Use Of Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

Would you ever expect a kidnapper to actually want to get rid of the kid? Better yet, would you expect the captivated child to enjoy his own kidnapping experience? Well, in the tall tale “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, a typical kidnapping encounter is completely reversed. Bill and Sam are “two desperate men” (O. Henry 7) that will do anything to get money to rent a new place to live in, even if that means kidnapping Johnny Dorset, a ten-year-old boy, and asking his wealthy father, Ebenezer Dorset, for a ransom in exchange for his son. In this high comedy piece, O. Henry uses irony and comic situations to convey the idea that all choices have a consequence that follows.

Irony is when an unexpected event turns into the reality of the situation. After Bill and Sam finally manage to bring Johnny to the hideout spot, Johnny suddenly begins to enjoy this usually terrifying situation, causing him to be the source of fear and “...[having] Bill terrorized from the start” (O. Henry 3). How strange is it that a kidnapper is afraid of the kid that he

decided to kidnap? Later on, Bill’s fears for the child were justified when Johnny decided to play Indian, call himself Red Chief, and threaten the two men. One morning “... Red Chief was sitting on top of Bill’s chest,... trying to take his scalp” (O. Henry 4). A ten-year-old boy has more control over a grown man than the grown man has over the child, creating the ironic state of the current situation. Later, the time had finally come when Johnny would be returned and the ransom would be paid… to the father of the child, that is. Johnny is known to be such a bother that Ebenezer agreed to take his son back if the two men “...pay [him] two hundred and fifty dollars in cash…” (O. Henry 10). One would think that Ebenezer would be paying for his son back, but the kidnappers paid to get rid of the son, forming the irony of the way the plan actually played out. In the end, Bill and Sam learned that their kidnapping plan would not play out as expected, and their actions would lead to bad consequences.
A comic situation is when one or more of the main characters get thrown into a bizarre, uncommon encounter.

Bill, unfortunately, was always the one to suffer through one of Johnny’s games and schemes like Indian, Black Scout, and more. One time, Johnny, while playing with Bill “‘...put a red-hot boiled potato down [Bill’s] back… and then mashed it with his foot…’” (O. Henry 5). Then, when Sam left to send his letter for a ransom, Bill was left alone with Red Chief, who later made him transport him on horseback “...ninety miles to the stockade, not barring an inch…” (O. Henry 9). To put even more emphasis on the horse roleplay, Bill was even “...given oats” (O. Henry 9). None of these situations are common ones people face every day. Bill was pushed into these bizarre games, creating the comic situation. The unfortunate events that happened to Bill show that kidnapping this child definitely backfired on the two

men.
In reality, O. Henry’s tall tale contains more meaning than just a humorous kidnapping encounter. His story contains the universal truth that bad choices can lead to bad consequences. Based on all the humorous yet torturous misfortunes Bill endured and all the unexpected events of the kidnapping plot, one can clearly tell that the bad choices in life will backfire, and not in a positive way. By providing this message through humor, the reader can learn to apply this life’s truth to the real world and to every decision he/she decides to make in life.