Usually, in stories about kidnapping, the kidnappers are very in control of the situation and the child is usually very scared, but is inevitably returned back to the loving arms of their parents. However in the short story, “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, the kidnappers are scared while the child is in control. This irony creates a humorous tone that is seen throughout the entire short story. Verbal and Situational irony are used to create the tone of humor in the story. Verbal irony is used in the very beginning when Sam describes the town as “There was a town down there, as flat as a flannel-cake, and called Summit, of course. It contained inhabitants of as undeleterious and self-satisfied a class of peasantry as ever clustered
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We expect the kidnappers to be very in control of the situation, and harsh to Johnny. However, Johnny is the one who is harsh and in control. This is humorous because usually, when you read a story about kidnapping, the kidnappers are very harsh and in control, this takes us by surprise when we see the kidnappers being bossed around by little Johnny. This is shown when Sam recalls ““I wasn’t nervous or afraid; but I sat up and lit my pipe and leaned against a rock. “What you getting up so soon for, Sam?” asked Bill.“Me?” says I. “Oh, I got a kind of a pain in my shoulder. I thought sitting up would rest it.”“You’re a liar!” says Bill. “You’re afraid. You was to be burned at sunrise, and you was afraid he’d do it. And he would, too, if he could find a match.”’ We also expect Johnny to be very afraid and meek, due to him wanting to go home. However, in the story, the two kidnappers are the ones who are afraid for their lives, while Johnny is having the time of his life. Johnny states this when He says ““Aw, what for?” says he. “I don’t have any fun at home. I hate to go to school. I like to camp out. You won’t take me back home again, Snake-eye, will you?”’ (Henry 2) This is humorous because we do not expect such a role change, especially from a story such as this. Another example of this is when the father doesn’t freak out about his son getting lost, this is shown when the father responds ““You bring Johnny home
We expect the kidnappers to be very in control of the situation, and harsh to Johnny. However, Johnny is the one who is harsh and in control. This is humorous because usually, when you read a story about kidnapping, the kidnappers are very harsh and in control, this takes us by surprise when we see the kidnappers being bossed around by little Johnny. This is shown when Sam recalls ““I wasn’t nervous or afraid; but I sat up and lit my pipe and leaned against a rock. “What you getting up so soon for, Sam?” asked Bill.“Me?” says I. “Oh, I got a kind of a pain in my shoulder. I thought sitting up would rest it.”“You’re a liar!” says Bill. “You’re afraid. You was to be burned at sunrise, and you was afraid he’d do it. And he would, too, if he could find a match.”’ We also expect Johnny to be very afraid and meek, due to him wanting to go home. However, in the story, the two kidnappers are the ones who are afraid for their lives, while Johnny is having the time of his life. Johnny states this when He says ““Aw, what for?” says he. “I don’t have any fun at home. I hate to go to school. I like to camp out. You won’t take me back home again, Snake-eye, will you?”’ (Henry 2) This is humorous because we do not expect such a role change, especially from a story such as this. Another example of this is when the father doesn’t freak out about his son getting lost, this is shown when the father responds ““You bring Johnny home