Examples Of Situational Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

Does surprise kindle to emotion, or is surprise simply an emotion itself? In reality, there are many events where humans may experience surprise. However, people may experience surprise through an action, or through speech perhaps. Authors tend to use a device termed situational irony. When situational irony is applied to a story, there often is an unexpected twist in the plot, typically leaving a reader surprised. For instance, O. Henry of “The Ransom of Red Chief” uses situational irony in a comedic manner, whereas Guy de Maupassant uses situational irony to provide a sense of pity towards the protagonist. Nevertheless, authors tend to use situational irony to allocate sentiment.

Author O.Henry of “The Ransom of Red Chief” employs situational irony to create a humorous effect within his short story. One example of this humorous irony is when the child’s kidnappers, Bill and Sam, end up paying a bounty to the child’s guardian. This represents irony because typically, a kidnapper would receive money from somebody to return the kidnapped victim. As the story clarifies, this is what the kidnappers anticipate will happen. However, after no longer being able to withstand the annoying child, both kidnappers agree to give Ebenezer Dorset 250 dollars to return the child. Bill reveals just how much of a nuisance the child is when saying, “‘What’s two

O.Henry provides a comical effect when using situational irony in his short story, “The Ransom of Red chief”. In contrast, Guy de Maupassant’s use of situational irony in “The Necklace” elicits a sense of pity or grief towards the protagonist. Emotions, as well as actions respond to other forms of sentiment. For instance, the sense of surprise may lead to anger, or perhaps gratitude. Thus, surprise does kindle to other emotion, yet it is also an emotion itself. After reading this paper, which emotion might the reader be