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Irony In 'Ransom Of Red Chief'

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Did you know irony is used in many different stories because it can be very versatile. There are three different kinds of irony: situational, dramatic, and verbal. Situational irony is when something that is not expected happens. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something the characters within the media do not. Verbal irony is when someone says one thing but means the opposite. In these short stories authors use dramatic irony to add humor, situational irony to develop the characters, and verbal irony to illustrate a theme.
Roald Dahl's story “Lamb to the Slaughter,” dramatic irony is used to add humor. When Mary was at the grocer for vegetables he asked her a question. He asked, “Then how about meat, Mrs Maloney?” (Dahl 184). This …show more content…

Henry’s short story “Ransom of Red Chief,” situational irony is used to develop the characters. When Bill returns from bringing the Dorset’s the ransom letter, he finds Bill coming back and says he’s sent the boy home. The narrator tells Bill, “‘Then you might turn around,’ says I, ‘and have a look behind you.’ Bill turns and sees the boy.” (Henry 80). Red Chief has been tormenting Bill since they first got him, and Bill was sick and tired of it. This is situational irony because you would expect Red Chief to go back home after he’s been kidnapped. When Ebenezer Dorset sent a reply to the ransom letter he explained that he wasn’t going to pay any ransom fee, and actually he would take Johnny if they paid him 250 dollars. After that the letter says, “You had better come at night, for the neighbors believe he is lost, and I couldn't be responsible for what they would do to anybody they saw bringing him back.” (Henry 86). This shows that the neighbors are actually very happy that he is gone because he is such a menace. The Dorsets don’t specifically care for their child (they didn’t ask if he was alright or was hurt) but they understand that it’s their responsibility to home Red Chief. This is situational irony because it’s expected that parents and neighbors would want their child back, but these parents don’t. Situational irony is used to develop the characters in O. Henry’s short story “Ransom of Red

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In the story of The Ransom of Red Chief the story and movie were very different. However they had some similarities. Some of which include them kidnapping Red Chief. In both stories this was the main point, so therefore these two were alike in the story and movie. Once they reached the caves Red Chief and Bill played a couple of games while they were there.

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Such as verbal irony. Verbal irony is when a character says something, but it is untrue. Furthermore, another irony is situational irony is when there is a twist to the ending. Additionally, another irony authors use in the Labyrinth is dramatic irony. Dramatic irony, is information the audience knows, but not the character.

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One example of verbal irony was when Hanna went to the first train car and Michael went into the second because he wanted to be more alone with her. However, when she didn’t go to the second one, Michael thought Hanna didn’t want to be seen with him and Hanna though Michael didn’t want to be seen with her either. One example of situational irony was on pages 54-55 when Michael had gone out to pick up a nice breakfast for Hanna and left her a note, not knowing that she was illiterate. What he had thought would turn into a romantic gesture on his part, Hanna ended up hitting him in the face with a belt because she feared he had left her. An example of dramatic irony could be when some of the readers started to catch onto the fact that Hanna was illiterate even before Michael realized

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The story and the movie “The Ransom of Red Chief” have a bunch of differences. In the movie, Sam tells a random kid to send a letter to Mr. Dorset. But in the story, Sam took the letter to the post office and a mail man took it to Mr. Dorset. Another difference is that in the story, the kidnappers offered Johnny Dorset some candy and kidnapped him. But in the movie, the kidnappers didn’t offer him candy and just put him in a trunk.

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In the short story “The Mark of the Beast,” the author Rudyard Kipling uses all three types of irony- dramatic, situational, and verbal. The first type of irony is dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows something the characters do not. The second type of irony is situational irony, and it occurs when the opposite event happens then what the audience expects. The third type of irony is verbal irony; this is defined as a situation where a character says one thing, but means something completely different. An example of situational irony in “The Mark of the Beast” would be on page nine, in paragraph three, when the narrator and Strickland gave the leper the devices they used to torture him; this represents situational irony because

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Federigo’s Falcon’s Irony Authors use irony to make their audience stop and think about what has just been said, excite the reader, build suspense, or to even emphasize the idea. There are three types of irony: Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic. In Federigo’s Falcon by Giovanni Boccaccio, all three types of irony are used in different ways throughout the story. For instance, a clear example of Situational Irony is at the end of short story.

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To clarify, when reading the note sent by Ebenezer, Sam recites, “ I think you are a little high in your demands…you bring Johnny home and pay me two-hundred fifty dollars and I agree to take him off your hands”(Henry 9). Ebenezer’s response letter containing a ransom contains irony because the men originally sent a ransom to Ebenezer. Evidently, Henry uniquely uses irony in the form of ransoms like to irritation. As can be seen, the use of irony depicted through the irritation the men face creates humor and develops the theme. Furthermore, when talking to Sam about being left alone with Red Chief, Bill explains,” I never lost my nerve yet till we kidnapped that two-legged skyrocket of a kid” (Henry 5).

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Edgar Allan Poe creates horror and suspense in his use of irony -including verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony-in his short story “ The Tell-Tale Heart”. Verbal irony is when something that is said means the opposite of what is meant. Poe uses verbal irony when he states, “ I loved the old man.” Situational irony is similar. It is defined as when what happens is different from or even the opposite of what we expected.

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By viewing the two short stories it it clear that both authors easily use situational irony to impact the reader's emotion. The short story “Ransom of Red chief” by O.Henry has many examples of situational irony that gives the reader a feeling of amusement. For example Johnny is ecstatic when he is kidnapped, but when someone’s kidnapped, he or she is terrified and scared and wants to go home. Johnny was thrilled to be captured and even begged the kidnappers not to take him home.

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Irony may appear in difference ways within literature. Irony changes our expectations of what might happen. It can create the unexpected twist at the end of a story or anecdote that gets people laughing or crying. Verbal irony is intended to be a humorous type of irony. Situational irony can be either funny or tragic.

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Johnny, a young boy, is kidnapped and for some odd reason, likes it. Instead of being scared, frightened, or horrified, little Johnny has a great time with his kidnappers Sam and Bill. O. Henry makes situational irony evident in his short story “The Ransom of Red Chief,” as he makes his reader sense humor as Johnny has a great time. The situational irony creates an unexpected shock for the reader that is funny and amusing. Authors typically use situational irony to establish a surprising twist on the reader.

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Most irony is used intentionally, but in some cases it can be used unintentionally. Irony is used to illustrate a point which is better than just plainly saying something. The Crucible contains several examples of dramatic, verbal, and situational irony. Dramatic irony is a situation of shock or drama in a story.

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Many different authors have different styles of writing that they use. Styles can vary to an evil, dark story, to a very humorous and funny story. O.Henry's style is very humorous and he is a master of picking when to use irony inside of his short stories. O.Henry's use of irony to entertain the reader, has humorous statements throughout the story, and his use of descriptive language and imagery to better understand the plot line is excellent in The Ransom of Red Chief.

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In Roald Dahl’s riveting short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” dramatic irony is used to build tension. Dramatic irony is defined as a literary device where the reader knows more about a situation than the characters in the story. The main character Ms. Maloney, a devoted and tender wife, suddenly turns into a reckless murderer as her husband tells her he wants to leave. Throughout the narrative a prominent example of dramatic irony is when the policemen eat the leg of lamb. " ‘That's why the weapon should be easy to find.’

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Henry uses situational irony to convey his theme in the story “The Ransom of Red Chief”. Two thieves change from wanting to hold a kidnapped boy for ransom to instead giving the boy back to his father, along with $250.00. They quickly realize that the boy, nicknamed “Red Chief”, is not who they expect him to be, and their whole kidnapping scheme consequently does not go as planned. Eventually, Bill Driscoll, one of the thieves, begs to let the boy go back home even though they have to pay the boy’s father $250.00. Bill says, “You ain’t going to let this chance go, are you?”

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