Examples Of Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

The irony in both the short stories The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe and The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry is used to create contrast between the route the reader thinks the story will go down, or the route that seems more obvious to the reader, and the reality presented, while adding touches of humor and foreshadowing. The irony in The Cask of Amontillado adds a dark layer of humor that tells the reader about how ego can get in the way of common sense, and foreshadows to the gruesome end. Montresor is practically a master at using reverse psychology, an example of verbal irony, to manipulate others into doing what he wants. The only time Montresor ever has to use physical force on Fortunato is at the very end, when he is chaining him up. Fortunato begs to stay in the

The irony in The Ransom of Red Chief displays the differences between what you would expect of two rough countrymen who ransom a kid for money and the reality of them being tortured by a ten year old who is having the time of his life. The story mainly features situational irony, revolving around the reversal of power between the boy and the kidnappers from what you would normally expect. Although Bill and Sam are the ones choosing to be in this situation, they are the ones terrified of where they are. When Bill notices this, he says to Sam, “‘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. Ain’t it awful, Sam?’” (pg 3). Although Bill and Sam are technically in control of the situation, they are really slaves to the “chief” of the cave. Once they kidnap Red Chief, their sanity is in his hands instead of their own. When the kidnappers ultimately choose their sanity over making money, their entire plan