Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan. In the town of Summit, Sam and Bill kidnap Johnny and take him to a cave so they can get $2000, but he ends up having the time of his life. O. Henry’s short story “The Ransom of Red Chief” is a high level comedy that uses allusions and irony to convey the idea that you should take your time to plan out your hopes and dreams. Allusions are expressions are designed to call something to the mind without mentioning it explicitly. Johnny’s father is Ebenezer Dorset, a prominent, “respectable & tight [man], a mortgage fancier and stern, upright collection-plate passer and forecloser.” (Henry pg. 1) The Ebenezer in this story reminds us of Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, because he is also a greedy, cold-hearted miser. Another allusion is when Bill tells Sam that his favorite biblical character is King Herod. King Herod was a king that wanted to kill Jesus when he was a baby. Bill says, “You won’t go away and leave me here alone,
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After Sam and Bill brought Johnny to the cave, Bill agrees to play a game with Johnny. In the game, Johnny is the boss of Bill. Bill said he is “Old Hank, the trapper, Red Chief’s captive.” (Henry pg. 2) This is ironic because Bill became the captive and Johnny became the captor but it should be vice-versa. Another example of irony is when Sam asks Red Chief if he wants to go home. Johnny responds, “ Aw, what for?...I like to camp out… I never had such fun in all my life.” (Henry pg. 3) This is the opposite of what the captors expect. That is why the reader outbursts with laughter. They don’t want Johnny to be having fun when he is supposed to be crying and begging for his father. After Ebenezer receives the ransom, he makes a counter proposition. Sam and Bill “will bring Johnny home and pay [him] two hundred and fifty dollars in cash.” (Henry pg. 10) This is laughable and ironic because the kidnappers have to pay Ebenezer $250 on top of giving Johnny
After Sam and Bill brought Johnny to the cave, Bill agrees to play a game with Johnny. In the game, Johnny is the boss of Bill. Bill said he is “Old Hank, the trapper, Red Chief’s captive.” (Henry pg. 2) This is ironic because Bill became the captive and Johnny became the captor but it should be vice-versa. Another example of irony is when Sam asks Red Chief if he wants to go home. Johnny responds, “ Aw, what for?...I like to camp out… I never had such fun in all my life.” (Henry pg. 3) This is the opposite of what the captors expect. That is why the reader outbursts with laughter. They don’t want Johnny to be having fun when he is supposed to be crying and begging for his father. After Ebenezer receives the ransom, he makes a counter proposition. Sam and Bill “will bring Johnny home and pay [him] two hundred and fifty dollars in cash.” (Henry pg. 10) This is laughable and ironic because the kidnappers have to pay Ebenezer $250 on top of giving Johnny