Examples Of Situational Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

Irony may appear in difference ways within literature. Irony changes our expectations of what might happen. It can create the unexpected twist at the end of a story or anecdote that gets people laughing or crying. Verbal irony is intended to be a humorous type of irony. Situational irony can be either funny or tragic.

You might expect a kidnapper to be incontrol, demanding, and fearless. But this is not the case in the story “The Ransom of the Red Chief” by O. Henry, where the author uses situational and verbal irony to develop the tone of the story. Both verbal and situational irony are used throughout the story to develop a humorous tone. Situational irony is used in many instances in the story to create humor. One of the first instances of situational irony is when the “would be” kidnappers first carry little “Red Chief” off to their lair.

Different types of irony within The Crucible The Crucible contains several examples of situational, verbal, and dramatic irony. Arthur Miller uses irony in many ways, his reason for using irony is to catch and keep the reader’s attention. For example he uses dramatic irony to create anxiety and tension within the story. Many other authors use irony to make their audience think about what is being said as well as what is going on in the story. Most irony is used intentionally, but in some cases it can be used unintentionally.

Situational irony is an unexpected plot twist in the story which is used by authors to create surprise and feelings. Many authors use this device such as O.Henry in “The Ransom of Red chief” a humorous story and Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace,” a story that creates sympathy in the reader. By investigating the two stories, “The Ransom of Red chief” and “The Necklace,” it is clear that author’s use situational irony several times in their stories to change the way readers feel about the character or characters. O. Henry’s “The Ransom of Red chief” is a humorous short story that has several great examples of situational irony. In “The Ransom of Red chief” O.Henry uses situational irony to evoke excitement and humor in the reader.

Authors typically use situational irony to establish a surprising twist on the reader. Guy de Maupassant does this in his short story, “The Necklace.” But unlike O. Henry, Guy de Maupassant uses pity to catch the reader's attention. In both short stories, “The Necklace” and “The Ransom of Red Chief,” the authors use situational irony to impact the reader beyond the element of surprise. O. Henry makes “The Ransom of Red Chief” humorous when he uses situational irony to describe how Johnny feels when he is kidnapped. Johnny likes it when he is kidnapped.

Red Chief’s father requests “you bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred fifty dollars in cash and I agree to take him off your hands” (52). This comment introduces irony with humor that twists the story, and the goal of the kidnappers. O. Henry’s story, “The Ransom of Red Chief,” creates a farce comedy to tickle the reader's funny bone. The story, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, shows irony that creates a pitiful and surprising tale. For instance, Mathilde wants to be rich but she becomes poor.

Therefore, situational irony could be tragic or funny. Usually writers employ strong word connections with situational irony and add fresh thoughts, variations and embellishments to their works. It may range from the most comic to the most tragic situations. Its comical use usually creates unexpected turnaround in a plot for the betterment. Sometimes, these forms of ironies occur, because people identify certain events and situations as unfair or odd.

“There is within me (and with great sadness I have watched it in others) a knot of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the seed of our destruction,, and at times I was mean to doodle.” This Quote accurately displays the sort of imagery and tone often displayed in the short story with its’ bone chilling effect. The story at times seems like it may take a turn for the better and the mood will get lighter or happier or maybe even fluffier, but no the author brilliantly fools the reader with false hope of happiness, of life, and of content. There is many literary elements used in the scarlet ibis but the most common being bright and intricate Imagery, a foreboding amount of foreshadowing, and a brilliantly set and released mood. In The Scarlet Ibis the author gets extremely creative whilst using imagery to the point where you feel as if you are the narrator feeling the beat of his heart every strain, every pain, every ounce of guilt. “for a long time, it seemed forever, i lay there crying, sheltering my scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” there is also the sort of imagery that creates not an ominous mood but a happy one in its place.

In both the short stories they use similar sentence structure to convey madness. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” Poe does this by short sentences and frequent skips, for example when he writes this: ““True!- nervous- very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses- not destroyed- not dulled them” (Poe 670). The jumpiness creates a sense of confusion and disturbs the reader which furthers the authors point. In the literary analysis on “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Janice Haney-Peritz analyzes Gilman’s short story.

“‘Do you want to go home?’ ‘Aw what for?’ The boy says. ‘You won't take me back, will you?’ ‘Not right away.’ He says shocked.” In most kidnappings the kids want to go home and not be held captive. But in the ‘the ransom of the red chief’ the little boy is so fascinated and adventurous and that he would rather be kidnapped then be at home. The short story “Ransom of the red chief” is a low level comedy that uses hyperboles and comic situations to convey the idea that without full preparation the outcome of the situation can be unpleasant and unpredictable. The ransom red chief is a low level comedy because of the crude humor.