The Ransom Of Red Chief Analysis

Surprise can lead to happiness, or surprise can lead to depression. Situational irony is when somebody expects something to go one way, but it really happens the exact opposite way. Situational irony can also change the reader’s mind in a way they will never believe. In “The Ransom of Red Chief,” O. Henry uses situational irony to amuse the reader. In “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant uses a feeling of compassion for the short story. In “The Ransom of Red Chief” and in “The Necklace,” O. Henry, Guy de Maupassant, and any author can use situational irony to affect the reader's emotions.
In “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, there are multiple examples of situational irony that has emotion. One example of situational irony is when Johnny is kidnapped by Bill and Sam, and he is supposed to be scared. Instead, Johnny likes being kidnapped because he does not have to go to

school, which makes amusement on the reader. Johnny says, ¨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?” (41). Since Johnny hates school and wants to stay there for a long time, he has a lot of fun with Bill and Sam, instead of hating them. Another example of situational irony is when the “two desperate men” send a letter to Johnny’s dad Ebenezer asking for $1500, but instead Ebenezer asks for $250 because the offer is too high. Ebenezer says, “I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby make you a counter proposition, which I am inclined to believe that you will accept. You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands” (52). Bill and Sam pays the man $250, so they have to earn $2,250 more so they can start their business. This is one of the many examples of how authors utilize situational irony to make a humorous taste on the reader.
In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, situational irony appears as an important part of the plot, and to the reader’s emotion.

One example of situational irony is when Mathilde Loisel wants to be the richest of the rich, but she ends of being one of the poorest of the poor. The narrator says, “‘She suffered endlessly feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury”(1). She does not only want to be rich, but she knows that she deserves to be richer than the richest. A different example of situational irony is when Mathilde thinks that she wears a really expensive necklace to the party, but it is only worth about 500 francs. Madame Forestier says, ‘“Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs! (8) She realizes that she has been trying to save up for something that was around 500 francs, but she thought that it was really 10,000 francs. When she becomes the poorest of the poor, she wishes that she could have lived her life the way she should of done. This is also one of many examples that an author can use situational irony as

compassion.
Situational irony is a device that surprises the reader in an unexpected twist. In addition, situational irony also has a type of emotion. In “The Ransom of Red Chief,” the emotion of the reader is humor. In “The Necklace,” the emotion of the reader is sympathetic. It is obvious that authors utilize situational irony to obtain the emotion from the reader. Situational irony is also found in daily lives. Life is like a piece of fiction, and it has unexpected twists along the path of life.