Tomas Claudio Colleges Morong Rizal Literature 12 - World Literature

Tomas Claudio Colleges
Morong Rizal
LITERATURE 12 - WORLD LITERATURE
ANALYZING SHORT STORY
The Ransom of Red Chief
Author: O. Henry
Published in the collection Whirligigs in 1910. In the story, two kidnappers

make off with the young son of a prominent man only to find that the child is
more trouble than he is worth; in the end, they agree to pay the boy's father to
take him back The story and its main idea have become a part of popular
culture, with many children's television programs depicting versions of the story
as one of their episodes. It has also been often used as a classic example of two
ultimate comic ironies – a supposed "hostage" actually liking his abductors and
enjoying being captured, and his captors getting their just deserts by having the
tables turned on them, and being compelled to pay to be rid of him.
Setting:
Sam and Bill intend to kidnap a boy in the town of Summit, which appears to
be a typical farm town. Sam tells us that the country all around Summit is
perfectly flat, so it is an irony that the people have named the town Summit. The
two men have a spot picked for hiding with their victim after they get one. About
two miles from Summit was a little mountain, covered with a dense cedar brake.
On the rear elevation of this mountain was a cave. There we stored provisions.
BROWN/CASPE BSBA DEC 7, 2020

Vocabularies:
1. flannel-cake-a flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle.
“There was a town down there, as flat as a flannel-cake, and called Summit, of
course.”
2. chawbacon- a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
“I walked over to Poplar Cove and sat around the post-office and store, talking
with the chawbacons that came in to trade.”
3. pour cold water on - be discouraging or negative about
“I dragged him out and poured cold water on his head for half an hour.”
4. bill - an itemized statement of money owed for goods or services
“We were down South, in Alabama -- Bill Driscoll and myself -- when this
kidnapping idea struck us.”
5. black-eyed pea- a creamy white edible bean
“I bought some smoking tobacco, referred casually to the price of black-eyed

peas, posted my letter surreptitiously and came away.”
6. cinnamon bear- reddish-brown color phase of the American black bear
“That boy put up a fight like a welter-weight cinnamon bear; but, at last, we got
him down in the bottom of the buggy and drove away.”

7. black-and-blue- discolored by coagulation of blood beneath the skin
“On the way he kicks my legs black-and-blue from the knees down; and I've got
to have two or three bites on my thumb and hand cauterized.”
8. tree toad-arboreal amphibians usually having adhesive disks at the tip of each
toe; of southeast Asia and Australia and America
“At half-past eight I was up in that tree as well hidden as a tree toad, waiting for
the messenger to arrive.”
9. cauterize- burn, sear, or freeze using a hot iron or electric current
“On the way he kicks my legs black-and-blue from the knees down; and I've
got to have two or three bites on my thumb and hand cauterized.”
10. ransom-the act of freeing from captivity or punishment
“Bill and me figured that Ebenezer would melt down for a ransom of two
thousand dollars to a cent.”
11. Scout- a person sent out ahead of a main force as to gather information.
"I'll behave, Snake-eye, if you won't send me home, and if you'll let me play the
Black Scout to-day."
12. trippingly-moving with quick light steps
"In ten minutes I shall cross the Central, Southern and Middle Western States,
and be legging it trippingly for the Canadian border."

Characters:
 Sam- the story’s narrator, is a con-man and a hustler who works with
his partner-in-crime Bill to hatch harebrained criminal plots.
 Johnny Dorset- is the ten-year-old boy whom Sam and Bill kidnap for
ransom money.
 Bill Driscoll - is Sam’s partner in crime—together, the two men have
committed a string of petty crimes “in poker games, dynamite
outrages, police raids, train robberies and cyclones.
 Ebenezer Dorset- is Johnny's father, a wealthy businessman in the
town of Summit.
SUMMARY
Two small-time criminals, Bill and Sam, kidnap Johnny, the 10-year-old red-
haired son of Ebenezer Dorset, an important citizen, and hold him for ransom.
But the moment that they arrive at their hideout with the boy, the plan begins to
unravel, as the boy actually starts to enjoy his kidnappers. Calling himself "Red
Chief", the boy proceeds to drive his captors to distraction with his unrelenting
chatter, malicious pranks, and demands that they play wearying games with him,
such as riding 90 miles on Bill's back pretending to be an Indian scout. The
criminals write a ransom letter to the boy's father, lowering the ransom from
$2,000 to $1,500, believing that the father won't pay much money for his return.
The father, who knows his son well and realizes how intolerable he will be to his
captors and how eager they will soon be to rid themselves of the delinquent
child, rejects their demand and offers to take the boy off their hands if they pay
him $250. The men hand over the money and the howling boy – who had
actually been happier being away from his strict father – and flee while the father
restrains his son from following them. The ironic situation is where the
kidnappers have to pay the father to get his son back (or in truth, to actually

agree to even accept him back) instead of the father's paying the kidnappers for
the return of his son.
Theme/Message of the Story:

The main theme of the story is that it’s explored a warning against taking the
easy way out which Bill and Sam try for easy money, but find themselves in over
their heads when they kidnap the wrong kid.
The messages of "The Ransom of Red Chief." Is probably the most instructive is
that crime doesn't pay. One could also say that the story can help to teach
children that there is no easy way to make money, especially if it involves
breaking the law. The two bungling criminals hit upon what they think is a sure
fire way to make money, but not only do they end up with nothing, they're
outsmarted by a kid who makes them look like complete idiots. Clearly, the two
would-be master criminals have failed to pay heed to the old adage "Be careful
for what you wish for; you might just get it." This is a very useful life lesson for
everyone, but especially for children.

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What is the plot of the story?

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What are some of the characters in the story?

Tomas Claudio Colleges

ANALYZING SHORT STORY

The Ransom of Red Chief

Published in the collection Whirligigs in 1910. In the story, two kidnappers

BROWN/CASPE BSBA DEC 7, 2020

1. flannel-cake-a flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle.

2. chawbacon- a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture

3. pour cold water on - be discouraging or negative about

4. bill - an itemized statement of money owed for goods or services

5. black-eyed pea- a creamy white edible bean

“I bought some smoking tobacco, referred casually to the price of black-eyed

6. cinnamon bear- reddish-brown color phase of the American black bear

BROWN/CASPE BSBA DEC 7, 2020

9. cauterize- burn, sear, or freeze using a hot iron or electric current

10. ransom-the act of freeing from captivity or punishment

12. trippingly-moving with quick light steps

BROWN/CASPE BSBA DEC 7, 2020

BROWN/CASPE BSBA DEC 7, 2020

Theme/Message of the Story:

BROWN/CASPE BSBA DEC 7, 2020

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