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The ransom of red chief theme of the story
The greatest irony in "The Ransom of the Red Chief
The ransom of red chief theme of the story
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“The Ransom of Red Chief” by O.Henry is an excessively entertaining story of two con men, Bill & Sam, who kidnap Johnny, son of a wealthy man in a small town, Alabama. The author, O. Henry surprises the readers using many techniques such as tone, foreshadowing & simile, to make this story a treat for readers of all ages. Bill & Sam are both being treated as if they’re the one’s being kidnapped, Johnny’s in charge. “That boy put up a fight like a welterweight cinnamon bear, but at last we got him down in the bottom of the buggy & drove away”(Henry 68). You’d normally think of the kidnapper hurting the child but johnny’s in control of Bill & Sam, he’s putting up a fight like a small American bear. Before Bill & Sam took Johnny you could already
Sherman Alexie writes in his story, What You Pawn I Will Redeem about a homeless Salish Indian named Jackson Jackson. Alexie takes readers on Jackson’s journey to acquire enough money to purchase back his grandmother’s stolen powwow regalia. Throughout the story, Jackson’s relationships with other charters ultimately define his own character. Alexie, a well know Native American author tells an all too common tale of poverty and substance abuse in the Native American community through his character Jackson. The major character flaw of Jackson is his kindness, which ultimately becomes his greatest asset when fate allows him to purchase back his grandmother’s powwow regalia from a pawn broker for only five dollars.
As Marcel Proust said, “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” Set 20 years before the Civil War, Mark Twain’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, depicts the adventures of a young troublemaker named Huck Finn and his companion, a runaway slave named Jim. Throughout the journey, Huck is depicted as a hero, cut from the mythical mold. At every step of his journey, he conforms to one or another of the eight elements of Campbell’s paradigm. We see this most readily in Huck’s trials and tribulations, his symbolic death and rebirth, and his special traits from birth.
THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN AUTHOR’S SKETCH Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri. When Samuel Clemens was four years old, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where he spent his childhood. Clemens first approach to literature was through typesetting for a newspaper in 1851. At the time Orion, his brother, was a newspaper publisher in Hannibal. From 1857 until 1861, he served as the pilot of a riverboat on the Mississippi River.
In O. Henry’s story, The Ransom of Red Chief, two men experience an unexpected turn of events. Bill and Sam, two criminals, are in desperate need of money to complete an illegal real estate deal. For this reason, these two men kidnap Johnny, the son of a wealthy man, to attempt to achieve the money they need. This short story is a high level of comedy that uses comic language and comic situations to convey the idea that one has to pay for the consequences of their crimes. Although Sam and Bill successfully captured Johnny, things seemed to be going downhill for them when they hideout in a cave with the boy. At first, Johnny started out by hurting Bill both physically and emotionally by playing Indian. During this time, Johnny “…seemed to
Cultural appropriation involves the adoption of another culture’s practices in a manner that undermines the practices’ significance and reduces it to something that would be prevalent throughout history. The problem lies not in borrowing aspects of a culture; it lies in the fact that most people who borrow aspects of a culture skew the original version. John Henry's ballads have been transformed, transcribed and flipped around for generations. Most of these ballads have been seen as cultural appropriation and have changed the legacy behind his story. The John Henry story has changed to fit different cultural backgrounds and different situations. White Southern millworkers, listening to country recordings of the ballads that never mentioned
In O Henry's short stories, The Gift of Magi, After Twenty Years, and The Ransom of Red Chief, there are many commonalities throughout the texts. Among the many commonalities, one of the strongest was that all of them ended with a plot twist. This writing pattern of O Henry’s can be seen in The Gift of Magi when Della and Jim were exchanging Christmas gifts, but it definitely was a surprise for them when they saw what the other had gotten them. The pattern can also be witnessed in After Twenty Years when you find that Bob’s success didn't come from a regular job, and Bob and Jimmy’s reconnection after twenty years apart didn't go as planned. A final story where this pattern can be witnessed is in The Ransom of Red Chief, where the kidnapping
Many would agree that although there are many stories about heroes, they all seem similar in some way. Joseph Campbell wrote many books about this theory of a "hero cycle" that every hero story follows. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this pattern is clearly exemplified and it shows the numerous steps in Joseph Campbell's idea of the hero cycle.
The Ransom of Red Chief is about two criminals who kidnap a child for a ransom. Instead of working for a living, the two thieves are notorious for stealing money and other valuables. After kidnapping a boy, the two thieves have a very difficult time keeping him under control. The boy constantly inflicts physical harm to his captors and causes them to experience mental strife. In the end, the thieves end up paying the father of the troublesome boy a hefty price in order to get rid of him.
It was hazy and frigid outside this seaport town. The aroma of fish was in the air. There were crashes of waves hitting the docks and rocking sailboats reciprocating in the water. Sailors were departing and arriving from this old town.
Once upon 1835-45, there was a boy at the bottom of white society who found himself with a considerable sum of money. His drunk father, Pap, wanted it and kidnapped Huck after days of tormenting his poor, innocent son. He escapes under the cover of night after faking
Being the adventurous and daring boys they are, they plan to steal the treasure back. Huck takes a small risk by sneaking out at night to get Tom’s attention. Unfortunately, it didn’t work and Huckleberry Finn is left by himself, “Huck waited what seemed a weary long time, but nothing happened.” (171) He then hears somebody walking in the woods, and it turns out to be none other than Injun Joe and his partner in-crime. Huck is determined to get the treasure, and he treks after them. “Why call Tom now? It would be absurd- the men would get away with the box and never be found again.” (171) He finally catches up to them when Injun Joe stopped at Widow Douglas’ house. He then overhears how Injun Joe has a plan to gruesomely mutilate Widow Douglas and is fear-stricken, “You slit her nostrils-you notch her ears like a sow!” (173) He runs to get help, and luckily he found some men. He quickly explained that Widow Douglas is in danger, and the men go to save Widow Douglas. “I’ll tell everything!” (174) The men show up right in time and stop Injun Joe’s plans. Huck took some tremendous risks that could have cost him his life, but in the end he managed to be so brave, that he saved a person’s life.
The act of kidnapping is a very dark subject, usually the child is molested/killed, but in “The Ransom of Red Chief” O’Henry finds a way to transform the topic into comedy. Most kidnapped children would sit in the corner and cry, whereas Red Chief takes control of the situation and treats it like a game, playing the war chief who had captured “Old Hank” and attempts to scalp him the next day, for which most kidnappers would kill the child at that point, but Bill and Sam (the kidnappers of Red chief) just don’t have it in them to kill a 10 year old, regardless of the Red Chief’s personality, and the situation is reversed around them. Although these are two hardened criminals, who in most situations would kill/dismember the child, Red Chief takes control of the situation and in a way, they become the kidnapped because of the lack of awareness of the challenge of the ransom.
Although only slightly factual in historical setting, the legends of Robin Hood have captivated the imaginations of young and old alike through the charming stories concerning the characters of Sherwood Forest.
“Hey… would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?’…The boy hits Bill directly in the eye with a piece of rock.” (1). In the tale, “The Ransom of Red Chief”, the story contains a plot where a duo of foolish kidnappers devises a plan to abduct a 10-year old boy, Ebenezer. However, the plan backfires when the child indicates that it is exceedingly arduous for him to collaborate. Author Henry’s novelette “The Ransom of Red Chief”, is a low level comedy that applies comic situations and hyperbole to convey the idea that people should plan for the unexpected.
wanted to be wounded like them so he could have his own "Red Badge of