O'Henry is known for using many kinds of irony in literary works. The "Ransom of Red Chief" is one these kinds of literary works written by O'Henry. In the "Ransom of Red Chief," O'Henry expressed many kinds of irony.A kind of irony O'Henry displays in the "Ransom of Red Chief," would be consisted of situational irony. For example, rather than the boy being afraid, the kidnappers are afraid of him. For instance, "Red Chief was sitting on Bill's chest, with one hand twined in Bill's hair..." Bill was facing the eyes of Death, which whom was the Red Chief. At this very moment, Bill was afraid to feel the pain of his lost scalp. It happened so suddenly when Bill was asleep, but his instincts awakened, leaving him shocked. In other words, Bill
What is irony? The dictionary definition of irony is a difference in what is expected and what happens. The situational irony in the Ransom of Red Chief creates humor and develops a theme by Red Chief's father being paid to take his own son back. The irony in the story is entertaining by developing an unexpected ending. In the ending, the kidnappers, Sam and Bill, pay the father to take his son back.
Every time someone opens up a book there is a story waiting to be read, and inside of that story is themes waiting to be discovered. Ever book out there today has some sort of theme to the book, if it didn’t there would be no point in having the book at all. The themes may not jump out of the book at you, but they are there waiting to be discovered by the readers. A very special book called “The red badge of Courage,” by Stephen Crane, is a book filled with themes that jump out at every turn, and now it is our turn to tell the tale of the themes that lie in wait to be discovered in “The red badge of Courage.” One of the first themes that I came across in the book is Irony.
Situational irony is when events happen that seem to be the opposite of what is expected. For example, in O.Henry’s short story “The Ransom of Red Chief” he uses situational irony to create humor for his audience. Also in Guy de Maupassant short story “The Necklace” he uses situational irony to produce a feeling of sympathy. By examining these two short stories, it is clear that author’s utilize situational irony to affect the reader’s emotions The short story “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O.Henry uses humor to affect the reader.
The irony in The Ransom of Red Chief displays the differences between what you would expect of two rough countrymen who ransom a kid for money and the reality of them being tortured by a ten year old who is having the time of his life. The story mainly features situational irony, revolving around the reversal of power between the boy and the kidnappers from what you would normally expect. Although Bill and Sam are the ones choosing to be in this situation, they are the ones terrified of where they are. When Bill notices this, he says to Sam, “‘You was to be burned at sunrise, and you was afraid he’d do it. And he would, too, if he could find a match.
There are two different ways to develop tone. In the fictional story, “The Ransom of Red Chief,” by O. Henry, the use of irony helps form the tone to be humorous. Many writers use irony in different ways as to what it means, the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Therefore, creating either the suspense or humorous tone it develops.
In the story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell, irony plays a big part in establishing the characters and it emphasizes how different General Zaroff and Rainsford are. It also shows how the context may change throughout the story in the sense that the hunters become the hunted and the enemies thrive with each other. It changes Rainsford perception on the animals he has hunted for sport when he quickly becomes the hunted. Overall, the author, Richard Connell uses irony very well to show emphasize different points in the story. One clear example of how the author uses irony in his work is through the conversation between sailor, Whitney and game hunter, Rainford.
O Henry has a very unique writing style. One of his writing styles is irony/plot twists, which is when something happens that is the exact opposite of what was expected. The Ransom of Red Chief is a story where the main characters kidnapped a kid to get money. In this part of The Ransom of Red Chief Ebenezer Dorset tells them how to give his kid back to him. When on page 6 Ebenezer Dorset says, "You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands.
Situational irony is used to shock the reader and bring about a feeling of pity from the audience. In the Ransom of Red Chief, by O. Henry, the irony is that the young boy, Johnny is rather excited to be snatched by abductors rather than fearful like most, Which has a humorous effect on the reader. In The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant the situational irony is that the main character, Mathilde is proven to be a “fake”. She lives the first ten years of her life in a feeling of agony instead of doing something useful in the world, which is a depressing point of view on situational irony. Which is unlike the The Ransom Of Red Chief which is a humorous and more comical version of situational irony.
No one can defeat Death There once was a young woman, who strived to be immortal, this caused her to bind herself away from the world for years. She decided one day that she had conquered death by changing her fate and goes to venture the town where she met a strange man, who insults her, filled with anger she decides to go after him where she faces death. A very similar situation is portrayed in “The Masque of the Red Death” with the character Prince Prospero, who believes that he has changed his fate by locking himself in his palace for years but this doesn’t end well for him as he faces death in his own home. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, irony and symbolism to is used prove that death is inevitable.
Also, in “The Ransom of Redchief,” O. Henry creates a humorous feeling to the reader by using situational irony. By reading these two short story it is clear that both authors use situational irony to make the reader feel a different emotion than surprise. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story “The Necklace,” he creates situational irony that makes the reader
O.Henry’s writing style parallels his life in the senses of situational irony and moral characterization. O.Henry writes with situational irony which is also known as a plot twist or surprise ending. In the short story, After Twenty Years, by O.Henry, a character named Bob is reading a letter from his old friend Jimmy Wells, who did not show up, the letter reads, “I was at the appointed place on time”(228). This quote shows situational irony because the reader did not think that Jimmy was there on time, yet he was and this surprises them.(CD) It also surprises the reader since they did not expect Jimmy to be the policeman who had talked to Bob.
The use of irony helped move the plot along, and it made the story easy to read and follow along with. Irony helped show that in times of war, sides don’t exactly matter. You could be a patriot, but then be killed by your own friends, or you could be a loyalist and be killed at the hands of the British. During war, everyone must care for
Regret: as a verb, it means to feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over something that has happened or been done, especially a loss or missed opportunity. As a noun, it means almost the same thing; a feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done. This is a common theme in O. Henry’s “The Ransom of Red Chief”. It tells the tale of two con men, Bill and Sam, who regret kidnapping a young boy, nicknamed ‘Red Chief’, after he proves to be wild and uncontrollable. The film adaptation starts off with the same basis, but Bill and Sam never really experience the feeling of regret, and the ending is completely different.
Irony is a technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts ( Glossary... Pg 1). The greatest example of irony happens when it turns out Armand is the one that comes from black heritage. He learns this when he “finds a letter from his mom to his father explaining how he is black” turning the main plot of this story around (Chopin... Pg 5)
Many different authors have different styles of writing that they use. Styles can vary to an evil, dark story, to a very humorous and funny story. O.Henry's style is very humorous and he is a master of picking when to use irony inside of his short stories. O.Henry's use of irony to entertain the reader, has humorous statements throughout the story, and his use of descriptive language and imagery to better understand the plot line is excellent in The Ransom of Red Chief.