How Does Guy De Maupassant Use Situational Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

“The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees.” In the short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ which was written by Richard Connell there are two main characters, Rainsford and General Zaroff. Rainsford thought that General Zaroff wanted to hunt with him when in all reality General Zaroff wanted to hunt him(Rainsford) himself. Richard Connell uses irony, theme and characterization to develop the plot and characters. The use of these literary devices suggests that Connell wanted to make the story more interesting and suspenseful so the reader can enjoy reading it.

What if someone told you that if you kidnap this child, a lot of money would be given to you? The catch is: after you kidnap the child, that same person would tell you he has no money, so no ransom would be paid. In O. Henry’s “Ransom of Red Chief”, this is precisely what happened. Two kidnappers, Sam, the narrator, and Bill Driscol, decide to kidnap the only child of Ebenezer Dorset, a money-tight wealthy man who is highly respected in the small town of Summit. How the ransom is paid; however, is quite unexpected. O. Henry uses verbal and situational irony to design humor and advance the theme of not everything is as it seems and taking shortcuts in life.

In the story "ransom of Red Chief" the irony creates humor in the story. For example, the author states "What's $250 after all?" referring to them paying too get rid of Red Chief. I find this ironic and funny, because it is quite strange to see kidnappers paying to get rid of someone they kidnapped.

"The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees.” In the short story The Most Dangerous Game which was written by Richard Connell there are two main characters, Rainsford and General Zaroff. Rainsford thought that General Zaroff wanted to hunt with him when in all reality General Zaroff wanted to hunt him(Rainsford) himself. Richard Connell uses irony, theme and characterization to develop the plot and characters. The use of these literary devices suggests that Connell wanted to make the story more interesting and suspenseful so the reader can enjoy it.

The second use of irony is the fact that the necklace turns out to be a fake, and they have to replace it with a real diamond necklace worth thirty-six thousand French francs. Madame Forestier tells Madame Loisel that she lent her a fake necklace, meaning that all ten of the years she has worked to repay it are worthless (10). Madame Loisel and her husband work ten long and hard years to pay off their necklace because of her pride and inability to tell Madame Forestier what truly happened to the necklace.The third example is Madame Loisel borrowing the necklace to appear richer when it reality it’s a fake intended to make Madame Forestier look richer. Maupassant demonstrates Madame Loisel’s middle-class station by writing, “He

In “Ransom of the Red Chief” Bill believes he has solved the kidnapper’s problems about Johnny by taking him home. However, in an instance of dramatic irony, Johnny is still with Bill, but Bill never realizes it. Sam described the scene as Bill approached the cave; “Bill wabbled out into the little glade in front of the cave. Behind him was the kid, stepping softly like a scout, with a broad grin on his face” (Henry 15). This is a situation of irony because Bill believes that the kid is gone, and his troubles are solved. However, the readers and Sam know that in reality, the

Edmond Rostand uses situational irony to create suspense in the play Cyrano De Bergerac in the form of the relationship between Christian and Cyrano. After an encounter with Cyrano, the cadets and the reader believe that we will “…find him ground to mince-meat” (Rostand 53). Christian has been insulting Cyrano’s nose and everyone thinks that Christian will be killed, but Cyrano rather becomes friends with Christian and helps him. While reading the letter written to Roxane by Cyrano, Christian notices a spot and relies that “It is a tear” (90). At this moment Christian figures out that Cyrano loves Christian just like he does, we think he will be mad, but rather wants him to tell Roxane. Christian asks Cyrano to “Let her choose. Go; tell her

There are many uses of irony throughout “The Cask of Amontillado.” One example that Poe includes states, “I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose around us. “And I to your long life.” (passage 3) This statement shows a use of dramatic irony because the reader knows that the narrator, Montresor, has no intention of cheering the life of Fortunato and has a careful plan to murder him. This quote also demonstrates dramatic irony because it shows how Fortunato genuinely believed in the good intentions of Montresor, which would eventually result in his demise. This use of irony helps build up the rising action and suspense of the story leaving the reader wondering when the narrator is going to strike and kill Fortunato. Overall this use of

In the short story “Masque of the Red Death”, written by Edgar Allan Poe, it symbolizes irony numerous times throughout the story. One of the often examples of irony is described when the story entails Prince Prospero name as a wealthy prince but ends up dying to the horrifying, twisted, red death, “There was a sharp cry. Fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero”(178). This is especially ironic because his name appears to represents a prince of extraordinary fortunate. Therefore this infers he would have the “the best of luck” but dies due to the horrible plague. While his name is ironic, the rich, noble people at the party also believe that they can elude death but ultimately lead to their demise. In the short story, everyone dies to the

Alexandre Dumas was a master of literature; the sheer artistry in The Count of Monte Cristo makes this abundantly clear. His command of parallelism, his employ of subtle yet vivid characterization, and, most markedly, his frequent use of irony are the evidence. The latter in particular is common and used for a purpose. At times, irony is applied to insert a sliver of humor into otherwise heavy scenes; this is especially true with Dumas’s application of verbal irony. At other times, irony is exercised in order to act as a plot point. Overall, the author’s use of irony is crucial to the story’s progression.

Irony In "The Ransom of Red Chief" ​In O.Henry's story "The Ransom of Red Chief" the reader is introduced to two men named Bill and Sam. Trying to get $2,000 the two kidnap a young boy, Johnny, and soon figure out that they had bitten off more than they could chew. Throughout the story the reader is exposed to three different kinds of irony those being verbal, situational, and dramatic. ​Verbal irony is one of the three types of irony used in this story. Verbal is when an someone says or writes one thing and means another.

In O. Henry’s short story, The Ransom Red Chief, the main action takes place with a little boy named Red Chief. Through conversations over conversations, and comments over questions. O. Henry makes a lot of traits on Red Chief.

In the story “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, there is also situational irony and comic language used throughout the tale. For example Johnny, an ornery

Most authors have a goal of creating an effect of surprise for the reader through their stories. Situational irony is a device used to create some sort of emotion in a story, specifically a short story. Throughout the two short stories “The Necklace”, written by Guy de Maupassant, and “The Ransom of Red Chief”, by O. Henry, situational irony is used for that purpose. In “The Necklace”, the author uses this device to create a feeling of desire, however in the story “The Ransom of Red Chief”, the author uses situational irony to create a humorous effect.

Many people are often encouraged since youth to be honest, even when you have broken or lost something. Mme. Louise's goes against this encouragement after she loses a necklace that had been loaned to her. This difficult scenario occurs in Guy De Maupassant's short story “The Necklace.” Mme. Loisel is a selfish and materialistic yet charming young woman who yearns for a more lavish life. She is invited to a ball, and in order to feel like she belongs among the rich, is loaned a necklace from a friend. At the dance, she loses the necklace and is forced to work 10 years of difficult labor to pay it off, only to discover after several years that it was merely paste. Mme. Loisel causes her own downfall because she was selfish, envious and materialistic.