Use Of Situational Irony In The Ransom Of Red Chief

Situational irony is when authors use the plot of their story to create an unexpected twist and catch the reader off guard. For example, Guy de Maupassant uses situational irony to produce a feeling of sympathy in his short story“The Necklace.” “The Ransom Of Red Chief” by O. Henry is another story that uses situational irony to produce a humorous feeling in the reader. By reading these two short stories, it is clear that the authors use situational irony to affect the readers’ emotions.
In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant Mathilde wants to be richer than she is. She borrows Madame Forestier’s necklace for a huge ball that night to pretend to be rich. She then loses the necklace and after going into debt to replace it Mathilde is now poorer that the poor. The narrator says about Mathilde, “Her tastes were simples because she had never been able to afford any other, but she was unhappy as though she had

Henry, situational irony produces the emotion of humor. Johnny’s reaction to being kidnapped is bizarre. Bill and Sam kidnap him thinking that he is going to be frightened and going to want to go home. But, instead Johnny seems elated to be there. Sam and Bill then think that the boy wants to go home and Sam says, “Red chief, says I to the kid, would you like to go home”(41). Then Johnny replies “Aw, what for...You won’t take be back home again...Will you?...I never had such fun in my life”(41). This proves that Johnny is actually having a lot of fun and does not want to even think about going home. Bill and Sam send a note to Johnny’s father saying that in order to have his son back he will need to pay Bill and Sam fifteen hundred dollars. When the father sees the note he instead demands 250 dollars in cash for taking his son. Ebenezer Dorset, the father, writes “You will bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash…(52). This situational irony is a plot twist and it is a humorous way to end the