Situational Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

situational irony refers to circumstances in which characters find themselves which suggest a specific outcome but

When red chief is kidnapped and taken to the cave instead of crying and attempting to escape from the cave, he is in the cave having the time of his life. He played a game the whole time where he gave everyone a nickname he called himself master chief b and billy was named snake eye, they were all Indians that is what was going through his mind the whole entire time. Even though red chief is away from family he talks about how boring it is to be at home and how he does not want them to take him back home “‘when the kid found out we were going to leave him at home, he started up a howl like a calliope … and fastened himself (pg.53 When red chief's father wrote back to SAM and Billy saying that the money, they had requested

In "Ransom of Red Chief" O. Henry uses situational irony to create humor in his short story. It is very entertaining to see the things that happen throughout the story because the reader does not expect those things to happen. As a result of O. Henry using situational irony, it develops the theme crime doesn't pay. In order for the reader to understand the theme, they need to understand situational irony and how it affects the story.

Picture yourself in the shoes of the main character in the funniest book you’ve ever read. Now, think of what made that story so funny. Was it the way the characters talked or acted? Was it ironic? In the book, “The Ransom of Red Chief”, by O. Henry, two kidnappers are looking to kidnap a boy, get a ransom of $200, and use that money for a real-estate fraud scheme. However, as the kidnappers go along their plan, the kid turns the tides. O. Henry uses situational irony, allusions, making the characters talk funny, and using a funny setting to create a humorous mood.

Situational irony is when the opposite of what is expected to happen, happens. Situational irony is shown all throughout the story. One example is at the end of the story when Tessie is about to be stoned. Jackson says, “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Hurry up.’” It is ironic because at the beginning of the story, Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie were talking with each other as if they were close friends. Tessie arrives to the lottery late: “‘Clean forgot what day it was,’ she said to Mrs. Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly.” The reader would think that Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Hutchinson get along because they are talking and laughing with each other, like friends do. It is unexpected that Mrs. Delacroix would select the largest stone, because she seemed to get along with Tessie just a short while earlier. This use of irony helps develop the characterization of Mrs. Delacroix. At first she seems like a nice friend to Tessie, but she quickly turns and rushes to stone

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

In the story “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, the author utilizes situational irony to not only surprise the reader but also inspire different emotions too. In “The Ransom of Red Chief” two men capture a young boy hoping to ransom him off for a good price, but a problem that both men never thought off was that the boy enjoys being kidnapped. This is the first example of situational irony, having the boy love being kidnapped and not wanting to go home. The narrator, Sam, says about the boy “Yes sir, that boy seemed to be having the time of his life. The fun of camping out in a cave had made him forget he was a captive himself,” (40). The boy thinks of his kidnapping as an adventure, and doesn’t mind being in the cave with the men, which

In the story, The Ransom of Red Chief by O'Henry, Johnny’s games and mischievousness contribute to the humor of the story. The reason for this is because he is always telling Bill to go play with Red Cheif and that makes it kind of funny to see how a grown man could be afraid of a child. Also because, it was Johnny’s idea to kidnap the boy than it makes it funny because, they come to hate this kid who is a nightmare. This also leads to the theme of crimes have consequences. Therefore, Johnny’s games and mischievous ways contribute to the humor of the story.

O Henry, kidnapped Johnny Dorset from his front yard. By examining these two stories ¨ The Ransom of Red Chief ¨ and ¨ The Necklace¨ it is clear O Henry, got out of jail, and decided to kidnap Johnny Dorset from his front yard because his father has a lot of money. Johnny was the happiest he could ever be kidnapped in the cave acting like a normal kid playing around. This situational irony comes from the short story ¨ The Ransom of Red Chief .¨ In O Henry's story, he shows situational irony, he surprises the people reading his short story and also fill the readers with many emoticons. Guy de Maupassant shows in his short story too. In ¨ The Ransom of Red Chief ¨ and Guy de Maupassant both in their short story ¨ The Necklace ¨ and ¨ The Ransom

O. Henry used his way of irony to show that kids can take on adults or that adults have a breaking point. In his story “Ransom Of Red Chief” it is quite funny. My favorite part is when the boy holds Bill in the corner of the cave with a knife. They threatened the boy that they would take him home but the boy still acted wrong. So in the end the boy went home

O. Henry has a very unique writing style. He uses various stylistic elements in his stories to create special stories. One of his stylistic elements is situational irony. Situational Irony is when something happens that you did not expects. For example if a cat was chasing a dog that would be situational irony. In "The Ransom of Red Chief" two men kidnap a young boy and hold him for ransom. They keep the boy with them in a cave, but they soon grow to fear him due to his mischievous antics. As O. Henry states, "Just at the moment when i should have been abstracting the fifteen hundred dollars from the box under the tree, according to the original proposition, Bill was counting out two hundred and fifty dollars into Dorset's hand." (p.15). In

In “The Most Dangerous Game”, by Richard Connell, the author uses irony to enhance the character’s traits. Irony is when one thing is said or done, but in the end totally opposite. Irony was used a various amount of times.

Irony is when the outcome contradicts the expectation and is an effective literary tool when used by authors, therefore having an understanding of irony can enhance the reader’s experience. Often there is a surprising plot twist in the story that can elicit an emotional response from the reader ranging from sorrow to amusement. O. Henry and Daniel Keyes are two, American authors well known for masterfully incorporating irony into their works.

We all know that books are better than their movie adaptations nearly all of the time. This is also true for the short work known as “The Ransom of Red Chief.” Both the story and movie have the same introductory general idea. Two con men, Sam and Bill, kidnap the child of a wealthy man named Ebenezer Dorset in the small town of Summit. They hold this child for ransom but quickly realize that kidnapping the child might have been a mistake as he emotionally and physically makes their life harsh. The boy is returned safely to his father but the two men never receive the ransom money. In the story, the con men pay the father two hundred and fifty dollars and flee summit with the dad holding his son back. In the movie, they bond with the kid and save him from two escaped convicts, becoming honorary deputies in Summit, and befriend the Dorset family as well. The story version of “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O.Henry is preferable because the story is more enjoyable to read and it is easier to follow along.

Third, Irony creates the most comedy. First, an example of situational irony is when Johnny does not want to go home after he has been kidnapped. ‘“Red Chief?” “Would you like to go home?” “Aw for what?”’(Henry 51) This turns out to be the opposite because most kids would like to go home if they have been kidnapped not stay with the kidnappers. Second, an example of dramatic irony is when Bill takes Johnny home but Johnny follows Bill back to the cove and Bill does not know it. This makes it funny because Bill doesn’t have a clue that Red Chief followed him but Sam does. Third, an example of verbal irony is when Sam wakes up and tells Bill he has a pain in his shoulder but he actually is afraid of Red Chief because Red Chief said he would be burned at stake at dawn. This makes it funny because it shows that the Johnny is scaring them but they will not admit it. These are literary devices that create humor in “The Ransom of Red Chief”.