Irony In The Film 'Ransom Of Red Chief'

Attention Getter:

“Listen: our culture is saturated with irony whether we know it or not,”-Barbara Kruger.

Background Information:

In the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ferris, alongside his best friend Cameron and girlfriend Sloane, skip school to have one last day together. However, Ferris must hide his absence from not only his parents, but the high school principal, Mr. Rooney, who seems to want nothing more than to catch Ferris once and for all. The comedy in this film relies mostly on situational irony and exaggerated characters. In “The Ransom of Red Chief,” a short story written by O. Henry, two men plan to abduct a child from the richest man in town in hopes of a trade deal; they get the money and the father gets his son back. However,

through the comedic use of irony, this plan goes not go as expected.
Thesis: Though both stories rely heavily on ironic situations to develop a comedic tone, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off does a much better job of developing and exaggerating the characters in the story to further amplify the irony than in “The Ransom of Red Chief.”

Body Paragraph 1 (Identification and analysis/explanation of comedic character tropes of Ferris Bueller)
Main Idea: There are many characters that contribute to the ironic humor if Ferris Bueller’ Day Off, however the most memorable are the roles of Mr. Rooney, Ferris, and Cameron. These personas are all exaggerated that help builds a comedic tone throughout the film.
Evidence: During the film, everything that could go wrong with Mr. Rooney does. When he tries and sneaks into Ferris’ home to see if he is actually in bed or not, a horrible chain of events unravels. He gets his shoes stuck in the mud and after he washes it off, he realizes that there is no real way inside the house...except through a doggie door. When he pokes his head through the door, there is a menacing beast waiting on the other side. He then is chased by the dog out all throughout the yard until he is forced to wait outside the gates of the garden.
Reasoning: This is the classic example of a buffoon; someone who is trying so hard to do what they need to do but fails at every twist and turn. This exaggerated trope helps create a comedic tone mostly through slapstick comedy and situational events in the story.
Evidence: Next is our main showman, Ferris. Everything seems to turn out just right for him. He has a whole mechanism to fool his parents into thinking he is home, fast asleep. He managed to deceive the maitre d at the restaurant that he was the “Sausage King of Chicago”, all while finessing his dad and taking a cab so that he is not seen. Finally, he managed to get back to his house in the nick of time with a little bit of help from his sister.
Reasoning: Ferris is everything that everyone aspires to be. He is a hopeless optimist who, frankly, has disregard for others around him. However, although he does not fit in with the comedy tropes that we have studied, his magnified person and his quick wit, which develops the irony, is what develops the comedy in the story.
Evidence: Finally, there is Cameron.

The contrast between Ferris’ personality and Cameron’s is blatantly obvious. Cameron is neurotic and worried constantly throughout the expedition. He is worried about the school finding out, about his parents finding out, about the car getting wrecked, and about not getting back home in time. Meanwhile, Ferris is as cool as a cucumber. He always has an answer for Cameron to force him to stop his worrying. Cameron is basically neurotic throughout the whole movie.

Reasoning: While Cameron’s persona is not essentially funny, it is comedic when taken into account the persona of his best friend. They are polar opposites. One can only imagine how they became friends in the first place and how they do so well together. He is the perfect trope of a fish-out-of-water stereotype. He never seems to fit quite in anywhere. Not at school; he is a geek. Not at home; he is neglected and replaced by his father’s automobiles. Not with Ferris; he is a bit of a downer when in comparison to the exuberant and charming persona of his best friend. So, as to how this character found himself in this predicament when it is blatantly obvious that he does not belong is the irony that appears throughout the film.

Link: Each character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has their own unique personality. Through the exaggeration of these personalities, the comedic irony shines through the entire film with each of the characters having a key role in the

making.

Body Paragraph 2 (Identification and analysis/explanation of comedic character tropes of “The Ransom of Red Chief”)
Main Idea: The characters in “Ransom of Red Chief” develop an ironic and comedic tone throughout the story with the help of their magnified personalities, particularly those of Bill and Sam, the kidnappers, and Johnny, the little boy.
Evidence: First, there is Bill. This poor man gets hilariously beat up by a 10-year-old for the entire duration of the story. After explaining the plan to the reader, the men go to pick up the kid. This is where “the boy catches Bill neatly in the eye with a piece of brick,” (p 2). After that, they go to a cave to hide out for a while the town, hopefully, rallies to find little Johnny. In the meanwhile, they play Indian where Johnny is deemed to be “Red Chief”. They go to bed and Sam is awoken by Bill’s screams. When he looks to see the cause of the screams, he finds “Red Chief sitting on Bill’s chest, with one hand twined in Bill’s hair. In the other...the sharp case-knife…” (O. Henry 5).
Reasoning: Imagine the situation unfolding before you. A fully grown man being held hostage by a simple 10-year-old boy. Girly screams of terror are coming from the man while the kid seems to be in an endless game mode and having the time of his life. This is bordering on slapstick comedy and it is funny! Bill is obviously the buffoon of the story as he is endlessly tormented by this kid throughout the story and seems have no other alternate option. He is forced to suffer underneath the hands of little Johnny.
Evidence: Next is the little boy, Johnny Dorset.

During the whole encounter with his kidnappers, there was a very relaxed tone. Johnny was not nervous at all and even tried to make conversation with them with his incessant ranting (O.Henry 4-5).

Reasoning: This presentation of Johnny and his total disregard for the situation he is put in is hilarious. One would expect a kid who is kidnapped to be nervous at the very least. More likely, they are crying for their mommies and throwing a tantrum-but he isn’t! He is making conversation and does not even want to go home! He thinks this is all a game. It is this naiveness of the boy that build upon the irony of the situation.

Evidence: Finally, Sam is the narrator. This whole kidnapping was his idea in the first place. However, as the story progresses, it is clear to see that the kid is tormenting the two grown men. In response, when the men write a ransom note, Sam signs the note as “Two Desperate Men” (O. Henry 10) and THEN end up paying the FATHER to take kid back (O. Henry 15).

Reasoning: similar to Ferris in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sam does not quite fit into a category of a stereotypical comedic trope. However, the situational irony that surrounds him is what brings the comedic aspect to

life.
Link: Thanks to the exaggerated personas of a buffoon, a sassy sidekick, and an opportunistic bandit, the comedic irony of “The Ransom of Red Chief” is able to emerge and progress throughout the story.

Body Paragraph 3
Main Idea: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was better at using character tropes to display irony and comedy in the story when compared to “The Ransom of Red Chief”, which relied more on the situations in of themselves.
Evidence: The most famous example of an exaggerated character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is his history teacher. He encapsulates everything that a stereotypical teacher is supposed to be/have; the monotone voice, the dull clothing, the lack of motivation in the classroom.
Reasoning: The movie goes beyond what a stereotypical high school classroom would look and sound like, but amplifies it. It all goes hand in hand with the student’s half-dead stares, the voice of the teacher, and even the “boring” history topics that he keeps droning on about. This exaggerated persona elevates the level of comedy in the film more so than in the story.
Evidence: Another exaggeration in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is when Ferris joins the parade in the middle of downtown Chicago and the whole crowds breaks out into a perfectly choreographed dance number.
Reasoning: Normally, this scene would not be funny, necessarily, on its own. It is in the way that the crowd reacts to Ferris, like he is the star of the show, that makes it so hilarious. When the camera pans over the crowd and focuses on individual faces, it gives the viewer the sense that the whole crowd is feeling the vibe that Ferris is dishing out. Up until that moment, everything in the movie was plausible and not too far out of reach. It is utterly ridiculous and so obviously staged-in the middle of a seemingly realistic movie-that makes this scene so hilarious.
Evidence: “...what’s two hundred and fifty dollars, after all? We’ve got the money. One more night of this kid will send me to a bed in Bedlam…” (O. Henry 15).
Reasoning: During this discussion in “The Ransom of Red Chief”, Sam and Bill were debating whether to pay the father to take his own kidnapped son back from the bandits. This is extremely ironic. The bandits kidnapped the kid to make money, not to spend it. However, Johnny was just so horrendous for the men that they could no longer stand him and paid the father to take his son back. The irony is almost so obvious that it is hard to explain. The bandits are the ones that are supposed to argue the ransom, not the other way around.
Link: While both stories relied on character tropes and exaggerated personalities to amplify the irony in the stories, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off did a much better job of bringing in multiple aspects of irony from multiple characters than in “The Ransom of Red Chief”.

Conclusion
Synthesis: In comedy, it is essential to have strong and easily defined characters as they are the ones who will propel not only the storyline, but the comedic effect as well. While “The Ransom of Red Chief” uses the character tropes of no-good bandits to build upon the irony of the story, it quickly turns into a one trick pony and lacks depth. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, each character has their own unique aspect to the story and are able to define and accentuate the comedic irony in their particular own ways.
Closure: Irony surrounds our everyday lives. It is ingrained in us and our society and is the focal point of all comedic things in our lives. This is why movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and stories such as “The Ransom of Red Chief” are so entertaining; they are not far from our everyday lives. They are simply exaggerated.