Close Reading for Irony:�“Ransom for Red Chief”

• Author: O. Henry published this in 1907
• First published in The Saturday Evening Post
• Known for his short stories noted for their wit, humor and surprise endings
• Some of his best and least-known work is contained in Cabbages and Kings, a series of short stories.
• Ironic twist to his own life: Charged for loitering and sentenced to three months in prison.

“The Ransom of Red Chief”

Close Reading: ON THE LEFT SIDE �“The Ransom of Red Chief”�Instructions: Closely read the story, identifying at least three strong examples of irony. Identify the type for each.

building background

• What movies have you seen that a young person gets the better of bumbling, frustrated, or villainous adults?

“The Ransom of Red Chief”

Literature Books page 579

Comic Language �“…out till later.”

• Bill, as you’ll see, often gets his words mixed up.
• Check footnote 1. What word has Bill used instead of aberration?

Exaggeration and Comic language�“…Maypole.”

• A flannel cake is a pancake.
• Why is it funny that a flat town is called Summit?
• You can see that the narrator likes fancy language. How would you restate the second sentence in this paragraph in plain English?

Motivation�“…about such things.”

• Why do Sam and Bill want to stage a kidnapping in Alabama?
• What does this tell you about their characters?

Comic language

• Restate Bill’s long sentence beginning: “Philoprogenitiveness” in plain English.

Interpret details�“…wait till I tell you.”

• Why do Sam and Bill think the Dorset boy is a good choice for a kidnap victim?

Foreshadowing�“…piece of brick.”

• What details in these passages hint at the idea that the boy will not be an easy victim to handle?

Elements of humor�“…and drove away.”

• Comparing the boy to “a welterweight cinnamon bear” is a good example of the narrator’s use of comic language.
• A welterweight is a relatively light boxer, and a cinnamon bear is a common, relatively small American black bear.
• How would the effect of the simile change if the narrator had said “like a heavyweight grizzly bear”?

Exaggeration�“…can kick hard.”

• Buffalo Bill used to take his exciting Wild West show, with cowboys and indians and horses, around the country, even around the world.
• What does Bill mean when he says the boy’s game makes “Buffalo Bill’s show look like magic-lantern views” in the town hall?

WORD CHOICE�“…HATED PALEFACE.”

The words redface and paleface, now considered racial slurs, are outdated slang terms for, respectively, an American Indian and a person of European descent.

Elements of humor�“…will you?”

• What is ironic about the boy’s words?

Situational irony�“…with red hair.”

• We laugh when a situation is exactly the reverse of what we expect.
• What comic reversal of a kidnapping situation is happening here?

Elements of humor�“…at daybreak.”

• Writers of comedy commonly use stereotypes or stock characters to get easy laughs.
• What stereotypes does O. Henry introduce here?

Verbal irony�“…against a rock.”

• Does Bill mean what he says—that he isn’t nervous or afraid?

Diction�“…distracted parents.”

• He old-fashioned, rather bookish vocabulary that the narrator Sam uses to describe the village scene:
• “sturdy yeomanry”
• “dastardly”
• “dun”
• “hither and yon”
• “tidings”
• This archaic word choice does not fit with his criminal character and adds to the humorous improbability of the story.

Verbal irony�“…to breakfast.”

• Who is really the “wolf”?
• Who is really the “lambkin”?

Situational irony�“…as a coconut.”

• Who is holding whom hostage here?

Understatement�“…homebody.”

• An understatement is the opposite of an exaggeration.
• What understatement does Sam make here?

Allusion�“…around his head.”

• In the Bible, 1 Samuel 17, Goliath is a giant Philistine warrior who challenges anyone in the Israelite army to single combat.
• Young David, a shepherd boy, takes up the challenge but finds the king’s armor too heavy to wear.
• He goes onto the field carrying only a slingshot and some stones and kills Goliath with a single shot to the forehead.

Infer�“…will you, sam?”

• Study the footnote on King Herod, and then re-read Bills words.
• What does Bill imply when he says that King Herod is his favorite biblical character?

Exaggeration�“…

• What is exaggerated about the description of the freckles?

Situational irony�“…black Scout today.”

• The victim doesn’t want to go home.
• How is this a comic reversal of the usual situation in a kidnapping?

Draw conclusions�“…will you, sam?”

• From this passage, what can you conclude about the relationship between Sam and Bill, the two kidnappers?

Situational irony�“…will you, sam?”

• What reversal do you see here—in the behavior of the kidnapper?

Elements of Humor�“…mouth of the cave.”

• What is similar and what is different about the tricksters’ victims in Julius Lester’s folk tale and O. Henry’s story?

Double meaning and predictions�“…two desperate men”

• Are the men desperate to get the money or to get rid of their victim?
• Write down your predictions of how Mr. Dorset will respond.

Comic language�“…mail to Summit.”

• What made-up words contribute to the humor of this passage?
• Chaw bacon is similar to the expression chew the fat meaning “to gossip or talk idly.”
• Whiskerando, probably derived from whiskers and desperado, most likely indicates an unshaven man or one with a beard or mustache.

Paraphrase�“…predominance fail.”

• What does this ridiculous sentence actually mean?

Exaggeration�“…and hand cauterized.”

• How does Bill exaggerate his “tortures” here?

Dramatic irony�“…rose-pink features.”

• Why is Bill’s relief a matter of dramatic irony?
• That is, what do Sam and the reader know that Bill does not know?

Allusion�“…felt a little better.”

• Read footnote 24.
• To what historical event does this sentence allude?
• What might this allusion suggest about the game Bill will be playing?

Elements of humor�“…to arrive.”

• What is ironic about Sam’s claim to have had a plan that “professional kidnappers” would admire?

Situational irony�“…ebenezer dorset”

• What would you expect the father of a kidnap victim to say?
• What does this father say?

Verbal irony�“…go, are you?”

• What does spendthrift usually mean?
• What does Bill really mean when he calls a man who is demanding money a spendthrift?

Situational irony�“…our getaway.”

• Who is paying the ransom—the father or the kidnappers?

Exaggeration�“…Canadian border.”

• How does Bill exaggerate the speed with which he’ll escape?

Compare endings�“…up with him.”

• How is the ending of this story similar to that of “Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion”?

Page 595

• Complete the Comparing Elements of Humor chart on page 595
• Complete the compare/contrast assignment on page 596

Page ?? Where you left off�From here…

• Read at your tables.
• Answer on paper any side questions.
• Also, list in a Tree Map the types and examples of Irony.