The Ransom of Red Chief
by William Sydney Porter
(O. Henry) (Roots)
Start Here
Read the two sentences given below.
❐ When I wan younger, my father gave me the most important piece of advice: "Read before you write and think before you speak."
❐ When Tim was younger, his father gave him the most important piece of advice. He told Tim to read before he wrote and think before he spoke.
What is the difference? Think about who is speaking in both cases. Which kind of writing makes you feel closer to the story?
= The first sentence is written in direct speech or first person narrative. In this sentence, Tim himself is the speaker.
The second sentence is written in indirect speech or the third person narrative. In this sentence, someone else (third person) is the speaker.
In case of reading a story, I think the first kind of writing is more interesting to me.
Read the first paragraph of this lesson and say which kind it is.
= The first paragraph of this lesson is written in direct speech of narration or first person narrative. The narrator is speaking about themselves.
Comprehension
Read and answer
1. Fil out his plot diagram based on your understanding of the story.
PLOT
(The sequence of events which make up a story)
1. Exposition(Introduction of conflict, character and setting)
= Bill and Sam needed two thousand dollars to buy some land in Western Illinois. They planned to kidnap the only child of the wealthy Ebenezer Dorset and ask him to pay a ransom of two thousand dollars.
2. Rising Action (Characters try to solve the conflict)
= They kidnapped the kid from the street and took him to a cave on a little tree-covered mountain two miles away from the Summit. The menacing kid played a camping game with Bill and Sam. It seemed that the boy had kidnapped them. Bill became restless due to the activities of the boy. Sam wrote a letter to the father asking the ransom money and take back his son.
3. Climax (Twist in the story)
= Sam got a note from Ebenezer Dorset. He had given a alternative offer. He had asked Bill and Sam to pay him two hundred and fifty dollars in cash. He had agreed to take his son Johnny back from them in terms of that deal only.
4. Falling Action(Events after the climax)
= Bill and Sam had six hundred dollars with them. Th boy made their life so unbearable that they agreed to pay two hundred fifty dollars to the father for returning his son.
5. Resolution (Ending: solving of conflict)
= The boy was not ready to return home at any cost. He had fastened himself as tight as a leech to Bill's leg. His father peeled him away. He kept holding his son for as much time as he could. Hence, Bill and Sam got the chance to flee from the place leaving the menace Johnny to his father.
Reference to context
2. "Aw, what for?" says he. "I don't have any fun at home. I hate school. I like camping. You won't take me home, Snake-eye, will you?"
a. Who is the speaker in these lines?
= Johnny, the kidnapped boy, is the speaker in these lines.
b. What do these lines say about the speaker? Why do you think he feels like this?
= These lines say that the speaker is a very menacing and desperate boy who does not like to be in the system of home and school.
Johnny is the spoilt brat of a wealthy father. He does not like to be at home as he does not get any fun there. He hates school. He likes camping. He does not want to return home. He is ready to stay with his kidnappers.
c. Who is 'Snake-eye'? Why is he called by this name?
= Sam, the narrator of the story, is the 'Snake-eye'.
Johnny was playing a game at he cave after being captive by Sam and Bill. He himself became the Red Chief. Bill was Old Hank, Red Chief's captive. Johnny named Sam as Snake-eye, the Spy. From then on, he used to call Sam by that name.
3. "Ain't it awful, Sam? No one will pay money to get a little imp like that back!"
"His parents will," said I."
a. Who is the speaker in the first dialogue?
= Bill is the speaker in the first dialogue.
b. Who is 'the little imp'?
= Johnny is the 'little imp'.
c. Is Sam correct in thinking that the parents will pay to get 'the little imp' back?
= Yes, Sam is correct in thinking that the parents will pay to get 'the little imp' back in the perspective of a kidnapper. Children, whether good or bad, are always liked by their parents. Parents become anxious when the children are in danger. They become ready to do anything to rescue their children from any type of danger. Here, in this case, the father is supposed to come to rescue his son from the kidnappers.
4. "You pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take Johnny off your hands."
a. Who is speaking in these lines?
= Ebenezer Dorset, father of Johnny, is speaking in these lines.
b. What is ironical about this situation?
= Something unusual is happening here. In general, the kidnappers ask ransom form the family of the kidnapped. In this case, the father of the kidnapped boy is asking an amount of two hundred and fifty dollars from the kidnappers to take back his son from their hands.
c. What do Sam and Bill decide to do after reading this?
= Sam was unwilling to agree with the father. But he saw the pleading eyes of Bill. Bill said that they got the six hundred dollars with them. He wants to give two hundred and fifty dollars out of it. Unless the kid would make him made. Sam also accepted that he had never been so nervous before. They did so and retuned the kid to his father.
Reflect and answer
5. When a story is written from the point of view of one of the characters, it is said to be in first person. What effect does this style of writing have when you read the lesson? Why?
= When a story is written from the point of view of one of the characters, it is said to be in first person. This story is also written in the first person narrative. This style presented the story in a very interesting way. It makes the story more attractive to read.
The first person narration and the quoted dialogues make the story real. As if the incidents are happening before our eyes. We just not read the incidents, rather we live those moments like the characters of the story.
6. Is the story humorous? What makes you say so?
= The story is definitely a humorous one. The sense of humour starts the attention of the readers after the kid was taken to the cave on a little tree-covered mountain two miles away from the on the Summit after kidnapping.
The different scenario started to happen. Johnny was playing a game at he cave after being captive by Sam and Bill. He himself became the Red Chief. Bill was Old Hank, Red Chief's captive. Johnny named Sam as Snake-eye, the Spy. The boy seemed very happy. The fun of camping out had made him forget that he was a captive. He was talking about his pet, asked more gravy, telling about many questions in his mind. He did not want to go home. He did not have any fun at home. He hates school. He liked camping.
The made Bill crazy while he was guarding him. Johnny rode him like a horse. He was given sand as if they were oats. Johnny kicked and bit Bill. So, Bill left him at him home. He was telling this to Sam only to find the menacing kid behind him. He did not stay at home, he followed back Bill. This is hilarious.
Last but not the least is the Ebenezer Dorset asking two hundred fifty dollars from the kidnappers to take back his son. In addition to it, Bill and Sam were so frustrated that they agreed to pay that amount to the father of Johnny. This is the utmost point of humour in the story.
7. Have you read any other stories or watched movies which had kidnappers? What kind of people are kidnappers usually shown as? Were Sam and Bill different?
= Yes, I had read other stories and watched movies which had kidnappers. In those stories or movies, the kidnapped person of his family rescued the victim after long fight or negotiation.
In those stories and movies, the kidnappers are villains. They are rude and cruel. They do not have any kind of sympathy or sensibility. They torture the person they kidnapped. They are intelligent and cunning.
Sam and Bill are totally different from them. Sam hold a little bit of toughness but Bill was childish and cowardice. Both of them could not frighten a little kid. Rather they got terrorized by the boy. And we all know what were the consequences.
8. "I've stood by you in earthquakes, fire and flood - in card games, dynamite outrages, police raids, train robberies and cyclones. I never lost my nerve yet till we kidnapped that kid. You won't leave me long with him, will you?"
What do these lines tell us about Sam and Bill's friendship?
= These lines sum up the equation of the relationship between Sam and Bill. They are rogues by profession. They do crime offences to earn their livelihood. They are in gambling. They rob the trains. They used to raided by the police. Bill has been the companion of Sam in all these things. He used to stay with him in bad days too. He stands beside Sam in the time of earthquakes, floods and cyclones. They have the real friendship in the true sense of the term.
In this case of Kidnapping Johnny, Bill becomes nervous like never before. Bill knows Sam will never let it continue as he is a good friend of Bill. Bill wants that Sam shall not leave him alone with that boy.
9. Foreshadowing is the author's use of clues or hints to suggest events that occur later in the story. List two examples of foreshadowing from the lesson.
= Foreshadowing is the author's use of clues or hints to suggest events that occur later in the story.
The two examples of foreshadowing from the lesson are -
i) Sam asks Johnny whether he would like to go home or not. In reply to this, Johnny say that he does not have any fun at home. He hates school. He likes camping. He pleads Sam for not to send him home. This gives us the clue that he will return when Bill shows him the way to his home.
ii) Bill once says Sam that it is awful to guard the kid. He also assumes that no one will pay money to get a little imp like Johnny. This gives us the clue that something interesting is going happen at the bargaining of the ransom money.
10. What do you think must have happened after the boy was returned to his father?
= After the boy was returned to his father, he might have been yelling high to return to Bill and Sam. He might have been pleading his father to release him so that he can follow them back. His father might tempt him to buy him some toys with the money he had got from the kidnapers. Then Johnny might agree with him and stayed at home with the new toys.
About the Author :
Willian Sydney Porter (1862-1910) was a famous American short story writer who wrote under his pen name, O. Henry. After a failed attempt at running a humorous weekly magazine, he became a reporter for local newspapers. He wrote a series of adventure stories in the next few years and published the collection as his first literary work. 'The Ransom of Red Chief' is one of his most popular stories; others include 'The Four Million' and 'The Gift of the Magi'. His tales reflected the lives of the commoners in New York City and were full of humour, irony and surprise endings.