The Gift of the Magi" is more believable. The problem with "Lamb to the Slaughter" is the number of variables and people. The story doesn't have lots and lots of characters, but Mary needs a lot to happen that is beyond her control. Most importantly, she needs officers to show up that know her and are hungry enough to eat the murder weapon. She has to convince law enforcement of a lie. Jim and Della are coming to each other from a place of truth. They love each other, and they don't have to convince anybody else of that fact.
In comparing the two short stories "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl and "The Gift of The Magi" by O Henry, you could look at the different ways in which the characters changed at the end. One changed through fear, and some changed through experience. Also look at revelation - what is uncovered in each short story? What are the reactions of the characters towards each other as the story unfolds to its close? In whbich story did characters learn something positive? In which were they left in the dark? In "Lamb to the Slaughter" one character is in total control - what about in the other short story? Talk about sharing/partnership and lack of it too.