The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
"The Ransom of Red Chief" is a short story by O. Henry that employs irony and humor to explore themes of expectation versus reality and the reversal of power dynamics. The narrative follows two con men, Sam and Bill, who plan to kidnap a wealthy man's son, believing it to be an easy scheme. However, their target, a spirited boy named Johnny Dorset, quickly turns the tables on them. Instead of a compliant victim, he proves to be a boisterous and mischievous child who revels in the situation, adopting the persona of an Indian chief.
As the story unfolds, the kidnappers find themselves increasingly tormented by Johnny's antics, leading to a comical twist where they wish to pay his father a ransom to take him back. The father, recognizing his son's unruly behavior, demands a ransom from the kidnappers, further complicating their predicament. This clever reversal emphasizes the unpredictability of human behavior and the absurdity of their situation, ultimately leading to a humorous and unexpected conclusion. The story highlights the complexities of power and control, showcasing O. Henry's signature wit through its engaging plot and character dynamics.
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The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
First published: 1907
Type of plot: Wit and humor
Time of work: The early twentieth century
Locale: Summit, Alabama
Principal Characters:
Sam , the narratorBill Driscoll , his confederateJohnny Dorset "Red Chief , ," the kidnapped boyEbenezer Dorset , Johnny's father
The Story
The pattern of "The Ransom of Red Chief" is suggested by the first sentence of the story: "It looked like a good thing: but wait till I tell you." The story is essentially ironic; in a series of comic reversals, the expected event is replaced by its opposite. From the name of the town where the story takes place, Summit, which is perfectly flat, to the end of the story, where a fat man outruns the thin narrator, that which the narrator anticipates never does occur.
The "good thing" that Sam and Bill have planned is a kidnapping. Early in the story, they select a quiet, sleepy town, a wealthy man with an only son, and a cave where they can keep their victim. They rent a buggy and approach the small boy with the promise of candy and a buggy ride. At this point, the first reversal occurs. Instead of sweetly climbing into the buggy, Johnny Dorset hits Bill Driscoll with a brick and fights violently when the two men drag him into the buggy. Although Sam and Bill get the boy to their cave hideout, another reversal occurs while Sam is returning the buggy and walking back. During Sam's absence, the captor and the captive change roles, seemingly only in play but actually in real control of the situation. When Sam returns to the cave, he finds Bill, badly battered, playing the captured trapper to Johnny's heroic Indian, who calls himself "Red Chief." Appropriating Sam for his game, Johnny announces that Bill is to be scalped and Sam burned at the stake.
From this time on, Johnny is in power, annoying his captors with chatter and questions, keeping them from sleeping, terrifying Bill with an attempted scalping at daybreak—followed by an attack with a hot potato and later with a rock—and generally enjoying himself so much that he seems disinclined to return home. Finally, Sam mails the ransom note, but the reply makes it clear that Ebenezer Dorset recognizes his son's power. The father demands a ransom of $250 from the kidnappers, in return for which he will take Johnny back. Bill, who has already tried to send Johnny home, begs his confederate to agree, and Sam himself is now willing to pay to get rid of the child whom the con men had abducted. Johnny, however, does not wish to leave his captors. They must scheme to get him back to his father as once they had schemed to get him away from home, and finally, they must run at top speed to escape the boy who does not wish to lose his new playmates, the would-be kidnappers who have become his victims.
Bibliography
Current-Garcia, Eugene. O. Henry. New York: Twayne, 1965.
Èjxenbaum, B. M. O. Henry and the Theory of the Short Story. Translated by I. R. Titunik. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1968.
Langford, Gerald. Alias, O. Henry: A Biography of William Sidney Porter. New York: Macmillan, 1957.
O'Connor, Richard. O. Henry: The Legendary Life of William S. Porter. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970.
Pattee, Fred Lewis. The Development of the American Short Story: An Historical Survey. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1923.
Voss, Arthur. The American Short Story: A Critical Survey. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1973.