Written in 1907 by William Sydney Porter, The Ransom of Red Chief is replete with different literary techniques used to reflect upon the intended meaning of the story. William Porter, also known as O. Henry, is very notable for using his superb knowledge of writing to pull the reader into his short stories. Specifically, the literary devices that he utilizes, such as the irony in the climax of The Ransom of Red Chief, when the father turns out demanding money to take the kid back, fuel the plot and entice the reader. The overall message that O. Henry is trying to portray is essentially that certain, planned events don’t always unfold as you expect them to. O. Henry hints at this intended meaning by pairing symbolism and characters, tone and style, and most importantly, irony and plot into his short story.
Most abundantly in the rising action, O. Henry applies symbolism indirectly towards Johnny, the antagonist. In a general understanding, symbolism is defined as the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are …show more content…
Henry utilizes is the irony portrayed in his short story, which considerably contributes to the plot of the story. Instead of being afraid of the kidnappers, the boy "seemed to be having the time of his life," talking incessantly during the evening by the campfire as the two men tried to enjoy their meals (O. Henry 2). When Sam asks the boy if he would like to go home, Johnny surprisingly replies that he has no fun at home and wants to stay “camping,” which is very ironic since the boy is enjoying being kidnapped. The main objective of the two naive kidnappers’ scheme was to merely kidnap the young boy and receive ransom from the boy’s opulent father. However, O. Henry uses situational irony to make the reader’s intended prediction of the plot turn out the complete opposite. The kidnappers end up paying ransom to the father to finally get the vexatious kid off their
Most abundantly in the rising action, O. Henry applies symbolism indirectly towards Johnny, the antagonist. In a general understanding, symbolism is defined as the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are …show more content…
Henry utilizes is the irony portrayed in his short story, which considerably contributes to the plot of the story. Instead of being afraid of the kidnappers, the boy "seemed to be having the time of his life," talking incessantly during the evening by the campfire as the two men tried to enjoy their meals (O. Henry 2). When Sam asks the boy if he would like to go home, Johnny surprisingly replies that he has no fun at home and wants to stay “camping,” which is very ironic since the boy is enjoying being kidnapped. The main objective of the two naive kidnappers’ scheme was to merely kidnap the young boy and receive ransom from the boy’s opulent father. However, O. Henry uses situational irony to make the reader’s intended prediction of the plot turn out the complete opposite. The kidnappers end up paying ransom to the father to finally get the vexatious kid off their