Preview

Ransom of Red Chief

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
457 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ransom of Red Chief
The Ransom of Red Chief

The story of "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a very ironic story because the author, O. Henry, turns the expectations of the audience around by making them feel sorry for the kidnappers, not the so-called victim. "Red Cheif" is a nine-year-old child who is very hyperactive. He loves to be out doing something anywhere. When the two kidnappers try to lure the boy into their car, he throws a brick, which is very unexpected from a child, and he then accepts to go with them. He doesn 't seem to realize he was just kidnapped and being held for ransom, he wants to play and have fun. The kidnappers take him by a cave and he "camps" in the cave as if the kidnap was a fun experience for him. When he misbehaves for the kidnappers, they threaten to take him home, and he doesn 't want to be taken home. Some of the things "Red Chief" does to misbehave or agrivate the kidnappers is to throw things, kick, scream, and anything he can do to generate a source of fun, which also thoughly annoys the kidnappers, Bill in perticular. Bill is one of the two kidnappers, hes the one "Red Chief" seems to love to terorize. Another way the boy seems to act in an unexpected way, which ties in with the list above, is that the boy actually is not afraid or in fear to hurt the men who held his life, who are starting to become the victim. When the kidnappers write the ransom note telling where to place the cash and where to receive you child, The child 's father replies very calmly. The reply note has a counter offer in which the father, if paid 250 dollars, will take the child off the kidnappers hands. This is probably one of the most ironic things in the story "The Ransom of Red Chief" because usually when a person receive s a ransom note, especially for someone they love, they would panic or simply agree to the preposition. Not only does the father not panic nor pay the ranson, but he also tells the kidnappers to pay him. The kidnappers finally give up and just end up



Bibliography: Written by student no recource used

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    money and he expects his ex-wife to supply him with money from his children.“He spreads his arm expansively in a gesture I remember,” dad attempts…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He is picked up by a ship soon after he leaves the island and decides to tell his story to his rescuers but they thinks he is crazy. To prevent himself from being sent away to an asylum he pretends he lost his memory of the previous year. When he returns home he discovers that he feels unsafe around other humans, because he fears they are Beast Folk. He contents himself with solitude and the study of chemistry and astronomy.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ishmael Beah’s Families

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages

    has happened in his past. He is then welcomed to live with his Uncle Tommy in Sierra Leone,…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Bean Trees - Tone

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Let’s say that someone handed you something unexpected. It could be anything: a computer, book, even a guitar! However, what if it was something of great value? What if it was a baby that was handed to you? Odds are, you’d probably freak out and hand the baby over to the authorities or something similar to that. But not Taylor Greer in the novel The Bean Trees! The words that Barbara Kingsolver chooses to use show a tone of informality and humor.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On his journey, Ben discovers a burnt out house. Looters have killed the occupants, but Ben finds a small cattle dog and supplies in a hidden cellar. With supplies and a bicycle he has found, Ben continues on, this time accompanied by a dog.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” is the story of homeless financially strapped Spokane Indian man named Jackson Jackson faced with the task of coming up with nearly one thousand dollars in twenty-four hours in order to reclaim his grandmother’s stolen regalia from a pawn shop. On the way to raise money, he meets with generosity, compassion, kindness, sympathy. “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” is a story of generosity.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Red Badge

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout the movie, The Red Badge of Courage directed by John Huston, and the book, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, many similarities and differences are clearly present. Though the book and the screen play were not written by the same person, many similarities are apparent. The first and arguably most important similarity between the book and the movie is the plot. The youth, Henry, has to decide between doing his duty and protecting his own life. As the platoon begins to march towards battle, he feels that he is the only person struggling with this pressing issue, but in the ensuing battle, many soldiers flee. Consumed by the rationalization that he needs to preserve his own life in order to preserve the army as a whole, Henry retreats during the second battle. In both the book and the movie, Henry works desperately to restore his own self-confidence by making irrational justifications for his own cowardice. In order to further justify his actions, he lies to those around him to explain his disappearance and then convinces himself that whatever they believe is true. Another similarity occurs later, when Henry again faces battle. The events that take place up to this point seem to change Henry from an immature boy to a courageous man, and he ends up confronting his fear and fighting valiantly. When every other soldier cowers before the enemy, he continues to advance, going so far as to capture the enemy’s flag. These similarities in plot help to make the movie a splendid rendition of the events in the book.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ransom: Hero and Achilles

    • 4245 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Mortality: “a hero’s death out there in full sunlight under the gaze of gods and men, for which the hardened self, the hardened body, had to be daily exercised and prepared”…

    • 4245 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In “The Red Badge of Courage” there are many themes. One is learning to be a man. At the beginning of the novel Henry is at war with himself. He wants to have glory and be a war hero, but he is afraid that he will flee. He tries to prove to himself that he will not flee in battle. He feels alone because he can’t tell anyone about the doubt he has in order to not be made fun of. Henry decides he will not know whether or not he will run away until he actually gets to battle. When he goes to battle and flees in chapter seven, he throws a pinecone at a squirrel and decides that this was a sign from nature and that it is only natural for one to run away from danger.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Getting closer to the end of the story, Hughes uses dialogue to showcase even more situational irony. The reader, expecting the “white fellow” to be terrified, is shocked by the robbery victim’s reaction.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Homelessness in Sacramento

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups on the basis of their control over basic resources (Kendall, 1998, p.24). By ranking each social class in society, those who fall in the underclass are referred to as the poor. They typically live in areas with high rates of poverty and few opportunities to improve their lives. But what about those who have less than the lower class. There is a rising population of people who have lost everything and therefore must take shelter in the local parks, abandoned buildings, overpasses, and any other form of protection against the elements (Schutt, 2011). Homelessness is a social problem affecting our nation, which can only continue to grow if society does not make a change.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Road Essay

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages

    No matter what situation they get into, the boy always tried his best to be a “good guy.” For example, when the man and the boy come back to their campsite everything is gone. A thief stole their whole cart causing them to have nothing. They catch the thief and the man threatens him by pointing a flare pistol at him. “Papa please don’t kill the man. The boy was crying” (256). Although the thief had left the two stranded with no food or essentials, the boy begs his father not to hurt the man. He is genuinely caring and forgiving towards the thief, despite leaving them with nothing to survive. Unfortunately, his father consequently forces the thief to strip completely naked and return the cart. The boy quickly becomes distraught. As they leave this poor…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is kidnapping always seen in a negative way? When you think “kidnapping” your first thoughts are fear. But in The Ransom of Red Chief we see kidnapping in a different light. It is funny and not serious unlike Lindbergh baby kidnapping.…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story and movie “The Ransom of Red Chief” is alike in many ways. It is also different. In both the movie and story, the kidnappers need $2,000. They set off to find someone to kidnap in order to get money back for the person. They came across a boy named Johnny Dorset. Also in the movie and story, Bill played Indians with Johnny. Johnny gave Bill the name “Old Hank” and he gave Sam the name “Snake-eye the Spy”. The kidnappers in both the movie and story also had to pay the father $250 for the return of Johnny.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the way the father acts makes the younger brother think that he can act however he wants and get away with it. The older son is responsible and the younger brother says, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.” (Page 302). From here the father divides up his livings. The solution I proposed would work here. The father could have told the boy to get back to work and he can earn his inheritance. The father gives into the younger son. After the son gets his money he departs on a journey into a far country. The son only returns when he is desperate and completely out of money. I will give credit to the son for requesting to be a servant and to work for his food. The father just gladly takes the son back and throws him a party. Now the son thinks that he can run off and waste ten million dollars only to come back homes have a party. This whole time the older brother is working…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics