The Ransom of the Red Chief

O Henry

To entertain readers

To show examples of irony in literature

Johnny

Mischievous

Unaware of the situation he is actually in.

Bill (kidnapper)

Regretful of kidnapping Johnny

Irritated

Sam (kidnapper)

Unsure of what Johnny might do

Confident that they will get a nice, big ransom in exchange for the boy.

Two kidnappers in Alabama hatch a plan to get 2000 dollars. They kidnap the son of a prominent citizen of a small town called Summit. The son turns out to be a very naughty boy who soon starts driving the kidnappers crazy. they write a ransom note to his father, only to receive a counter proposition. They get so fed up of the boy that they return him to his father and pay his father fifteen hundred dollars.

"Ain’t it awful, Sam? Do you think anybody will pay out money to get a little imp like
that back home?" - Bill

Humour

Beginning

Two kidnappers, Bill and Sam, needed two thousand dollars to commit a fraudulent scheme

They kidnapped the only son of a wealthy mortgage fancier named Ebenezer Dorset from a nearby town called Summit and took him to a cave.

Middle

The boy turned out to be very mischievous and irritating. He also was a big fan of Red Indians and called himself 'Red Chief, the terror of the plains. '

Sam wrote a letter to Mr. Dorset, asking for a ransom of 1500 dollars in return for his son. He tells Ebenezer Dorset that they had the boy hidden someplace where not even the most talented detectives could find him.

End

Mr. Dorset gives a counter proposition to their ransom demand stating that he would relieve them of Johnny, his son, in exchange for 250 dollars.

As the kidnappers were really low in spirit due to Johnny, they agreed to the proposition and gave Johnny back to his father along with the two hundred and fifty dollars.